Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-09

today on the direction of the Secretary of
the Treasury, and the building has been
converted into military camp to avert any
possible attempt at looting or other dis
orders. Secretary Shaw and Assistant
Treasurer A. Lincoln Dryden had long
conference by telephone today, as a result
of which the Treasury Department will
send supplies of money to reinforce the
present resources of the SubtreaSury, and
this money, which will be received tomor-
row, will be added to from time to time
to any amount needed to meet the demands
of the business interests Of Baltimore, so
suddenly crippled of banking facilities.
Extent of Burned District.
The burned district extends from Liberty
street on the west to Jones Falls on the
east, from Fayette and Lexington streets
on the north to Pratt street and the basin
front on the south. The district comprises
40 acres, and more than seventy-five
squares.
This awful brand by the most merciless
torch ever welded by nature in an Ameri-
can city can better be comprehended when
the burned area is likened to plot of sim
liar extent in the capital city. If the fire
had occurred here and attained the same
proportions it would have swept the city
from the Peace monument to the treasury,
from Pennsylvania avenue to K street and
beyond.
In the burned district this morning the
scene was one of depressing desolation
The military lines fringing the area Of ruin
were drawn so tightly that few could pene-
trate into the desert of fallen walls and
tangled masses of iron and wire. There
was a great hue and cry against the strict
ness of the military orders. Men whose
places of business were burned applied t
the lines for permission to visit the scene of
what was once the representation of all
they owned in the world They were de-
MED the privilege unless their requests
WAR; a n ia6 a "a NV Carl
Lawrason Riggs. commanding the militia
Strict Guard Over Ruins.
Bitterly were the National Guardsmen as
sailed, but to no purpose. They were ad-
amant. Turning to Gen. Riggs or other
city officials the anxious men were met
with the statement that the officials sought
were too busy to be seen or were unable
to comply with the increasing demand for
passes.
The denial of permission to visit the
burned section is a matter of precauton in
the line of human safety. Dangerous walls
are standing at perilous angles. Blasting
is going on throughout the district, and the
danger is not overestimated. AS far as
the guarding of property is concerned there
is little to be done. The flames left nothing
of value in their path.
Except for the occasional distant rumble
of dynamite blast, the silence among the
ruins Is that of the graveyard. When one
stops to paint in memory the busy scenes
that were enacted there only few short
hours ago something like an adequate
comprehension of the calamity presents IT.
self Save for few stray firemen or blue
coated guardians of the law and order,
there is not a living creature about the
ruins
Walls Present Funeral Aspect.
The funereal aspect is impressed still
more deeply, by the tottering monuments
that dot the acres of devastation. The
scene is aptly compared to the desolation
that follows a great battle. 1t is incapable
of description. The ruins of the fire are far
different from the ordinary kind. They are
not charred and blackened. The walls that
are standing are stripped bare OF every
vestige of combustible material, while the
piles of broken brick and stone contain
nothing unburnable. The fire did its work
fercely and we'll. The heat was so intense