Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-02-11
People of Baltimore Bravely
Meet Appalling Conditions.
NO OUTSIDE HELP YET NEEDED,

begun its resurrection.
With the dawn Of a clear wintry day
whose brightness was in itself an in
spiration, apathy gave way to the en-
ergy of aroused effort and from the
governor of the state to the least pri
vate citizen the people pulled them
selves together to meet the appalling
conditions.
1t was a day of conferences. The
governor, the mayor and various mu
nicipal officials met and threshed out
the problems brought forward by the
conflagration. From this conference
came a decision that Baltimore for the
present needs no outside help. The
catastrophe has aroused intense civic
pride, but as Mayor McLane expressed
It, if it becomes necessary Baltimore
will not hesitate three minutes to ask
for aid
The military officials have revoked
every pass to the fire line. No civilian
may pass the Gordon of citizen sol
diery which stretches around the fire
swept desert where lie safes anC
vaults containing untold treasure.
Evidences or Recuperation.
The Chamber of Commerce in for
NAL announcement reflected the pre-
vailing hopefulness, declaring there
are already such evidences of recuper
alton that encourage all in the hope
of the early restoration of every
branch of trade"
The Stock Exchange members
keyed to energy, decided to rebuild as
soon as possible. The same story car
be told of practically every commercial,
body, while on every hand is evidence
OF private effort toward rehabilitation
Every available structure bears
crudely lettered signs announcing that
within is the temporary office of
firm. The names on some of these
signs are those that rank high in the
financial and commercial circles of the
world and in these temporary offices
men who for years have known only
mahogany desks work on deal tables
and plain boards
Labor is in demand for clearing the
ruins.
All things considered the public
stock taking that engrossed the bust
ness world of Baltimore was salts
factory. The words that have hurried
over telegraph wires, restored by al.
most clDarbur,ap aDarc,y 70 r,oo4 4,
waiting worlds demand for news, have
given but an inadequate conception OF
this catastrophe of a century. The
bold fact is that 1fO acres of business
buildings, representing property to the
approximate value of $125, ,000, 900 was
destroyed The insurance will reach
so or 90 millions.
History is marked by few calami
ties so costly, but with the passing OF
the first great shock the brighter side
is coming uppeTmost and there is much
thankfulness that q change in the
wind and courageous final stand of the
ffremen prevented the wiping out OF
hundreds of homes and the almost in
conceivable suffering that would have
followed. But providence and brave
men worked hand in hand TO avert the
horror of a residence section confa
grafton and the story of the great Bal
ttmore fire will always be told in
money instead of human lives.
Vaults and Safes Undamaged
A great cloud was lifted when ii
was discovered that practically all OF
the vaults and strong rooms and safes
of the financial concerns whose build
ings were destroyed are unhurt
tt emendous loss in securities had been
anticipated here, but vault after vault
yielded up its treasures unharmed
From one trust company's safe alone
papers to the amount of more than
100000, 900 was recovered. The news
cheered the whole city and encour
aged immediate and thorough investi
cation. Merchants and their assistants
smoke-soiled and begrimad and hollow
eyed from anxiety and loss of sleep
worked like laborers in the smoking
ruins to uncover their safes and in
nearly every instance they were re-
warded by intact contents.
Another surprise was the discovery
that two financial concerns whose
homes were directly in the fiercest
path of the flames were practically un-
harmed. These were the Mercantile
Trust company and Brown Brothers
bank
No one ventures to offer an explana
ton of the remarkable escape of these
buildings in the center of heat so
intense that metal trimmings of the
skylghts melted and dripped through
onto the desks. In the Mechanics
bank the time locks on the vaults were
still running.
It was first reported that the blaze
started from the explosion Of a gaso-
line engine in the cellar OF the Hurst
building. but this is given an en-
phatic denial.
Henry s. Hurst Of the firm Of John
e. Hurst & Co, said that there was no
gasoline in the building. This state
ment was afterward corroborated in