The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-10
BALT| MORE
 ID MEET THE
 EMERGENCY Burned District to Be Rebuilt on a Grander Scale
 Than Ever HUKUtS Uf Mtn Al WUkk CLEARING AWAY DEBRIS Vaults of the Great Trust Companies Contalnlna Untold Millions in Se- curitles Are Found to
 Be Safe.

Baltimore, February 9.--Amid ruins still hot and smoking, Baltimore has begun its resurrection. With the dawn of clear winter day, whose brightness was
 in itself an inspiration, the apathy of
 yesterday gave way to energy and from
 the governor of the state to the least private citizen. the people of this dis
 tressed city aroused themselves to meet
 the appalling conditions that confront them.
 It was a day of conferences. The gov
 ernor. the mayor and various municipal
 officials met and threshed out the proc-
 lems From this conference caJhe a de- cision that Baltimore, for the present,
 needs no outside help. but will endeavor
 with her own resources and those of the
 state to meet the emergency. At this conference, also was developed the ma chinery for an advisory legislative com
 mittee to act in conjunction with the legislature.
 Untold Treasures in Vaults. The military officials had unusual prob-
 lems to decide, and solved them in mill
 itary manner. for. tonight every pass that
 has been issued giving entrance to the fire lines. was revoked. No civilian may
 pass the gordon oi citizen soldiers, which,
 after forty-eight hours of continuous
 duty, topig,it stretches around the fire
 swept -desert. where lay safes and vaults containing untold treasure.
 With equal promptness the chamber of commerce held a general meeting. and issued formal announcement that re- iected the prevailing hopefulness. de- claring there are already such evidences
 of recuperation that all are encouraged
 in the hope of the early restoration of every branch of trade"
 The stock exchange members met and
 decided to rebuild as soon as possible. Tho
 same story can be told of practically ev-
 cry commercial body. while on every
 hand is evidence of private effort toward rehabilitation.
 Crude Quarters Are Utilized. l Old buildings long unused, private resi- l dences near the business section, in fact every available structure bears erudely
 lettered signs on board or cloth. an | fee of a firm. The names on some Of these signs are those that rank high in the | financial and commercial circles of the world, ard in those temporary offices, | men who for years have known only | mahogany desks, work on deal tables and | plain boards.
 | Labor is in demand and She newspapers
 already contain display advertisements
 for men to begin the work of clearing | the ruins.
 1 All things considered, the public stock
 taking that engrossed the business world
 of Baltimore today, was satisfactory. But ! this does not mean that the great fire
 was a lesser calamity than has been pictured in these dispatches. The bald
 fact is that 40 acres of business build | ings, representing property to the ap- proxmate value of $i25, GOO, 900 was destroy
 ed within the journey of clocks hand Few calamltles So Vast. History Is marked by few calamities so vast and so costly in actual values, but with the passing of the first great shock
 and prostration. the brighter side is com ! ing uppermost and realization of what | Baltimore established is dawning cloud was lifted this afternoon when 1t was discovered that practically all the vaults and safes of the financial con
 cerns whose buildings were destroyed. 1 were uIlnuTl A tftfnenQOuS loss In curities had been anticipated. and when vault after vault yielded up it's treasure
 unharmed, the joy Of the guardians was | boundless
 | From one trust company's safes alone | papers to the amount of more than S20O- | 100000 were recovered. The news cheered | the whole city and encouraged immediate and thorough Investigation Merchants
 and their assistants smoke-soiled and be- l grimed. holow-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.
 Two Concerns Are Unharmed.
 Another surprise was the discovery that | two financial concerns whose homes were | directly in the fiercest sweep of the ] flames. were practically unfarmed These were the Brown Bros bank. and the | Mercantile Trust company. The escape | of the structures was due to their lack | -------------------~>~---