Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-26
SITUATION Is SERIOUS
BALTIMORE VICTIMS WANT NO
CHARITY, BUT DESIRE WORK.
Discussion Over ACCESSIBILITY Of Ac-
eepting Outside >Aid-Fire Has
Kindled Spirit Of Enterprise.

Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.
BALTIMORE, February 49, - In the
opinion of Mr.. Ferdinand c. Latrobe. who
served as mayor of Baltimore for seven
terms, the city is facing a very serious
problem.
"All the optimistic talk now going on
cannot blind US to the fact that Balti-
more has suffered a great blow by the
fire." said the former mayor to The Star
correspondent today. THE beginning of
building operations is not going to pro-
vide work for the thousands of clerks,
statesmen and saleswomen who were
forced into idleness. They comprise
class of sufferers who will not proclaim
their distress. and as a result they will
undoubtedly suffer
They do not want charity. They want
employment. If these persons are to be
renewed there must be general resump-
tlon OF business In all lines; and that is
what rear is not going to take place so
readily. All the banks and large business
houses, OF course are resuming business
put there was host of smaller dealers
VINO employed quite an army of men and
again ~
These employees are still out of work.
ana what Is worse, there is no employment
IN SIGHT for them. I think the city officials
lily refused to accept the tender of aid that
came In from sister cities at the time of
the fire. VI
Outside Aid Not Impracticable.
AT the time of the great Chicago fire
Baltimore appropriated 100000 and sent it
10 the stricken city, and 1t strikes me that
SIoV'ooO or so would do considerable good
just now IN Baltimore. The city has suf-
Iereo great setback, from which it can
only in time recover.
Building operations should be resumed
at once, as that will put some of the insur-
ance money into circulation IT would at
all events benefit mechanics and by sun
plying them with money may indirectly
penent some of the clerks who were rem
dered idle by the fire."
The same view of the situation &c +.Lor
Dy PRESIDENT f. Stanley Gary president of
the Merchants and Manufacturers Asso-
cation: For the great army of clerks that
W, meie thrown out OF employment 1 can see
no immediate relief he said to The Star
correspondent today. ."Fbey are NOT of a
class that will accept charity, and thew are
UNITED to perform manual labor For en-
ploymeht IL seems that they must wait upon
the expansion of business
or course, it is going to take the citv
some time to recover, but ten years hence /
thlnk we shall be able to regard the fire as
not altogether an unmixed evil
Spirit of Enterprise Kindled.
Inc catastrophe has kinaled spirit of
enterprise among our business men that will
make itself felt in the Years to come. There
is now going on general resumption in all
commercial lines. Some of the smaller bust
ness houses may not resume but the larger
ones VIII get their trade and thus give en-
pioyment to additional help. The fire has
advertised the business community won
derfully, and / anticipate greatly Increased
business In all lines in the near future"
Chairman Paul Turner of the advisory
committee of the underwriters while not
minimizing the great blow the business
community has sustained thinks that
period of great activity is ahead
The Golfers OF the banks are simply
overfowing with money! he said by
the time all the insurance losses are settled
there will have been paid to Baltimore bust
men nearly $33 100000. However there
will not be complete readjustment of bust
ness for years to come 1t takes time for
q city to recover from such hard blow as
Baltimore has suffered.
Relative to Insurance.
The statement by Mr.. Turner that the
tmount of insurance to be paid will be $780,
100000 shows that the net loss as a result
of the fire is SLIT 100000. it having been es-
timated by the underwriters that the aggre-
gate loss was $3.50, 000, 600.
The Merchants and Manufacturers sso-
citation yesterday afternoon issued a call to
the merchants III southern states to help
the Baltimore merchants by continuing
their orders as heretofore. The call states
the temporary interruption to business has
passed, and that normal conditions again
prevail in large wholesale and jobbing cir
cles, and concludes:
Since the fire the greatest energy and a
desire TO get started again has resulted in
the collection Of new stocks, and our
merchants are now offering a perfectly
fresh assortment of all kinds of materials.
with all of our great loss we have not
gone out to the country to ask financial
help. but we do ask that you continue your
trade with us. and give us the means of
helping ourselves"
The Short Story Club