The Forrest City times., 1904-02-12
BEGUN ITS WORK
OF RESURRECTION
Distressed City of Baltimore Aroused
to Meet the Appalling Conditions.
WILL ARISE FROM ITS ASHES
At Conference Held II Has Been
Decided Tint For the Present the
stricken City Needs No Outside
Help 10 Meet Emergency.

Baltimore. Md, Feb. 1O.-Am,d
ruins still hot and smoking, Balti-
more has begun its resurrection With
the dawn of a clear winter day. whose
brightness was in itself an inspiration.
the apathy of Monday gave way to en-
ergy. and from the governor OF the
state to the least private citizen the
people of the distressed city reused
themselves to meet the appalling con-
ditions that confront them.
Needs No Outside Help.
II was a day of conferences The
governor. the mayor and various mu-
niepal officers met and threshed out
the problems that are theirs by virtue
OF public Office. From this conference
came decision 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 machinery for an
advisory legislative committee to act In
conjunction with the legislature.
Every Pass Revoked.
The military officials had unusual
problems to decide, and solved them
In a military manner, for Tuesday
night every pass that has been issued
giving entrance to the fire lines was
revoked. No civilian may pass the
Gordon of citizen soldiers which, after
~ hours of continuous duty. Tuesday
night stretches around the fre-swept
district. where lie safes and vaults
containing untold treasure.
With equal promptness the cham
Der of commerce held a general meet
ing, and issued formal announce
ment that reflected the prevailing
hopefulness. declaring there are al
ready evidences of recuperation that all
are encouraged in the hope of the
early restoration Of every branch of
trade"
Great Demand For Labor.
The stock exchange members met
and decided to rebuild as soon as pos
sible. The same story can be told of
practically every commercial body.
while on every hand is evidence of pri-
vate effort toward rehabilitation Old
buildings, long unused, private resi-
dences near the business section; in
fact every available structure bears
crudely-lettered signs on board or
cloth announcing that within is the
temporary Office of a firm. The name
on some OF these signs are those that
rank high in the financial and COM
mercial circles OF the world, and in
those temporary offices men who fer
years have known only mahogany
desks. work on deal tables and plain
boards. Labor is in demand, and the
newspapers already contain display
advertisements for men to begin the
work of clearing the ruins.
CatnsthrOphy of Century.
All things considered, the public
stock taking that engrosses the busi-
ness world Of Baltimore Tuesday was
satisfactory. But this did not mean
that the great fire was a lesser calam-
ity that had been pictured in these
dispatches. Words that have been hur-
ried over telegraph wires, restored by
almost superhuman energy to meet the
waiting worlds demand for news, has
this catastrophe Of a century. The
bald fact is that lao acres of business
building, representing property to the
approximate value of S125000, 600, was
destroyed within the journey of a
clocks hand.
Vaults Yield Up Their Treasures.
A great cloud was lifted Tuesday af-
thy N4rI.a AI1
practically all of the vaults and
strong rooms and safes of the financial
concerns whose buildings were de-
stroyed were unhurT. A tremendous
loss in securities had been anticipated
there, and when vault after vault yield
ed up its treasures unharmed, the joy
of the guardians was boundless.
From one trust company's safe alone
papers TO the amount of more than
5000 900, 900 was recovered. The news
cheered the whole city and encour-
aged immediate and thorough investi-
CATION. Merchants and their assist
ants, smoke-Soiled and begrimed and
hollow-eyed from anxiety and loss Of
sleep. worked Ike laborers il the
smoking ruins 20 uncover their safes.
and in nearly every instance they were
rewarded by intact contents.
Loss Is Placed MT si25.O0O,O0o; In
Baltimore. Md, Feb. 10.-As yet no
figures on loss and insurance that can
be regarded us official are obtainable.
Careful cancasses OF insurance ex-
perts, builders and business men place
the loss in round figures at SIPS, 100000.
and the insprauee at from eighty mil
lions to ninety millions