Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-10
BRAVO! BALTIMORE
|Governor, Mayor and Officials
 Face the Situation.
WILL ASK FOR NO OUTSIDE HELP


 City wfIl Rely on own Resources and
 Those of state--Feeling of Conn- dence and HopefuInesa Pre-
 vails-vauIt Treasures safe.
 BALTIMORE, Feb. 10.--with nearly square mile of ruins still hot and smoking Baltimore has begun its res. urreetion.
 With the dawn of clear winter day whose brightness was in itself an in Fpiration, apathy gave way to the en- srgy of aroused effort, and from the governor of the state to the least pri- Eata citizen the people of this dis kressed city pulled themselves togeth- er to meet the appalling conditions hat confront tLem.
 It. was a day of conferences. The Governor. the mayor and various mu- hicipal officials met and thrashed out 4he problems that are theirs by virtue bf public office. From this conference sanae a decision that Baltimore for the present needs no outside help, but will kndeavor with her own resources and those of the state to meet the emer- gency. At this conference also was Developed the machinery for an ad- Risory legislative commission to act in eoniunction with the legislature. The military officials also had un- usual problems to decide and solved them in a military manner, for every pass that has been issued giving en- France to the ire lines was revoked No civilian may pass the cordon of cit zen soldiery which after forty-eight hours of continuous duty stretches Around the fire swept desert where lie kafes and vaults containing untold treasure. These were the chief events Rf governmental character.
 With equal promptness the chamber bf commerce \held a general meeting bnd issued formal announcement hat reflected the prevailing hopeful hess, declaring 'tthere are already such evidences of recuperation that encour- ge all in the hope of the early restora- ion of every branch of trade"
 The Stock Exchange members, keyed #o the same pitch of energy, met and Decided to rebuild as soon as possible. The same story can be told of prac- ically every commercial body, while Pn every hand is evidence Of private bMort toward rehabilitation.
 * Old buildings long unused, private tesidences near the business section n fact, every available structure--bear krudely lettered signs on board or Eloth announcing that within is the Temporary office of firm. The names bn some of these signs are those that tank high in the financial and com- nercial circles of the world, and in these temporary offices men who for years have known only mahogany besks work on deal tables and plain boards.
 Labor is in demand, and the news papers already contain display adver- isements for men to begin the work bf clearing the ruins.
 $ All things considered, the public stock taking that engrossed the busi- hess world of Baltimore was satis- Factory. But this does not mean that he great fire was a lesser calamity than has been pictured in these dis. patches. The words that have hurried bver telegraph wires, restored by al- nost superhuman energy to meet a waiting worlds demand for news, have given but an inadequate concep- Rion of this catastrophe of a century. rhe bold fact is that 40 acres of busi- hess buildings. representing property 10 the approximate value of $I25, ,oOO,- Boo, was destroyed within the journey bf clocks hand. History is marked Ny few calamities so vast and so cost N in actual values, but with the pass Eng of the first great shock and pros ration the brighter side is coming up- bermogt,1 and realization of what Baltimore escaped is dawning.
 A great cloud was lifted when it was
 Discovered that practically all of the
 aults and strong rooms and safes of he financial concerns whose buildings vere destroyed are unhurt, A tremen-
 ous loss in securities had been antici-
 ated here, and when vault after vault
 ielded lip its treasures unharmed the by of the guardians was boundless.
 From one trust company's safes
 lone papers to the amount of more 8han $200, 900, 900 were recovered. The meW& cneefed Tn0 Wnol0 clLy anu eu- ouraged immediate and thorough ill.,
 egtigation. Merchants and their as- istants, smoke soiled and begrimed nd hollow eyed from anxiety and loss Mi sleep, worked like Iaborers in the
 moking ruins to uncover their safes,
 nd in nearly every instance they were Rewarded bysintact contents. Another Surprise was the discovery that three Financial concerns whose homes were iirectly in the fiercest sweep of the Flames were practically unharmed. <rhese were the Continental Trust com bany, Brown Bros bank and ths Mer. &.antile Trust company. No one ven- &ures to offer an explanation Of the TO. aaxkahls egeaQa aaQ6 thaEaA nDildings iH