Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-04-27
THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE,
Beautiful San Francisco But a Memory
Property Loss About 100000, 900
1T is impossible to Approximate Loss
ofllfe, but 1t Is not as heavy as at
First Rep0rted.

Properly LOSS ABDUL $ouu,uUU,UUU
1T is impossible to Approximate Loss
oflIfe, but 1t Is not as heavy as at
First Reported
San Francisco is virtually obliterat.
ed, and those not acquainted with the
city cannot comprehend the desolatlpg
extent of the conf Agrati0n' s ravages.
1t is said that were u ire to start at the
Battery, sweep up Broadwa'. burnlng
everything on Manhattan Island, on
either side of ths Bronx, leaving only
Morningside H eights and patch of
residences here and there, that would
be a disaster to New Y ork comparable
to the calamity which has wiped out
San Francisco. Iu word, the city
has disappeared and only its smoking
site remains Many other places in
California suffered severely from IL Q
earthquake.
Tho fire which threatened the total
destruction of San Francisco has bee n
gotten under the control, and one
quarter of the city lying west OF Frank
lin street and .nOrthward to the
Presidio was thought to be safe. A
gale from tho southwest set in later,
and the fire started afresh in the
northwest. Fire was also raging
around Oakland ferry house. Tugs
were trying to keep fire away from the
wharves. but the result looked dubious
quarters of the improvements
on real estate are gone. The only
buildings of Importance to escape are
certain fine residences along Pacific
Heights. The rest of the standing
buildings are in the scattered suburbs.
Fear of famine alone prevents the
city taking on an air of hope. Water
~ we'll az food is scarce in many of the
parks where the people have taken re-
fugs.
Food supplies in Oakland and other
suburbs are nearly exhausted. Wheth-
or they will hold out until enough re,
lief arrives 10 grave question. Fur
thermors, the problem of distributing
tho relief to the scattered sufferers is
yet unsolved.
The restitution and suffering among
the refugees 10 indsscribable.
Fearing pestilsnce from the number
| of bodies which had been exposed to
the elements suce Tuesday, Gen. Funs
| ton ordered them all buried. So far
as the bodies have been found this has
been done. Civilians were compelled,
in some cases at the point OF soldiers
guns, do the work OF burial
| Now that the terrible c0bti agratiOn
il under control the destitute homeless
people face another grave danger. An
epidemic, and, worse than all. an out
break OF the dread bubonic plague is
feared.
While there have been no official re-
ports of plague for several years, China.
town with its crowded thousands. con
SANITY augmented by new arrivals.
has always been open to suspicion OIL
harboring the dreaded pestilencer
When the plague was almost spidem.
ic in 1900, 1901 and 1902 the local news
papers agreed among themselves &c
| publish no news of it, SO the outside
world was kept in ignorance of its exis
tsnce, despite the fact that the city
health board 9 statistics were open to
all. The air is tainted with the effiuvis
from dead bodies. Millions of rats
which are supposed to be the chief
carriers OF the pestilence, driven from
the foul rookeries of the Chinese quar-
ter and the ''Barbary Coast have
scattered far and wide.
The lowest class of Chinese-thOse
who, living in cellars, inclosed opium
dsns and similar psstilence breeding
nests. seldom ever see the light Of day
are herded with the whites in the
parks and on the benches, sleeping
shoulder to shoulder with them; drink.
| ing from tho same pools. seeking their
food from the same source of supply.
The most ordinary decsncies of sani
tation are A. yet impossible. Should
| q single Chinaman affiicted with the
disease be herded among the refugees
there 10 every likelihood Of his impart
ing the malady to them.
Oucs started among the great open
camps, there would be nothing to
check the pestilencs and everything to
aid its spread. Every effort. however.
il being put forth for sanitary meas
ures that will help to prevent disease.
Eleven postal clerks, all alive, were
taken from tho debris of the San Fran
cisco postoffice.
All at first were thought to be dead,
but 1t was found that, although they
were buried in the stone, every one
was alive. They had been for three
days without food and water. All the
mail In the postoffice was saved.
Fourteen men were killed Thursday
night by soldiers guarding the Mint,
and Policeman Joseph NJ. Myers was
bayonetsd and killed by a National
Guard man over dispute as to author
ity.
Ii lad q t,0 irlt