The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1906-05-03

San FRANCISCO, April 1S.-Earth-
quake and fire today have put nearly
half of San Francisco in ruins.
At least 200 people have been killed,
a thousand others injured, and the
property loss may exceed $200,000,000.
Fifty thousand people are homeless
and destitute, and all day long streams
of people have been fleeing from the
stricken districts to places of safety.
1t was 5:15 this morning when ter
rife earthquake shock shook the whole
city ana surrounding country. One
shock apparently lasted two minutes,
and there was almost immediate col
lapse of flimsy structures all over the
city.
The water supply was cut off, and
when fires broke out in various sections
there was nothing to do but to let the
buildings burn.
Telegraph and telephone communica-
tiOn was shut off for time. The
Western Union was put completely out
of business and the Postal company
was the only one that managed to get
a wire out of the city. About 10 'clOck
even the Postal was forced to suspend
in San Francisco.
Electric power was stopped and street
cars did not run. Railroads and ferry
boats also ceased operations.
BUILDINGS DYNAMITED.
The various fires have been raging all
day and the fire department has been
powerless to do anything except to
dynamite the buildings threatened. All
day long explosions have shaken the
city and added to the terror of the in
habitants.
Following the first shock there was
another within five minutes, but not
nearly so severe. Three hours later
there was another slight quake.
Reports from districts outside of San
Francisco indicate widespread damage
San Jose, forty miles south, lost many
buildings, and from fifteen to twenty
people were killed. The annex of the
Vendome Hotel collapsed and fires
broke out.
Stanford University at Palo Alto
suffered.
At Stanford many handsome build
ings wero demolished and two people
were killed. One of them was Junius
Robert Halls of Bradford, Pa, and the
other was Otto Curtis, fireman.
STUDENTS ARE INJURED.
Six other students are lying in the
Palo Alto hospital with bruises, cuts
and internal injuries. These are Ross
d. Howard, of San Francisco; Henry
b. Dearing of Santa Ana, CAL; Frol-
lie, Halbert r. Thomas, of Los Angeles;
Robert w. Westwick, of Santa Bar,
bara, and w. II. Masters, Of Portland,
Ore.
The court house at Redwood City and,
other buildings collapsed.
MenlO park, Burlingame and otherl
fashionable suburban towns suffered.
Santa Rosa, to the north, Napa,'
Vallejo and all towns around the bay
were damaged.
These reports, alarming as they were,
created little interest in San Francisco,
where the people were in a frantic
state. They did not stop to dress, but
rushed out into the streets in their
night garments.
MODERN BUILDINGS STAND.
Today's experience has been a testi-
monial to the modern steel building. A
score of these structures were in course
of erection, and not one of these suffer
ed. The completed modern buildings
were also immune from harm by earth
quake. The buildings that collapsed
were all tilmsy wooden and old-fashion-
ed brick structures.
The damage by earthquake does not
begin to compare with the loss by fire.
The heart of the business section Of
San Francisco has been destroyed by
fire. An area Of thickly covered ground
of eight square miles has been burned