The National tribune., 1906-04-26


There are no words. there can be no
philosophy, no sermon, for the almost
unreasonable disaster which has be-
fallen San Francisco. For almost every
other great calamity that can bcfall
mankind there Is some explanation,
some reason, some moral. There is
absolutely none for this catastrophe.
Human intelligence could not have
foreseen it. human wisdom could not
have guarded against it. 1t Is SO far
beyond all mortal ken as to belong to
the supernatural. In q few minutes
time great city, built with all the re-
sources of skill and knowledge. was
started to irretrievable destruction, a
large portion of its wealth destroyed,
hundreds of thousands rendered home
LEGS. the product of innumerable years
of toll destroyed and hundreds of lives
lost. 1t is Gods mercy alone that the
loss of life did not reach the tens of
thousands. instead OF few hundred.
1t is the greatest single calamity in
all our history. The nearest approx
nation to it is the great Chicago fire of
1870. AT that time Chicago had Il
population of about 100000. where San
Francisco must have had 100000. This
is without taking into account the de-
struction in towns outside of the city.
In the Chicago fire 10000 people were
rendered homeless, and about half Of
the area of the city was burned oyer.
In Chicago the people had the open
country to fly to. while San Francisco
is surrounded on three sides by water,
with q barren country on the fourth
side and all access to the city by rail
and otherwise interrupted by the wide
San Francisco Bay. AT this writing it
seems possible that fully 100000 peo-
pie in San Francisco are without homes.
Fortunately, ii Is in the mild. pleasant
SprinGtimc. and people can be sheltered
in tents and ickly-constructed shan
ties. The loss of property in Chicago
was figured at $190,0O0,090. 1t is too
early to get even an approximation OF
the loss iii San Francisco, but il will he
at least $500, 900. 900, and probably may
reach 100000, 900. The actual loss of
life i'll Chicago was about zoo The
present figures for San Francisco are
500, but it is likely that these will reach
or pass I.0a9. There were thousands of
Cinnamon living in excavations far
down into the ground who were buried
by the commissions. and the number of
these never will be known.
Before this awful horror the whole
world stands aghast. While Mount Pc
Ice was measureless calamity, in which
probably 10000 people lost their lives,
they were-mOre Is the pity-peopie of
whom we knew nothing and had little
communication with the great world.
On the other hand, San Francisco is
one of the worlds great cities. CEN
ter Of all manner Of human activities,
the greatest port between Asia and the
United States. crowded with magnifi-
cent buildings. great monuments of in
dustrial activity. works Of art and other
things that the human mind holds I'm
the highest esteem. While 1t is an
overwhelming misfortune to the people
OF San Francisco. a million nerves Of
connections and interest send thrills of
acute pain to every part OF the civilized
world. There Is hardly q city or COM
munity in Europe or America that has
not more or less intimate connection
with San Francisco. It is thoroughly
cosmopolitan city. Active, enterprising
men from all other places have gone to
San Francisco and are numbered among
its Inhabitants. They have left friends
and relatives who are deeply interested
in all that concerns them. Therefore
we have seen a worldwide outpouring
of sympathy. interest and help which
demonstrates that it was a world calam-
ity to an extent never reached in his
tory