Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-24
ANOTHER SHARP SHOCK
FELT IN SAN FRANCISCO LAST
NIGHT-HEAvY RAINFALL.

A sharp earthquake shock was felt at
1898 O'Clock last night In San Francisco
It lasted about three seconds. and was
from east to west. No damage has been
reported.
AT Oakland the shock was also quite per-
ceptibie. No damage resulted.
San Francisco was a hopeless. desrairing,
miserable mass of stricken humanity last
night. Rain came and the binding tor
rents poured down on the unprotected refu-
gees in the unsheltered camps and dispelied
the buoyancy and hope which marked Sun
day. Sitting duly beneath the dripping
tents, choking from the heavy smoke OF the
tiny smudges, breathing the damp and reek-
ing air, utterly disconsolate and disheart-
ened, thousands spent the night and day of
understandable horror and privation.
Carefully nurtured women laid on the
soaking ground In pools Of water and the
suffering among the injured and Ill In the
hospitals is intense. Water is everywhere
All are clothed In dripping garments with
no hope of change. Colds and pneumonia
are making their appearance, and the dread
specter of disease. which 1t was believed
had been warded off, Is growing. Had this
rain come three days ago 1t would nave
been Godsend. Now 1t is almost ca
lamity.
The sanitation problem has become an
water has soaked into the earth where the
refuse has been buried. The streets ana
hillsides are covered with ill-smeiiing waste
and vile odors fill the city Frantic eHor.s
are being made to cope WITH inns eieit
problem but it Is feared that with the pri-
yation added to the fearful conditions
which now prevail disease will gain root
hold which cannot soon be overcome
But while the city lies in its stupor anu
its misery the work of relief goes praVeiy
~, E,oo5 ;S plentiful and ffty-two distriD-
uting stations have been established. Wiz
the stricken are constantly pelns supp, ,,tsa
The authorities are working 10 proFiue
drains and a sewage system ana bushi9 e.
men are planning to rebuild. In the eits
proper the dynamiting OF the tehpit i
structures continues ceaseIessI!' ine o. ca
sent many walls crashing to the earth ana
soldiers patrol the danger dlslrlcls' alio"
ing none to enter them.
Fears of Pneumonia.
The rain. with all its attendant discoih-
forts, has really caused more utter misery
than the devastating flames. No one VINO
has not experienced the heavy downpours
of the coast can realize the agonies SUI
fered by the thousands of refugees quar-
tered in the great camps Water is every
where and where but day ago drops
were sought eagerly by parched throats,
the outpouring of the heavens has caused
intense helplessness 80
out thought of self. Volunteers, btistereo
and burned. grimy and bedragg.ed, rushea
into the fearful heat of the flaming zone
and worked for hours without complaint.
But with the rain all has become changed:
Where there was superhuman effort and
uerve-racking energy, desoiation ana &c
spair have come. All the camps are IN
pools of water. The roads are muddy ana
slippery Horses stumble and the my
clad hosts SILVER disconsolately. Tents are
dripping with moisture and the drops inter
through and flood the floors. Clothes are
sticky and moist. fires are smudgy ana
close, the air is damp and heavy.
The utter abandon has given way to a
duh stupor Men and women sit crowded
about the tiny fires in their tents. cough
ing and choking from the heavy smoke
Nervous energy has disappeared and all
are disgruntled.
The rain has brought with 1t colds ana
pneumonia. The people are but lily forth
lied against disease Worn out by the ter
rifying. experience and continuous effort
they have passed through, weakened by
hunger and exposure, many have fallen
victims to the misery of colds. While the
sun shone In all it's warmth and brightness
they had hope and determination. but the
rack of the chill and the heavy, damp air
have brought them into condition where
all are dull and sodden.