The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-19

Seldom perhaps never in the history of Montgomery. has any calamity af- |fecting another part of the world caus- universal personal interest and sym pathy, as did the news of the San Fran cisco eathquake when 1t reached the city yesterday. The extent of the dis aster. and the awful results of the catastrophe as shown in the early re- ports seemed at first to stun, and after wards to awaken the sympathies of every person in the capta1 city.
 Not since the day when the first re- telegraphed to Montgomery has there been anything like the interest shown by the people generally. The Calves ton horror, and the holocaust in the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago. while arousing the sympathy of all thse who heard. were. neither of them produc- tive of the great wave of feeling which seemed to spread through the entirety of Montgomery's poplatioa. On every side were heard expressions O. horror and astonishment. and these feelings grew as the incredulity aroused by the earlier bulletins gave way to the cer- tainty contained in the fuller telegraph ic despatches of the later afternoon.
 Montgomery did not feel the tEemor Ol tue edTtH. OHtIhe HlOst ol tue E cdt earthquakes of history, the area affect ed by the convulsion seems to have been comparatively limited. But all though the wave of the shifting sub terranean strata did not reach far to the east. the wave of sympathy for the inhabitants of the wretched city which yesterday swept over the entire coun- try, came to this city and was pro- foundly felt by all it's inhabitants. The heart of Montgomery was moved to It's lowest depths by the woe of hu- manity in dire distress.
 It was not alone that there are peo- pie in the city who have friends and relatives in the once proud city of the Golden Gate. There are many persons living in that city who are well known by the people of Montgomery. But the moving force was that of brotherly concern for fellow human beings in suffering. the feeling which makes the whole world akin.
 The only catastrophe which can be compared to that of yesterday in the interest it aroused in this city was the earthquake which wrecked Charleston, August s1, 1SS6 At that time the tre- nor of the earth's surface was felt all over the eastern half of the continent. from Cuba to Canada, and from the Barbadoes to Western Missouri. Iont- gomery, in common with the other cities in the Southern States. felt the earth tremble But on that occasion the to- tai loss of life from various sections affected was less than 100 souls. Yes terday the reports from the stricken city placed estimates on the lives lost at figures ranging all the way from 500 to 5000. and the latest news was not sufficiently reasuring to give hope that one was more correct than an- other.
 The Iroquois fire disaster, while arousing strong sympathy here as 1t did elsewhere, failed to make the strong impression created by yesterdays news. Not even the ill-omened news of Gall veston's tidal wave, when 5000 met sudden death, was productive of the emotion which was felt yesterday. The community was shocked as it has sel- dom been shocked before. It was ave- struck by the enormity of the calamity. The news reached the city early in the morning, only short tims after the occurrence of the catastrophe. The first bulletins were meager. It was stated that a great earthquake had struck the California city, thlt build ings had been wrecked. and that the loss of life had been enormous. Later came bulletins announcing that the city was In flames, and that The people, although fighting bravely. were help less and unable to cope with the fire which was devastating the town.
 As the news spread, people dropped their bushes affairs to seek further information regarding the disaster. On the street corners. around the news paper offices, before the telegraph buildings. large crowds collected. and everywhere the topic of conversation was San Francisco and the fate of the city. In the hotel corridors men were gathered together discussing the later reports. At the dinner tables in the homes of the city. the earthquake formed the subject matter for discus sion. Everywhere 1t was the same Everywhere, the first question asked was What is the fastest news from San Francisco?'
 The telegraph offices received a large