Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-05
GRANDER CITY TO RISE
Californians Predict Bright Out
look For San Francisco.
ABANDONMENT IDEA RIDICULED
Men Who Have Faith In the City
Are Ready to Put Millions Into Re-
buflding-W. II. Croker Declares
Worlds Most Beautiful Municipal
fty VIII Rise From the Ruins.

bufidIng-W. II. Croker Declares
Worlds Most Beautiful Municipal
fty VIII Rise From the Ruins.
Bigger buster, better than ever, San
Francisco Will rise from her ashes" IS
the confident prediction OF Californians
resident in New York who have large
interests there, and they recently sup
ported their forecasts by individual as
surances that the earthquake and fire
would not deter them from pouring in
their millions TO help upbuild a new
city, says the New York Herald.
Many men have lost millions" said
ID. o. Mills. whose loss may reach S.
100000. but" he added, with a quiz
zical smile. Il fancy all of them are
not entirely wiped out. Nowhere have
i heard any sentiment except TO bend
all energies to building Il new city as
soon as the needs of the immediate
sufferers from the earthquake and fire
are provided for"
Mr.. Mills had not received any direct
information from San Francisco, and
without details of the extent of his
losses he said he was not in a position
To make definite announcement as to
his plans.
You may say. however" he said,
that the Mills building there will be
rebuilt or remodeled If the walls are
not destroyed. and made stronger and
larger than IL was before the catastro-
phe. One might as well think of aban-
donIng the whole state of California as
TO consider leaving San Francisco in
ire "a
been destroyed there might be some
reason for hesitation in rebuilding it.
but all accounts agree that other points
suffered TO as great or even a greater
extent from the earthquake.
''CalifOrnians are not the sort of men
to despair. Even now. when the shock
of the awful disaster is greatest, they
are turning their eyes to the future.
The city will rise again, better In many
respects for this visitation upon il. 1t
IL the natural metropolis of the Pacific
coast and by virtue of it's natural ad-
vantages never will take second place
to Seattle and other coast towns.
I'VE have had our lesson, and the
new San Francisco will be guarded
against repetition of this visitation.
so that its buildings will be proof
against earthquakes and anything APP
preaching a confiagration will be inn
possible. Besides the regular fresh wa
ter supply there will be-there must
be-a secondary system by which we
can draw upon the sea. To leave the
land TO lie idle would be to pile even
greater losses on those we have already
suffered. Ii is not to he thought OF
any more than the tragedy of aban-
doning the entire state would be seri-
ously considered.
Like Chicago. Galveston. Charleston
and Baltimore, San Francisco will rise
again into greater beauty, and in a
very few years her supremacy on the
coast will again be unquestioned and
unquesdonable. It Is not the spirit Of
California to break under even so ire
mendOus trial as this"
Whatever else the new San Francisco
may be it will lack one of its great at
fractions to tourists. Mr.. Mills and all
other Californians who have declared
their purpose of rebuilding the city at
once agree that there never again will
be such a Chinatown as the city has
been noted for. If the CeleStialS who
choose TO live there congregate again
in a single quarter they will have to
seek location on the outskirts or at
any rate well apart from the business
or residential centers. "Barbary."
where untold crimes have been COM
mitted for years. will become only a
memory, IT is agreed by the men upon
whom must fall the heaviest burden of
restoring the city. Other things may
rise to take the places of Chinatown
and "Barbary." but these at least will
not again be tolerated.
There can be no possible doubt that
San Francisco will rise, Phoenixlike
from the ashes of her ruins" declared
Colonel Dudley Evans, president of the
Wells-Fargo Express company. This
generation Is thoroughly imbued with
the spirit of the pioneers of 40. and it
Is question of only few years be-
fore the city will be greater and grand
er than ever before.
1T Will have the experience and the
mistakes of the past as a guide, and
even If there should be another vista
ton Of an earthquake there would be
little to fear with the provisions that
will be made to meet such a danger.
Some plan must be devised which will
Obviate the necessity of building on the
made land of the wholesale district.
1t has virtually no foundation to sup
port the great buildings which rested
upon it, and 1t seems to me likely that
the merchants will move TO the solid
ground formerly known as Tar fiat,
south of Market street.
Our own most serious loss, in my
opinion, is the magnificent collection
Of relics of the pioneer days of Califor-
MIA. After being exhibited at the
Worlds fair in Chicago and at the
midwinter fair in San Francisco. they
were stored in an attic and must have
been utterly destroyed"
One Of the most significant moves
the other day looking to the rebuilding
of the stricken city was the hurrying