, 1906-05-01
SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPERS
AMONG WORST SUFFERERS
FROM EARTHQUAKE AND
FIRE IN THAT CITY.
Not One but Lost Its Building and viii
Require Weeks to Assemble Plants
for Observation-Disclosures Busy
Saving Their Families-Telegraph
Operators Called Upon to Do Hard
Service on Account of Fire,

Oakland, Cal, May mo calamity
in history worked such Generalization
to newspapers as did the San Fran
cisco disaster. Not n of the great
papers of the Golden state metropolis
but was completely wrecked. The
earthquake happened at a time in the
morning when the reporters and en-
ployes of the mechanical departments,
excepting the press rooms, were off
duty and at their homes. The disaster
seized all with one desire, and that
was to save their families and such
parts of their property as could be
carried from the wreckage. When
this had been done it was found that
the newspaper buildings had been de-
stroyed, and there was no place to re-
port for duty.
Heroic Task to Reorganize.
1t was a heroic task to r~eorganiZe
these fragments, and one of the chief
workers in this effort at reorganization
was Charles ALT Williams, who until a
year ago was managing editor of the
Salt Lake Tribune. Mr.. Williams is
night city editor on the San Francisco
Examiner. Up to Saturday night he
had succeeded in bringing together
about a score of reporters nj editors,
and these were housed in tempo
|rary headquarters in Oakland, endeav-
oring to get out a paper with the as
~sistance of the Oakland Tribune.
All Suffered Alike.
Other newspaper men of San Fran
cisco had similar experiences. There
never was a time when a disaster COM
pletely wiped out every newspaper
plant. The rule has been hat some
have gone u%nscathed, and the suffering
papers have been extended aid by their
contemporaries who had been more
fortunate Not so in San Francisco.
All suffered alike.
Many Weeks to Equip Plant.
1t will be a long time before any of
the San Francisco papers will be run
ming normal. 1t requires many weeks
to equip a great newspaper. 1t will
require many weeks to ~reorganize the
scattered forces so as to enable the
publishers to attain anywhere near
luelT lOrlneT pelleCtlon VI ueMopdpSi
making.
Photographers Like Others.
One reason why the telegraph COM
panies were unable to make proper re
ports of the disaster and to handle the
thousands of incoming messages was
the fact that the operators, like the
newspaper men, were busily engaged
in looking after their families and Sc
curing temporary quarters for them.
They could not be rounded up for duty.
Heroes at the Key.
Those who were on duty we're
worked like slaves. Their shifts were
almost endless, and many of these
faithful operators actually fell exhaust
ed at their posts of duty. They realized
the awfulness of the calamity and the
anxiety of the people for information
as to the whereabouts of friends, and
toiled away hour after hour in an en-
deavor to relieve the ~congested con-
ditions of the already overworked sta
lions.
Long Lines of People.
The long lines of persons trying to
obtain admission into the rev tele-
graph Offices that were in operation
told the story of worldwide anxiety
that impressed everyone who gave
thought to it. 1t required vigorous
methods at times in order to restrain
those who frantically sought for in.
formation from friends or endeavored
to file messages calling for relief from
their temporary embarrassments.
Newsboys Not Stampeded.
The only class that seemed not to
have stampeded vas the newsboys,
They were present everywhere, and
while thousands of these little fellows
must have fairly coined" money,
many of them would call out their pa.
per and say, "If you're broke it don't
cost you a cent" This generosity on
the part of those boys was appreciated
by many who deserved these small
acts of charity at their hands, for there
were thousands of well dressed men
and women without a cent in their
| DopEatS