The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-05-02

DANGER IN
MADE: LAND
Henry c. Highton on
the San Francisco
Disaster.

Editor Advertiser: From all the
news so far received, if analytically
| read, it seems to me that it would be
| a very moderate estimate to divide the
| damage to San Francisco, including the
| loss of life, into twenty parts and at
tribute one part directly to the earth
| quake and nineteen parts to the exist
ence of the made ground, roughly
| speaking, between Telegraph Hill and
| Folsom street in length and in width
back to the irregular water line that,
| in places, touched Montgomery street.
Jacob P. Leese s embarcadero, accord
ing to my recollection, was originally
| near the intersection of Clay and Mont
gomery streets. In 1850, probably in
the fall of 1S49, P NJ. Scooffy's whole
sale auction house and James Phelan s
wholesale liquor house were on the east
side of Montgomery street, between
goods were delivered to them from
lighters, as | remember the fact, at the
rear of the buildings they occupied.
There were other business places in
the same location.
Fifty years ago, in 1856, I wrote
against the filing in, then, however, to
a considerable extent accomplished, on
the grounds that there was abundant
space for con mercial metropolis on
the solid earth and rock, that the filed
up lots were insufficient foundations for
business structures, and that nature
had established a waterfront that, at a
moderate expenditure, could be rem
dered solid and permanent. 1t is per-
haps in order to say that, at the same
time, and on many subsequent occa-
sions, / took the liberty of protesting
against the rectangular system of
streets and against any plan of sewer
age that conformed to that system and
ignored the water unit as it existed in
the beds of creeks and ravines. 1 was
There were many others
who entertained the same views.
Among them I remember P. H. Gamma
van, a highly intelligent and educated
merchant, afterwards a supervisor from
the Mission District, who, when the in
side part of San Francisco had been
disfigured and spoiled, labored hard to s
secure the adoption of more correct
ideas in relation to that section of the '
city lying to the west of Sixteenth
street, through which Willow Creek
flowed.
In those early days it was strongly {
insisted that the true plan for the de- {
of a large city on the PENN s
sula was that of broad, winding streets, ]
with low grades, spirally eneircling the i
hills; that the excavation of Telegraph I
Hill was unnecessary and piece of t
that the cupidity of prop
erty owners should be restrained and
yard room and breathing spaces Sc s
cured in all directions, which would v
have made the Chinese quarter impossi- a
BILE; and that complete drainage could t
be obtained, with a proper waterfront
and by following the suggestions of
nature in the construction of main and d
tributary sewers. 0
1t is very probable that the loss of c
human life and the destruction of h
directly caused by the earth e
quake, chiefly occurred in the made h
land district, that it was there the t
water mains were most completely dis d
rupted, and that it was there the de- e
vastating fire originated. The fire that C
started at twelve o'clock on the night n
IF April 18th, at the corner of O'Far- +
-eli and Jones streets, and swept across e
and around the space between the Cal
fornia and Clay street hills and Rus t,
sian Hill on the west, and Telegraph t
Hill on the east, was undoubtedly either D
accidental and such as might have hap t,
,ened at any time or incendiary. 1t
vas in that fire, where a foreign ele- W