The champion. (Arcadia, Fla.) 1895-1911, 1906-04-26

Another very gne building, which
cost over 100000. is the splendid no
tel erected by Mrs. Herman Oelrichs
on fashionable Mob hill. Mrs. Oelrlchs,
who is a daughter of the late Senator
Fair, has shown fine taste In the ar
chltectural plans of Falrmont, the ap-
prOprlate name of the new hotel. Seen
from the bay this structure. with It's
classic outlines, makes the beholder
think Of q Greek temple. White aud
graceful, 1t looms above the busy mar.
ket places, the great wholesale district,
the crowded business section and pic
turesque Chinatown, which, by the
way is fast disappearing owing to the
encroachments of commerce and the
dwlndl,ng Of the Chinese population.
Other imposing edl6ces, many Of
which have been more or less severely
injured, are the Hotel ST. Francis the
Palace hotel, the Hall Of Justice. the
Mutual Bank building, the Pacific HG.
tual Life building and the Callaghan
building. The greatest property dam.
age resulted In the manufacturing dis
trlct and the greatest loss Of life In
the tenement house district.
The chief street Of the city is Mar.
ket, running dlagOnally for many miles.
The destruction Of many Of the depart
ment stores and other business blocks
on Market and Mission streets was al
most complete, Fire added to the hor-
rors Of the situation and, as the water
mains had been burst by the shock,
the fire department was helpless, The
flames ate their way along Market
street, and other fires started In differ
ent parts of the city.
AS the earthquake occurred but
little after o'clock in the morning,
practically the entire population was In
bed Men and women rushed wildly
forth In their night robes and fed in
panic through the streets. Many were
caught by the falling roofs and walls, !
and In the poorer districts the tene-
ments collapsed like eggshels crush !
ing and suffocatlng their inmates be- |
fore they had time to escape. In many
cases fire finished the work of death, !
catching the victims as they were
pinned still alive under the debris.
To arrest the spread Of the fire along
Market street many buildings were
dynamlted.
The track OF one railroad was de-
pressed four feet or more for a dis |
lance Of three miles. At one point in 4
the city the earth cracked open for a
distance Of six feet, leaving yawnlng
chasm Of fathomless depth.
The destruction Of all telegraph wires,
except one belonging to the Postal
union, made II almost impossible for
the stricken city to communicate with
the outside world. The severe injury
to the Western Union and Postal Of
fees, also the Associated Press, greatly
added to the difficulty.
The practical destruction Of six or
eight blocks, coupled with the immense
loss Of life and damage to property
San Francisco and the en-.
tire coast region, makes this the worst
disaster In American his
tory, exceeding even the historic
Charleston earthquake OF a few years
ago
San Francisco has. suffered from
many slight seismic shocks, one of
them occurring about a year ago. At
hat time a long article appeared in
'ne Of the papers. signed by pro
lessor In one Of the observatories near
~ stating that there was no partic
liar danger from these tremors of the
'arth's surface, The cOast region, ac-
'ording to this writer, was newer than
'arts Of the country farther east and
vas therefore settling. He said PEG
Ne should feel no alarm, as nothing
erlous was liable to happen.
Evidently the earth's crust in the
iolden Gate region has been doing
ONE more settling"
The most severe earthquake San
francisco has known prior to the pres.
Mt one was In 1868 Quite a little
amage resulted, though nothing re.
loteiy comparable to this. II was the
SVe shakeup that was made lannon's
y marx Twain The most surprising