Amador ledger., 1906-05-11
Washington
Letter.
(From Our Regular Correspondent. }

Washington D. g., April 28. 1906.
Secretary Metcalf's first report to
the president on the situation in San
francisco seems to be an eminently
sane and conservative statement of
the situation. Like the most official
accounts of great disasters, it reduces
the first excessive estimate of the
death roll. But it says that it is ins
possible to overstate the material loss
involved. Secretary Metcalt in his
report to the president says that he
has finished the inspection of the
entire burned district and that while
it Will never he possible to tell ex-
actly the number of dead, as many
of the bodies were destroyed in the
ruins, he thinks 800 will cover the
number. There are about l, 200 injur-
ed IN the hospitals of the city, but OF
these there are only few who are
seriously hurt. The administration
of the city, he says is excellent,
everything considered, and the police,
the militia and the regulars have
worked we'll together. He gives full
credit to Gen. Greeley and Gen.
Funston for the excellent work they
have done, and says that but for Gen.
Funston's prompt and energetic
measures, the catastrophe would have
been infinitely worse.
The officials of the treasury depart
ment have not yet ceased their ex-
pressions of surprise and admiration
at the saving of the San Francisco
Mint with its $500, 900, 600 of treasure.
1t is said that but for this the situa-
tion would have been much worse and
more complicated from a financial
| standpoint than 1t is. But for the
coin that was saved with the Mint
building, it would have been i'm
possible for the secretary OF treasury y
to have transferred S15, 0O0, 600, as he
did, to the city to permit the demol-
ished banks to resume operations.
The salvation of the Mint is attri-
buted to the presence of the two big
artesian wells that give the building
an independent water supply. This
supply. was the only reliance when
the mains of the city were broken.
1t raises the question whether it
might not be a good investment for
many large and particularly valuable
buildings to have their own water
supply in a similar way against a
similar catastrophe. 1t is of course
unlikely that another earthquake will
speedily wipe out any other great
city, but sudden accident to the
city mains with its resultant danger
of dreadful fire is thing to which
any American city might be liable at
any moment.
The question of the presidential
nomination has been put squarely uE
to the speaker of the house, and he
side-stepped with a neatness that is
quite characteristic. One of his home
papers came out with a boom for MI
Cannon for the presidency. He was
shown the dispatch and at first refus
ed to discuss it. But it was pointed
out that such an announcement wa;
more or less of an official declaration
and a thing that it was eminently
proper to discuss. Thus appealed tc
the speaker said that it was rather
foolish to talk about declin ing {
thing that had not been offered tt
you, that so far as he knew there
the presidential nomination by one
of the two great parties, and who haC
declined it. But so far as he was con
cerned, he added, be would a goo(
deal rather be speaker than president
that there was a lot OF importan
legislation to be framed and he woult
like a hand in framing it. He hat
not been bothered with the presi
Dental bee and did not expect to be
and there he broke oft the discussion
Now can anyone tell whether that
denial or confirmation of tn
presidential rumor?
A considerable step in the direction
of election reform was made this wee
when the full committee authorize
3 favorable report to the senate c
senator Tillman's election bill. Th
D report was made by senator Foraker
$ and the only amendments to the biI
, have been with a view to strengthen
Z ing and broadening 1t. The Tillma