The Somerset reporter., 1906-04-26

1t Is desired 'DeftIOft tHdl fOulflbO-
tons be continued everywhere until
the people who have been rendered
helpless and destitute by the clty's mis-
fortune can care for themselves
Must Cook on Sidewalks
The water situation, while causing
Inconvenience to the people, Is no longer
such a problem. About two-thlrds Of
the section of the city hot burned IS
being supplied with sufficient water for
The pressing domestic needs, but, Of
course, there is not yet enough to be
had for frehghting purposes. Be
cause of this fact the most stringent or
ders have been issued by the military
and civil authorities that no fires shall
be built within any house and no lights,
not even candle, can be shown at
night in the houses. All cooking for
! the present must be done on the side
walks or in the streets and in daylight.
i light.
One of the noteworthy features Of the
! situation Is the remarkable promptness
with which the work of Systematically
caring for the homeless has been thor
oughly organized and put into operation.
| Mayor Schmitz and General Funston
are working in perfect accord. The
system put into force by the mayor and
! Funston is working order out OF confu-
/ sion and the city is as orderly as be-
/ fore the fire
] Contributions continue TO be made
from every part Of the United States.
/ The finance committee is considering
some plan for the use Of the large sum
of money which will soon be available
for the relief Of the sufferers.
j Five Hundred Dead Bodies
The total number Of bodies recov-
cred and buried up to Sunday night is
500. No complete record can be had al
this time, as many bodies have been
buried without permits from the cor
oner and the board Of health The
searchers of the coroners and the board
of health departments found not more
than 20 bodies yesterday They were
buried Immediately.
II is impossible at the present time
TO obtain any sort Of death list or even
to make reliable estimate of the num-
ber of casualties. Whenever n body is
found 1t is buried Immediately without
any formality whatever. and these
j burials have been made at widely sep
arated parts of the city by different
bodies of searchers who do not even
make a prompt report to headquarters.
Consderabl confusion has resulted in
estimating the number of casualties
and exaggerated reports have resulted.
Stork a Frequent Visitor
The health of the scores of thousands
camped in the open air is. under the
circumstances remarkably good There
have been, of course several cases OF
pneumonia. and colds are common, but
thre is nothing like an epidemic of
pulmonary troubles. The board of
health reports few contagious diseases.
For the treatment of those cases hos
pitals have been provided. An inter
estlng item from the Golden Gate dis
trct yesterday was the report of the
birth of Is babies. These eases have
received prompt and efficient attention
and the mothers and children removed
to the various maternity hospitals.
+ Vigorous measures are being taken by
the board of health and the board of
public works to improve the sanitary
conditions throughout the city. Eight
temporary structures, $50 feet in length
j by % feet wide and 13 feet high. have
been erected al Golden Gate park and
i in them thousands found reasonably
/ comfortable shelter last night and more
Of these buildings will be ready tonight
j The buildings have been divided into
compartments large enough to house
family Those without tent shelter re-
ceived first consideration in the selec-
tion of occupants for these temporary
buildings
Sanitary Conditions improving
The board of health reports a very
encouraging health condition. consider
! ing the circumstances. Sickness is
constantly on the decrease. There are
very few contagious diseases and these
are being attended at Deer Lodge in
/ Golden Gate park. Sanitary conditions
in the residence districts are being i'm
proved.
A large corps of volunteers has
started at work removing all kinds OF
garbage to the curbs. Wagons are be
ing pressed into service and the garbage
removed to the burned districts, where
it will be destroyed. Cesspools are be
ing dug Most of the sickness is among
the people who are living out Of doors.
Fire Area OF TWenty-Six Miles
The Associated Press representatives
yesterday covered the entire area of the
burned section The circumference of
the area of the great contiagration, as
near as could be ascertained by the
marking of Il cyclometer. is 20 miles.
and comprises the entire business dis
trict and a large section of the residence
district. all Of which was densely popu-
lated
1t is estimated by competent insur-
ance authorities that the loss will ag
gregate $500 100000. and ON this vast
amount of property the insurance com
panies carried approximately $175, ,000,
600 insurance.
Wedding Ceremonies Hestened
Many weddings have resulted from
the recent disaster. Women driven out OF
their homes and left destitute have ap-
pealed to the men to whom they were
engaged. and Immediately marriages
have been effected. Yesterday morn
ing seven marriage licenses were issued
D.,