The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-10-07

The scarcity Of skilled and unskilled
labor is the chief drawback To rapid
construction. Wages are exorbitantly
high, but this II tho fault Of contrac-
tors and proprietors rather than Of the
labor unions. The plumbers and sta.
tionary engineers thought they saw q
chance 70 get rich quick and raised
their scale, but were not sustained by
tho labor council, which In IN ANAL
gamation Of all the unions, and The
old wages were restored. But the own
ers of buildings which were nearing
completion at the time Of the disas.
ter are fcverish In their anxiety to
complete their buildings and obtain
famine rentals and their tactics In
raising the wages Of workingmen have
caused labor prices 10 soar. On this
emergency work, plasterers are getting
40 10 sll u day; bricklayers $40 a
day, carpenters, s7 and o.; stone ma
sons, ~ TO $40, and other skilled labor
In proportion. San francisco Ii d para
disc for d workingfnan
Need Ia for Laborers.
unskillcd labor Is hard 10 find. The
city needs 10000 skilled men and
could employ 10000 unskilled Iaborers
Some of the shrcwder unskilled men
have dubbed together and formed H.,
lie companies Of their own. They take
d contract TO remove debris for price
and perform the work during the noon
hour and in tho night. As unskilled
labor is getting " day, these willing
workers who put IN extra time are get
ting more money than they ever saw
before. Tn much Of the burned district
work IL carried on by electric light.
There II some complaint that the
construction Of big steel and concrete
balIdings Ia not rapid II Is true that
few such buildings have been started
since the earthquake. But there are
excellent reasons for It. Only five
months have elapsed. The ashes were
hot for weeks after the fire. The In.
snrance companies, fearing bankruptcy
forbade the removal Of debris on the
ground that the salvage question must
be settled first. Some Of the intending
builders may have decided to wait un-
I'll the mergency prices paid by other
proprietors and contractos had been re-
duced. The chief explanation, howev-
er. is the simple fact that five months
Is a short time in which a firm can
rcorganize its plans, remove debris, plan
a new building, make It's financial ar
rangements. and begin construction. On
the whole, the progress that has been
made 10 nothing short Of marvellous.
No Doubt Of the Future.
will San Francisco ever be rebniltf
IA the question asked by people in the
East. The answer Is that San Fran
cisco is now being rebuilt. It is not
a question OF the distant future. The
process Is visible to the naked eye.
Every steel building that was under
construction at the time OF the dis
aster Ia being rushed to completion.
Other buildings have been contracted
for, and with the removal of debris and
the arrival Of materials the work will
proceed. Nothing could be more alb
surd than to doubt the recovery OF
San Francisco from its great misfor-
tune, in the face Of the work that Is
actually In progress. The contract for
the reconstruction OF the Palace Hotel
on its old site, on grander scale than
ever, has been let. The st. Francis IS
now completing It's great steel annex.
Business houses are arranging to build
newer and stronger structures than
those which succumbed to the confia'
grafton Of April 1921. The city will
not be rebuilt in a day, or a year, but
1t will 60 up with remarkable quick
ness.
The municipality Is not governed as
il should be. There II laxity Of man
acement and constant charges Of graft
The city hall hes just as it emerged
from the disaster, without girder re-
moved or a brick piled up. The side
walks through the burned district are
not cleared, although the city govern
ment has ample power to force recon
struction. The streets are unswept and
unsprinkled. Instead Of leading in the
rehabilitation work, city officials are
wrangling over spoils, putting up po-
litical Jobs and generally proving their
incompetence and mftness. Although
Mayor Schmitz proved equal to the
earthquake and fire, he does not rise
70 the occasion in these days Of re-
construction. Private enterprise is i'm
measureably ahead of municipal ac'
tion.
4 Talk of a City Beautiful.
There has been much talk Of "city
beautiful" with winding avenues about
the hills, broad boui.saEaass, park ex-
tensions, and so on. 1t was thought
that with the buildings leveled to
the ground, the opportunity was open
for the construction OF a model mod
ern city, uniting utility and beauty to
laorae neyar vet approached in