The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-05-22

OUTLOOK Is NOT CONSIDERED
VERY BRIGHT BY FORMER
NEWSPAPER MAN.
(Charles BeSSerer.)


| quake of April 10 has subsidized and
| the spirit of optimism and hope per-
; meates the air, those who lost
| their houses and homes, in
fact lost all, begin to take
new start, but it is trying on the
| newly poor" who never knew pow
erty and want and there are many of
them in San Francisco, but they must
learn to rustic. Much of their val
| liable property was mortgaged for all
the ground was worth and more, too,
and what wasn't mortgaged. has to be
mortgaged now, in order to rebuild.
With all the apparent optimism, there
is still hidden want of trust and con-
fdence. The Pacific coast is regarded
as the lair of earthquakes and hence
capitalists hesitate to invest in costly
structures, for the late catastrophe has
fully demonstrated that there is moth
ing fire proof, far less earthquake
proof Talk about fire proof. You
should have seen the contents of some
of those costly safes, when $40 gold
pieces had melted and looked like
Klondyke nuggets. I saw heavy steel
structures, bent over at the end, like
fish hooks, and massive lindals twisted
like monster serpents. There is really
nothing fire proof. I noticed palatial
mansions on Mob Hill set on fire from
the neighboring mansions fully 800 feet
apart. Such was the heat of that
great San Francisco fire which lasted
four days and nights, and the strang-
est thing of all is that the solid part
of the city burned down to the ground,
while the modern section was spared.
This, of course, was greatly owing to
the change of wind. Fire insurance
companies will have quite task in
adjusting claims, for much property
was destroyed through dynamite and
by the trembler, while most insurance
was against fire only. Then again,
many grocerymen and merchants, when
they saw they could not save their
stock, opened their doors and invited
everybody to help themselves. One
bicycle store gave away all it's wheels,
and some saloons allowed the crowd to
help itself and it did. Others again
had their goods confscated by the au-
thorities, which were afterwards dis
tributed to the destitute, and there
were many.
People in Frisco are still forced to
cook in the streets, for their chimneys,
even in tenentab1e houses, are unsafe
and require an official inspection be-
fore they can be used. This is very |
hard on the poor women, but they en- |
dure the trying ordeal quite cheerfully. |
God bless em.
Saloons in Oakland are permitted to |
open lTOIIl d. III. " w. ILL., eAliu ~ AiiAN
and drunkenness have increased sud-
denly to an alarming extent. They al
ceady talk about starting bull pen,
.or the prisons are crowded. In San
francisco saloons are still closed and
will be for the next two months. Pub
lie interest and welfare demand it.
Mayor Schmitz is something else be-
sides a fiddler He is full of executive
ability, with a good nerve and man
fit to meet emergencies. Mayor Mott
Of Oakland is made of the same stuff
The various relief committees in Oak
land still feed and shelter about 10000
men, women and children, but the
army of refugees is diminishing every
day.
I visited DR.. B. Baumeister last Sun
day. He was not badly hurt, but, said
he. while talking over the doomed city
and it's future, "Charlie, if I was 10
years younger, I'd pack up and go back
to Walla Walla to live"
Mrs. S. Kelly, daughter of Judge john
A. Taylor, spoke in the same vein for
San Francisco, in fact all California
has lost most of it's charms.
Sunday divines tried to explain from
the pulpits the cause of the awful de-
,truction of San Francisco. Some at
tributed it to it's wickedness, for 1t was
no doubt the gay Paree" of the Golden
West, but conservative, educated men
and women believe, that earthquakes
are simply the product Of natural
causes. over which Divine Providence
has no control.
1t is indeed a sad sight to sit upon
Hill and look over the