Milford chronicle., 1906-05-11

was ruined, or Johnstown was ruined,
or Galveston was ruined, or Charleston
was ruined, or Lisbon was ruined. The
sword Of death can be unsheathed and
strike anywhere. We are all living upon
the brink Of destruction Do not pity
the people Of San Francisco for possible
future dangers which threaten them
any more than you pity yourself. no
matter where you may dwell.
We have had this thought pressed
very close upon our hearts of late do
you think this earthquake will strike
Los Angeles % was again and again
asked me amid those awful silences
during which we were waiting for
news from the northern part Of the
state Il do not know" [ would an
swer 1T may 1t may not. No one
can tell. It may come to our own city
just as it did to san Francisco or
Charleston" one can feel as calm as
did the younger Pliny when he looked
upon the awful eruptions Of Nesuvius
which buried Pompeii and Hercula-
neum many. many centuries ago. He
penned this letter to Tactus just after
the two cities were submerged: II
might boast that during all this scene
of horror not a sigh or an expression
of fear escaped me My support was
founded in that miserable though
strong consolation that all mankind
were involved in the same calamity
and that ] imagined l was perishing
with the world itself" So. amid the
horrors Of San Francisco's earthquake.
1 did not feel like taking the train and
going east, as so many wanted to do.
did not feel like going even after
Los Angeles Itself was vibrated by a
slight earthquake Why? / felt that
we were all face to face with like dan
gers wherever we went We are all
walking hand in hand with death. no
matter in what state we live. The
question which faced the people Of San
Francisco is the same that faces all
people Our safety is not TO be decided
by how fast we can run. but by how
we'll we can do the work God has
given us to do Then when the death
summons comes, no matter how or
where it may come, may we be able to
calmly look up and say: Here am l.
Lord Here am I. Come and take me
while l an working at my post of
duty"
The Silver Lining.
Now. amid all these scenes Of de-
struction and sorrow that have come to
our bereft sister city, send to these
suffering people words of congratula-
tiOn and good cheer First, l say.
Thank God. if the earthquake had to
come, that it came in the early hours
of the morning" You know that San
Francisco is situated at the Golden
Gate of the Pacific. 1t was truly the
Golden Gate then The sun was just
arising over the eastern hills and
throwing its light upon the shimmerlng
waters of the bay. Had this earth
quake come hours later Oakland and
Berkeley and San Rafael and scores of
other suburban cities and towns would
have emptied their thousands and tens
of thousands Of business men and shop
pers into the great metropolis. Then
the huge office buildings would have
been crowded Then, when the walls
cracked and fell. it would not have
meant the loss Of hundreds of lives,
but Of thousands upon thousands,
Thank God, l say, that the earthquake
came at $50 a. m. instead of 1920
a. m. God be praised, we say. San
Francisco's walls have toppled, but
San Franciseo's fathers and mothers
and children live. Even the blacklist
clouds may have the brightest Of silver
Innings.
Second fact for congratulation: AL
though the city of san Francisco has
fallen, yet the city Of San Francisco
shall rise again. The future San Fran
cisco which shall arise will be as much
ahead of the old city as the modern
locomotive is better than the old ppai-
rie schooner or canal boat Like Gal
weston, its streets will be broader and
lined with nobler buildings Its pal
aces will be richer, its stores filed
with better goods. It's people will have
better homes. 1t is all nonsense to talk
about this being the end of San Fran
cisco. You can no more blot out San
Francisco than you can obliterate New
York or London.