Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1906-04-28
The Wnter Situation,

city's misfortune can care for them
selves.
The Water situation.
The water situation, while causing in
convenience to the people, is no longer
such a problem. About two-thirds of
the remaining section of the city is be-
ing supplied with sufficient water for
the pressing domestic needs, but of
course there is not yet enough to be had
for fire fighting purposes. Because of
this fact the most stringent orders have
been issued by the military and civil
police that no fires shall be built within
any house, and no light, not even
candle light, can be shown at night in
the houses, All cooking, for the pres
ent, must be done on the sidewalks or
IN the open streets and in the daylight
One Great Fear AIIayed.
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
ton, The fear that existed two days
ago that the immense task of caring for
the destitute and helpless people could |
not be organized quick enough to save
thousands from hunger and possible
epidemic exists no longer.
Money Flowing In.
Contributions of money continue to
be made from every part of the United |
States. Chairman Phelan of the finance |
committee reported additional subscrip- |
tons of about $l60,00O, the largest of |
these being one of 100000 by the Chi
cago Commercial association. The |
finance committee will meet to consider |
some plan for the use of the large |
sum of money which will soon be avail |
able for the relief of the sufferers.
Dead Bodies Recovered.
The total number of bodies recov-
cred and buried up to Sunday night is |
800. No complete record can be had |
at this lime, as many bodies have been |
buried without permits from the cor
oner and the board Of health. The |
searchers of the coroner's and the board |
of health departments found, Sunday,
not more than twenty bodies, They
were buried Immediately.
Few Could He Identified.
Few of these bodies could be identl-
fed, as the graves were marked by |
numbers. 1t is impossible at the pres
ent time to obtain any sort of death |
list or even to make reliable estimate |
as to the number of casualties. When
ever a body is found 1t is buried imme-
diately without any formality whatever,
and as these burials have been made at |
widely separated parts of the city by
different bodies of searchers, who do
not even make prompt report to head
quarters, considerable confusion has re-
suited in the estimating of the total
number of casualties and exaggerated
reports have resulted
Sanitary Measures.
Vigorous measures are being taken
by the board of health and the board of
public works to improve the sanitary
conditions throughout the city. While
not entirely satisfactory at some places,
the sanitary conditions in general are
not as yet serious menace to the
health of the people. The turning on of
considerable water in the residence dis
trict and a promise Of much more will
relieve the mind of all those living in
houses of the fear of disease; it is those
thousands Camped In the parks and on
every bit of open ground that must re-
ceive prompt attention. The work at
these places Is in the hands Of the en-
cheering officers of the United States
army and under their efficient direction
is progressing satisfactorily. Eight
temporary structures $50 feet in length
by 2S feet wide and 10 feet high have
been erected at Golden Gate Park and
in these sheds thousands find reasonably
comfortable shelter.
Extent of the burned District,
The fire having exhausted itself with
lHt tAtepliOu VI tue SIlll naming oLh- |
bers in a thousand places here and
there through the burned district, a
press correspondent, for the purpose of
determining with accuracy the boun-
daries of the connagration, made an au-
tomobile trip, Sunday, which skirted the
fire on its four sides. The register of
this machine at the end of the trip
showed that it had travelled 26 miles,
which therefore may be taken as the
length of the line along which the
flames travelled This area included the
financial, commercial and most Of the
densely populated institutions and great
mansions that had grown UP with the
progress of the city.