The San Francisco call., 1906-05-19
SAN FRANCISCO
A SAFE CITY
Judge Mcguire Dissipates
Several Erroneous I'm.
pressi0ns.
Lectures Before Friendly Club
and Predicts a Bright
Future.

The Friendly Club placed itself on
record last Thursday night as being
the first social organization of this city
to- assemble at dinner since the great
hfe. The meeting, in commemora-
ton of the first anniversary, was held
at the residence of Past Sire John H.
Robertson, 2017 Webster street Cam
dies, stuck in the muzzles of empty
beer bottles, illuminated the wit that
went around the table.
The feature of the evening was
speech by Judge James G. Mcguire In
response to the toast, "a New Deal"
He dwelt upon the recent earthquake
and fire and the lessons to be deduced
therefrom, and dissipated some erron-
eous impressions that had gone abroad.
In referring to the loss OF fortune
that had befallen many citizens by
reason Of the fire, and comparing the
work OF life to Sisyphus eternally
rolling q heavy stone up hill Judge
Mcguire said:
II don't know but 1t Is a good
thing to find all the stones rolling to
the bottom Of the hill in order that
we may be made more sympathetic,
more earnest and nobler men and wo-
men, instead Of trying to maintain
false ideals and notions of caste and
superiority in proportion to the dis
tance up the hill that our ancestors
succeeded in rolling the stone.
San Francisco will be rebuilt rapid
ignore rapidly and better than any
city was ever rebuilt in the history of
the world. San Francisco, ten years
from today, will be the greatest city,
In certain sense, in the world. 1t is
the coming metropolis of the western
division of our hemisphere, the gate
way through which the trade of the
Orient will come to our great and
growing country. 1t will be, ten years
from today, the only fireproof city in
the world, and 1t will be the safest
city in the world in which to live.
BEST PLACE TO LIVE.
'It is said that earthquakes are ter
rible things, but that is not the fact.
If you compare the conditions exist
Ing on the Pacific Coast during the
whole period of recorded history with
conditions in almost any other Sec
ton of the world you will be forced
to conclude that this coast and partic-
ularly that portion north and south OF
San Francisco for five hundred miles
each way is the safest part of the
world for men and women to inhabit.
Cyclones are unknown here. Many
people have come to California to es-
cape them. We have no tornadoes, no
blizzards. no destructive thunder
and lightning storms that are
likely elsewhere to strike house or
a church at any moment. We have no
season Of terror. inspired by the fear
that yellow fever may break out, or
the bubonic plague may visit US. for
we have demonstrated that though San
Francisco may get sometimes bacteria
from the Orient, it does not grow or
thrive, or spread or even live here, and
We have no need to quarantine against
it. Climatic conditions protect health
and life here and keep out the ills that
strike terror to the hearts of the peo-
pie of other parts of the world. Sick
ness and suffering and sudden death
from the causes l have mentioned are
unknown here.
81 have felt all the earthquakes
that have taken place In this city since
1865 and found nothing dangerous in
any Of them, If you keep away from
finlsily constructed brick buildings
and 'Buddensieck' frame ones.
TALL Bull DiNGS INDICATED.
AiC IcCSill idS 0eiIlOil-
strated for all time that tall buildings
properly constructed are proof against
the severest earthquakes that have
ever visited the Pacific Coast within
the whole period of recorded history.
Frame buildings were absolutely unin-
jured by the temblor of April Is, ex-
cept where such buildings stood or
rather tottered upon f1imsy or rotten
foundations. Glass A buildings of
whatever number of stories will with
stand any earthquake that San Fran
cisco has ever felt.
Again, let me impress upon you
the fact that there is less danger in
San Francisco from any cause destruc-
tive to life and health than in any
other part of the world. There Is no
place on the face of the earth where
human life is not destroyed within
seventy years on an average. and San
Francisco is safer than any Of them.
1T has been said by some persons
that the earthquake was a visitation
of the wrath of God upon the people
Of San Francisco for their wickedness.
l don't think that San Francisco was
any more wicked than many other
cities of the world that never had q
shake. don't believe that the wrath
OF God is exercised in that way, and
I don't think that an affliction, falling
more upon the innocent than the
guilty, can be truthfully attributed to-
the wrath of God. Just be careful
to construct our buildings as they
should be built and we will be toler
ably safe from earthquakes or vista
tions of the wrath of God as they are
called.
"A man called my attention the 9TH
er day to the fact that certain liquor
warehouse containing many thousands
of gallons of whisky had escaped both
the earthquake and the fire, and that
the great heat had aged and naellowed
the liquor. Tfhen.' said my friend,
IF this was a visitation OF the wrath
OF God why were the churches burned
and the whisky house saved?"
Among the guests present were
Major General A. E. Bates. u. S. army
(retired), but now on Red Cross duty,
and w. Quifiby of New York.
New Building on Post Street.