The Republican journal., 1906-04-26

|
| names, and millions of dollars worth
of property was sacrificed to save the
city from total destruction.
BEST BUILDINGS GONE.
| Scores of the best buildings in the
city have been either shaken and twist.
ed to pieces or burned. Almost the en-.
Tire area east of Sansome street, be-
tween Market and Vallejo streets, con-
tanning the principal wholesale houses
OF the city, has been devastated and
lies in ruins.
The $1,000, 900 city hall has been torn
6y the earthquake, the steel-ribbed
dome stripped of its covering and the
entire building wrecked.
FISSURE IN EARTH.
In Market street, near the city hall.
the earth is ripped open and gaping
fissure six feet wide left to tell the hor-
rlble power of the disturbance.
Rows of buildings have collapsed
along Market street, and the water
front.
All of them contained victims whose
identity passed away with the ashes of
the building.
BAY RUSHING IN.
One hundred blocks of downtown
business houses are in ruins, and the
water front has Sunken so that the bay
is spreading over many blocks in that
portion of the city
Two persons were killed at Stanford
One of them was Junius Robert Hanna
of Bradford, Pa, and the other was
Otto Curtis, fireman.
Six other students are in the Palo
Alto Hospital with bruises, cuts and
internal injuries. They are Ross ID.
Howard of San Francisco, Henry l..
bearing of Santa Ana, Cal, - Frolli.
ROAR OF FLAMES.
Banks and commercial houses, sup.
posed to be tireproof though not of
modern construction, burned quickly,
and the roar of the flames could be
heard even on the hills, which were out
of the danger zone.
Here many thousands of people con-
gregated and witnessed the awful scene.
Great tongues of flames rose high in
the heavens or rushed down some mar
row street, joining midway between the
sidewalks and making a horizontal
chimney of the former passageways.
PALACE HOTEL BURNS.
The Palace Hotel was destroyed by
ii
stood the terrific force of the earth
quake early in the day, and its annex,
the Grand, went with it. The 1G-Story
Spreckels building, twisted by the shock,
was finished by fire. The Hearst build
ing went down before the seismic force
and fire.
THE BUILDINGS DESTROYED.
The principal buildings destroyed by
oh or n fnjIATS'
Palace Hotel, Examiner building,
| Spreckles building, Hobart building,
California market, Pacific States tele-
phone building, Rialto building, Pacific
| Mutual Life Insurance building, Nato-
ma, City Hall, Lick House, Valencia
| Hotel, Kingeley lodging house, st.
Luke's Episcopal Church, Grand Opera
House, MonadnocI block, Associated
Press building, Grand Hotel, Merchants
exchange, Sunset building, Western
| Union building, Nevada Bank. Phelan
| building, Anglo California Bank, post
| office, 1O-story building, adjoining Grand
| Opera House, gas works south of Mar
ket street exploded, Gore block.
Besides these many of less note are
| completely destroyed, and other proml-
nent structures are more or less DAM
aged.
The Hall of Justice is threatened and
will go if the flames are not checked.
The power has been cut Off from all
| the newspaper offices except the Chron:
| icle which has its own power plant and
which suffered but slight damage. The
i newspapers have combined, and VIII
| issue one paper from the office OF the
| Chronicle until the contlagration is con
troled and the other plants are able t(
resume publication.
COMPANIES WILL PAY.
Commissioner E. Myron Wolf an
nounced at noon that the so or more
| fire insurance companies doing business
in this city had decided to pay dollaI
| for dollar on all losses sustained. Com
missioner Wolf further announced thai
the companies would not raise the point
as to whether they were liable IN cases
where buildings We're damaged or de
stroyed by earthquake and fire, too
But two Of the companies interested
are of San Francisco, the Others having
their principal offices i'll the East or IL
Europe.
BANKS CLOSE.
In the terror of the early part of the
day there was an attempted run on a
the banks by depositors who wanted tt
withdraw money. A conference OF
bankers was held quickly, and it was
decided that the best thing to do was
to keep the doors of the banks closed tt
the public and this policy has been car
ried out.
One of the chief features of the hope
lessness of the day was caused by tht
cutting off of communication to grea'
extent from the outside world. A dis
patch received from E. Fl. Hartman
president of the Southern Pacific, by
Supt. Ingraham at Los Angeles, order
ed officials to get direct wires into this
city at all hazards and cost to get re
liable information. The difficulty Of
carrying out this order was overcome
to a slight degree by the running Of
special engines as messengers. One OF
these engines was given the right OF
way over all other trains to Los An
geles.
No street cars, electric or cable, are
running here today and this adds to the
confusion and horror, as friends have
been unable to communicate with ONT
another and all had to be satisfied will
such news as they could get travelling
afoot. Even this method was not feas
ible because of the distractions caused
by the fires and wreckage.
AS nearly as can be learned from thu
incomplete reports which have beer
cont IEaSt tho damaUp 6opa Inv thf