The San Francisco call., 1906-06-24

Steward George had just hung his
topcoat on the hook behind the buffet
door and was standing at the window
looking into Pine street 1t was a
Sunday morning and the night watch
had left, and behind it was a trail of
torn cards, stained glasses and a
strong odor of tobacco. The Saturday
night session was rather late in
breaking up, and George was bewail-
to a thoroughly hard job of clean
ing up.
Two or three minutes after George
had started to tidy things he again
went to the window, and this time saw
a thin line of smoke pouring through
the transom of Goldberg. Bowen &
Co.'s store, underneath the Press Club
rooms. In five minutes more the de-
structive Pine street fire, that came
near putting the club out of business
for all time, had gained such rapid
headway that George had only time
to get out of the building with just
one picture-and that a cheap print
that wasn't worth as much as a won't
pay insurance company's policy.
The foregoing paragraphs are the
brief summary of an occurrence of
twelve years ago that gave birth to
the most strenuous times in the his
tory of the oldest Press Club in
America The other day the matter
was being discussed at the clubs new
quarters on Pine street, near Laguna,
and 1t was remarked that it is GER
tainly wonderful how the organization
could have passed through two disas-
trous fires, lost nearly every bit of it's
property and still manage to bob up
serenely from the slough of despond
The truth of the matter is, the Press
Club knows no slough of despond, al
though it has tiptoed around its mar
gin on more than one occasion. Thur
low block, Ellis street and new Pine
street club quarters have popped up
like new San Francisco. for the club
has a sort of asbestos disposition and
refuses to be entirely consumed.
The club was about four years old
when the Pine street fire took a fall
out OF US. There wasn't any more
money than the average in the treas
ury at the time, and, of course, there
was something outstanding on the
books in the way of bills for supplies
The tag list was fatter than 1t is wont
to be in these days. but the balance
was still on the creditors side of the
ledger. The directors had been facing
a financial panic for some weeks, and
1 as one of the board suffered with the
rest of the managers the pinch of club
poverty on collection days.
There was q lot to worry the di-
rectors, but the Saturday before the
fire we had been given promise of
financial assistance, and Sunday morn
ing when l started down Kearny street
little more as If / had right to enter
the building without fear that it had
been pre-empted by the Sheriff. l no.
ticed several fire engines in the street
and line or two of hose stretching
down the sidewalk. 1t never occurred
to me that the club could have caught
fire, although / knew that the fire was
somewhere in its neighborhood.
Turning the corner of Pine street in
company with Fred Stowell, now with
the Portland Oregonian, I saw what
had happened The building was
burned to the ground and the fire de-
partment was cooling off the bricks
with three big streams of water. On
the sidewalk opposite to the fire were
Ernest Stock and James Denny of The
Call with which newspaper was
then associated as marine reporter) Il
George. the steward. was hanging on
to the cheap picture. and Denny asked
him:
Why didn't you cut that big Keith
out of the frame while you were try
Ing to save something