The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-19

% uulh6 lEAth- II w Nv C'NiS'S
Tho shock ontheearthquake in San Fran
eieoo was felt distinctly in Wall Street at
the very opening of business and became
moro and m~oreIntense during the morning
hours. 1t took market value from about
All the stooksVon the list and undermined
3 the market vaVuepof the common and pre-
ferred stocks of the United Railways In
yestment Comtany Of San Francisco until
they had depueciated over 500 900, 600.
Southern Pacifouand Atchison, which have
terminals in Sam Francisco. broke rather
sharply and after the closing hour there
was received a message regarding the effect
OF the ~earthquake,pn Southern Pacific that
was said to causeSE L. II. Hartman much
uneasiness.
The last messages that came through be-
fore the interruption of communication was
received by Logan d Bryan, a brokerage
firm with many branches on the Pacific
Coast and direct wires which it leases to
MANY houses IN this city, The message
read:
This building,is fallingtdown."
The laconic despatch was.sent at rs A. NJ.
by an operator in Logan d Bryan's San
Francisco branch Office aud was picked of
the PostabTelegraph wires by their operator
In Chicago after he had been taking routine
messages. The building from which the
measa Re was sent was the Merchants
Exchange Building and later in the day the
firm heard that that buihing had been
destroyed.
The anxiety Of brokers'; railroad men
and real estate}owneIs for positive intelli-
gence regarding property in which they
were interested war intense.
I'VE know that the situation is most
serious" they saidA from the fact that tele-
graphic communication with II city of the
aize of San Francisco and with telegraph
llnes entering it frorn 80 many directions
have been entirely suspended. And the
longer communicatiorawith the city remains
broken the more serious, the situation be-
comes, to our minds. That large COIN
panies have suffered AgreatSloss is certain;
the extent of that > loss can only be
imagined"
T., Fl. Hartman spentAthe entire day in
his offices of the Union Pacific, in the Equi-
table building, and consulted with bankers
Interested in the company and his associates
In the management regarding the damage
likely to have been caused the Southern
Pacific, and measures for repairs. Reports
continued disquieting allNday, but thetgreat-
eat concern was felt over a message arriv-
ing at 4:3O in the afternoon from the Santa
IA offices at San Pueblo. The message
was, sent TO the Santa Ff,offices in this city
andswas as follows:
aThe indications are that the earthqua ke
extended northeast through Sacramento
and Reno TO San Francisco. The affected
district is fifty blocks between Kearney
street and the bay, Market, street being
the centre. The Palace Hotel, eau building
and other big buildings are deserted and
may now be on fire.
The principal alarming feature hof the
despatch was its reference to the course
of the earthquake. The line from 'Sacra-
mento through Reno to the metropolis of
the coast is the line followed by the South
ern Pacific, and news that the earthquake
extended through that line was news of the
probability of bridges and tunnels destroyed
and tracks deranged. According to some
of the bankers who talked with Mr.. Harri-
man he considered the situation extremely
grave.
In San Francisco the Southern Pacific
has two entrances. One is from the south
with G terminal not far from the Palace
Hotel, the other is across the bay at Oak
land and connected with the other terminal
by ferry. 1t was not considered probable
that the ferry terminal at Oakland was
seriously damaged and the chance OF loss
from damage to the terminal IN the city,
was considered a slight thing in COMPARE
son with the damage TO the line from Sacra-
mento to San Francisco.
Mr.. Hartman made arrangements last
night to cave here early this morning for
j San Francisco on IA special train. Orders
have been given to clear the line for the
special. The wires of the Southern Pacific
4 Company are all down and Mr.. Hartman
wa constantly calling up the telegraph
companies trying to get some news.
Especially apprehensive were the men,
bers of the firm Of Ladenburg, Thalniann i
Co., the banking house which owns and
controls a large majority of the stock Of
the United Railways Investment Company
Through the mana gers of both the Western
Union and the Postal Telegraph the firm
made every endeavor to secure an lima
Of the damage done its property, but was
unsuccessful.
Meanwhile the common stock Of the com
pany, opening at 81, broke rapidly to 81
There was a recovery later in the after
noon, but the stock experienced a net loss
of l7L points for the dav. 1t closed at II.
The preferred stock dropped from s5l2 TO
II and closed at 751a, a net 10 s of 10 points.
The company owns the entire street rail
yay system of San Francisco, and in add
ton has a controlling interest in the Phila-
delphia Company, which OWNS all the street
railways in Pittsburg and its suburbs and
electric light, Illuminating gas and fuel
gas companies in the same district. Laden
burg, Thalmann & Co. acquired a controlling
interest In the property about a year age
and a few onths ago largely increased
their holdings. At the time they acquired
1t the comp any owned the San Francisco
fractions alone. Two months ago it made
arrangements for the acquisition of the
Philadelphia Company. The stockholders
approved that arrangement on April s last
I'VE do not believe our power houses in
San Francisco were destroyed by the earth
firm. They are in the higher part Of the
city, and we do not think that portion was
as badly affected. Nor do we think much
DANA pa has been done to our shops. il