Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-04-19

aged, but no loss of life there is report
ed
The Palace and San Francisco hotels
stood the shock. People tlocked to the
telegraph offices to send messages To
friends and We're frantic because there
We're no wires.
The greatest damage was done to
buildings south of Market street where
Gioslly there We're frame and tenement
houses. Fires occurred in every block
in that district.
AT $50 A. MA disastrous fire has
broken out on the south side of Market
street and is now within one block of
the Palace hotel. The water mains
have burst and the fire department is
practically helpless. The utmost confu-
sion exists. All business is suspended.
At this moment there is only one wire
|Out of San Francisco, a Postal wire.
The Postal building is badly damaged.
The operating room is a wreck. The
Power of every kind is gone and there
are no lights. either gas or electric.
Neither the Palace hotel nor the st.
Francis, that is from the outside, is in
.jured but on the inside the plaster,
etc, is badly broken. Between the
postofiice and water front there is great
damage by fire. which is burning fierce
ly and there is little or no water.
The fire is burning both on the east
and south side of the Postal Telegraph
building. The damage by the earth
quake apparently extends all over the
city.
The shock occurred at 5.35 Wednes.
day morning and lasted three minu.es
The streets are blOckaded with debris
and buildings are being blown up. The
residence districts are safe as far as
heard from.
The business section of the city from
Market street to Mission street and
from The back bay has been almost
completely wrecked. The Call and Ex-
aminer buildings are destroyed. Many
buildings along Market and Mission
streets including the department stores
collapsed.
! Hundreds of people in the cheap ten
~mnrt district are reported killed.
Fire are raging and owing to the scar
city OF water are practically beyond
control. Business is practically sus-
pended The offices Of the Postal Tele-
graph Co. i'll the Robert building are
| building at 3O2 Montgomery street.
The residence portion is but slightly
damaged although nearly every house
has been more or less injured.
The Valencia Hotel, between 18th and
! 18th streets on Valencia street, a fivo-
story frame building. toppled into tn"
street. buryipg 20 people. only the ton
'cfo ,ioin INT A 1itl,
street was wrecked, killing two people
Many of the fire houses We're DANA ged
50 badly that it is impossible to get the
fire apparatus out. A lodging house
known as the Kingsley entirely collapsed
|. 1t is on fire and - to so people are be-
lieved to be buried in the flaming ruins
At 22d and Mission streets the dry goods
store of Lipman is on fire. At 18th AMI
Valencia streets there lis n crcvicc in tn"
street six feet wide and the entire side
walks are torn up. The street car tracks
are badly twisted.
In the southern section of the city traf-
fic is at 4 StandStill.
At the Southern Pacific Hotel water is
being carried into the building for the
use of the patients. Many injured per
sons are making their way to the hOspi-
trls. The Episcopal church on 18th street
is badly damaged and ut the Studcbaksr
carriage factory on 10th and Market
streets the top story caved in. badly
wreckinG the entire building.
Fire which has been raging in the eli
cinity Of Fourth and Stevenson streets
has gotten beyond control and the flames
have leaped to the Winchester rooming
house on Bird street. Unless the flames
can be checked here, the Palace Hotel!
one block distant will be endangered The
water supply is inadequate and powder is
being used to check the flames.
The rooms in the Palace Hotel were
vacated early in the morning and the
guests are gathering up their effects. All
sCrts of vehicles are being used to carry
out Of the danger zone everything Of
value
The loss of life seems to have been con
fined to the poorer districts and manu-
featuring territory For the benefit Of
Eastern people vino have friends visiting
here. it is safe to say that they have not
been injured. Every few minutes explo-
|sions are heard as buildings are blown
up to stop the progress of the flames. Tho
fires are spreading. and if the wind comes
up san FRANCISCO Will experience the
greatest conflagration of modern times
On lower Market street. the main thor
ouEhfare of the city, many blocks of sub
stantial buildings have been destroyed a
big fire is raging on the corner of Han
some street and Prince street, one block
from The Associated Press office The
widest rumOrs as to loss of life are corn-
ing to the newspapers, but it is impossi-
bic to confirm them. No reports have
been received outside of San Francisco
but the damage about the bay must be
enormous. Oakland is said to have suf-
fered severely
1013 a. M.-The flames arc rapidly near
ing the Postal Telegraph building and
are within 4 block of The Associated
Press and Western Union buildings The
Postal Co. is preparing to vacate and
this will shut off all telegraphic com
munication with the outside world
From present indications the entire bus
mess district, both wholesale and retail.
will likely fall prey to the flames which