The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-23
teoture than before, viii again Be placed at

i hCOtul0 lhdAi UClOAlI wal 1b0NI
the Golden Gate.
The most puzziinE and uncertain matter
of all Is as to just now the money losses in
California will touch the rest OF the country.
It can hardly be expected that San Fran
| cisco merchants and others who have be-
come impoverished there can pay their debts
as readily az before, and although extern
sions Of credit to these MERCHANTS will be
oh%eerfully granted, strain andinoonvenienoe
thereby can hardly be avoided. Something
that must not be forgotten In this regard
IL, Of course, that the State Of California
has always been moro or less a n COM
munitv in and Of itself. IT has been less
dependent upon the East than any other
section of the country and has long been
accustomed to practically take care OF 1t
self financially. Direct obligations OF san
Francisco to New York and the other large
Eastern cities are. there are reasons Tor
believing, less than ordinarily supposed.
1t will probably be found that the railroad
interests of the State will suffer more from
the expenditures for repairs IN various
minor directions that they will be com
PEELED to make than from any single or
| spectacular instance OF destruction; but
! the extent of these repairs Is, at the moment,
| only a matter of guesswork. The rail-
roads, too, must lose by the general him
ORANGES to routine business on the Paoifio
ooest, which must be felt for a long time'
| although they will no doubt profit and in
a large way by the transportation OF build
ing materials and similar supplies that VIII
be called for. 1t seems as II the proper
attitude Of the stock market concern
ing the matter should be for a consid-
cradle time to come one OF waiting until
the various influences Of the disaster In
a financial way can be more clearly de-
termined. Several OF the best informed
and most conservative and OF those or
dinarily esteemed the wisest member OF
the financial community consider nat II,
"a time goes on, business failures as a result
OF the calamity are not numerous and 1t Is
seen that the work of repairing the destruc-
ton in San Francisco and Ia
progressing with reasonable rapidity' no
notable decline in the stock market by rea-
son of what has happened may be expected.
We have this to be thankful for that the
misfortune has befallen at a tim OF the
greatest prosperity the country has ever
seen, when hopefulness and energy in the
land are active as they never were before
and people generally are In a mood to
make light of troubles that at. any other
time would have SECT ed crushing. There
ia this. too, to be finally considered. In
current comment concerning the disaster
great stress has been laid upon the de-
struction of property involved as that
OF an absolute humiliation OF wealth,
comparable, for instance. to that whlch
might have occurred If an equal quantity
of gold bullion had been sunk in the sea
beyond hope OF recovery. San Francisco
may be built again, we are told. but the
wealth and labor spent on this restoration
would nave or might have been spent in
adding to the stores of property already
In existence had not present necessities
arisen. This is not stating the case al
together fairly. The seeming paradox
exists that the consumption OF wealth III
any country, no less than the production
of it, il necessary to the countrys happl-
ness and prosperity; because II wealth were
not continually consumed or destroyed no
necessity for its pro luction would exist and
business OF every kind throughout the land
would be dormant. Millions OF dollars worth
Of property OF every conceivable descrip-
ton IL daily cast to the winds in our country
through the ordinary wear and tear OF human
existence, and it Is by the work OF renewing
the property thus destroyed and by heap
ing up fresh stores of property for future
consumption that the people OF the coun-
try support themselves. A calamity like
that at San Francisco, distressing as 1t
is to those involved in it and shocking as
It il temporarily to business interests
vet fulhls much the same function in nature
as, in point Of human life, do the plaques
and epidemios that occasionally sweep
over the world. What makes wealth in
any land is business, and what makes
business is human wants, however they
are brought about.
All that the stock market and the entire
business community thought OF in the last
part of last week were San Francisco's
loss and sorrow. As has been stated
it is probable that even had there been
no terrible news from the West, the mining
troubles in the anthracite and bituminous
coal territories would not have amounted
70 much and attention would have rested
most, among matters having an adverse
bearing, upon tho various developments
at Washington of a political and social
nature. Yet even these matters from a
stock market point Of view would, ao-
cording to all reasonable observation
have been insufficient to hold in check
a general rise in the stock market whose
propelling impulse was the immense. UMPIRE
cedented and still enlarging prosperity OF
the land.