Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-11-22

hitherto inexperienced. This healthy
condition still continues and is liable
to for long time to come. Today
the wharves, docks and railroad
wards of San Francisco are among
the busiest in the world.
Retail merchants, with much to
contend against, have shown an ad-
mirable spirit. Van Ness avenue is
a monument to their enterprise.
This street, before the fire, was, per-
haps, the most aristrocratic boule-
ward in the city, and was adorned
with magnificent homes and fashion
able hotels. It's width helped to
check the flames, and its whole east
ern length was leveled by dynamite.
It now looks more like Coney Island
than anything else, with lnnumerable
flags flying from one and two-story
frame structures erected for miles
along both sides. Many of the most
splendid dwellings were leased and
turned into high-class stores, from
which additions have been built to
the sidewalk. The new buildings
are not ramshackle affairs, but solid
structures, we'll fitted and finished.
In this section rents are enormous
and reinsurance is as high as 10
per cent, an almost prohibitive price.
In either direction from Van Ness
avenue, both In the burned and un-
burned sections, retail trade Is CEN
tered, though many firms intend to
return to their old sites in the burn
ed acreage.
The exodus from the present retail
center however, proceeds slowly, as
the real estate market Is both un-
stable and inflated, and the price OF
labor and material remains uni
formly high. IL is widely felt that
some sort of adjustment of values
must soon take place, else the re-
construction of the city and rehabi-
litation OF trade will be seriously i'm
paired
1t was only for a little time that
the people of San Francisco were
Soldiers OF the Common Good. Now
II is every one for himself and-the
rest of the phrase. Yet there are
very few persons In the western me-
tropolls who are not having good
time and enjoying themselves with
the same feverish determination that
was characteristic of San Francisco
before the late catastrophe. The cafe
life has been revived and the gay
scenes are rehearsed, though in an
other part of town.
Theater lights are burning, and
crowds, not to be denied their night
ly amusement, flock through their
doors In laughing throngs. The
California beauties are as well dress
ed and as lovely as before the earth. /
quake, and social diversion, though
on a smaller and less extravagent
scale, has not been relegated to ante
earthquake history. San Francisco
is a city of laughter, and only i'm
minently impending menace could
ever drive away the careless smile.
1t is very difficult to give an ac-
curate or well balanced presentment
of San Francisco as II is today. The
sltation is extremely complex and
many tendencies conflict TO create
general entanglement in certain
fields of activity and along certain
lines. Many serious obstacles pre-
sent themselves in the path of San
Francisoo's progress toward rehabill-
tation, such as the high price of
labor, material and commodities, the
retarding influence OF a city govern
ment run entirely for its own profit,
and the like. i
immense energy is now being To-
eused on all these problems, for the
westerners are assuredly the most
indefatigable workers in the world
whenever there is concrete object
OF attainment in view, San Francisco
can safely be left to conquer her own
evils and realize her high destiny.
Only very shortsighted prophet
would turn his face from the Golden
Gate Almost automatically San
Francisco will assume a command
Ing commercial position. A purlfica-
tion OF social and political affairs is
bound to come. A complete recon-
struetion on a'splendid a scale is as
snred' What has been accomplished
is the first six months is a veritable
miraele.-New York Herald. Novem-
hos A