The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-05-31

will be hauled in free. There is, too, definite arrangement as to maximum prices to be charged property holders, but just what. the rates are have not been able to learn. Indeed, I under stand that the schedule is not yet corn- pleted in It's details. The traffic will be something stupendous and the cost in the aggregate will, of course, be enor- Nously heavy. Everything of an un- nsrnable kind which has been carried Into San Francisco within half-cen- turS must now be lifted up and carried out' It is a mass so enormous as to be measurable only in terms of thousands of tons, and much of it is in the awk- ward form of mangIed machinery and or twisted and broken iron. Much of the brack, or course, can be saved and us- ed in reconstruction, but 1t will have to be worked over before getting into us- able condition.
 l have tried to get definite figures as to the number of men employed in the general activities of cleaning up and restoration, but the thing is impossible. Fifteen thousand I should say is a conservative figure. This means that in the work of rehabilitation alone ap- proximately $5O,O00 per day is now be- ing paid for men and teams. What the payroll will be three months from now when 100000 or more men shall be si- milarly employed is easily calculable. By October not less than a quarter of million dollars per day, possibly a much larger sum, will be paid in San Francisco on wage account for the re- storation work alone. What effect this enormous outpouring of ready money in multitude of hands will have upon the superficial life of the city I will not attempt to prophecy
 General living conditions in the un- burned district are a good deal im- proved since my last writing, some thing more than a week ago. Water is now abundant, but 1t comes from Lake Merced and is band in quality. It is vile to drink, not pleasant to look at or to bathe in. The Crystal Springs re- servolrs in San Mateo County are in- tact however, and an abundant supply of fairly good water is promised from this source within the next few days. Gas has been turned on throughout the greater part of the uliburned dis trict, and cooking is now possible in- doors for those who have gas ranges. The work of inspecting an repairing chimneys is making rapid progress. Nevertheless throughout the unburned district the street curb is the general cooking place, as it has been during the past month. I have heard of one in- stance in which a family cook was loath to abandon the out-of- door, since with all its, exposure and general in convenience she preferred 1t because it brought her Into touch with the busy street life and had developed a pleasant social connection with others engaged in street cooking.
 The refugee camps are still populous, and the worst phases of outdoor life have been corrected There are army tents in sufficient number for every body, abundant water supply has been provided, and general sanitary arrange ments are ont an excellent basis. In the region near the northern end of Van Ness Avenue, in the Presidio and in the park orderly establishments have been created. The old speed track in the park is now a busy street, with lines of very decently ordered tempor- ary barracks arranged on either side. All these places are what military men would call model camps. Two rooms are allotted to each family, and every thing that could be desired. Many, no doubt, are really better housed and better fed than under normal condi- tions. A little less than 100000 rations are now given out daily There has de- veloped in this connection a situation most difficult and unpleasant to deal with. It is a situation in which many with. It3is situation in which many seem content to accaept the permanent character of refugees, to be housed, clothed, and fed on the charity basis. There is an earnest effort on the part of the authorities to sift out the worthy from unworthy; but in spite of carefud discrimination, many get re- lief who do not deserve 1t, while relief is denied to some who really ought to have 1t, There is a large body of per sons to whom manual labor is an inn possibility, and who as yet find noth- ing to do in those lines wor which they are really qualified. I suspect 1t will be six months at least before the relief camps can be wholly dismantled, and possibly it may be a year before the active work of relief can be stopped without actual suffering on the part of large number of person, many of them, to be sure, not very wirhy of help, bu from one cause or anoher in- capable of helping themselves.