Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1906-07-26
WHAT A PEOPLE, SAYS
A GERMAN TRAVELLER.
MarveIs at Recuperative Abil.
tiles OF Residents of San
Francisco.
REBUILD STRICKEN CITY
Hurry Up and Put Out the Fire THAI
We May Start Rebuilding" and
Such Sentiment Startling TO
Travelled Teuton.

Travelled Teuton.
Frederick Palmer, writing liz Golfers
for May 10. quotes II German Who was
in San Francisco to take Il Pacific
steamer as saving. What Il people!
Here their city is in ruins, and they
are talking of u worlds fair in 1913
Mr.. Palmer says he saw him I; week
later. His steamer had not yet gone
because 1t Was having difficulty i'm pro-
visioning; crowds of refugees We're de-
parting by every train. lie was looking
ut the first poster to be put on the
boards since the iire-a poster laid over
bills of plays i'll theaters that We're
ashes II declared that everybody must
get To work to make Frisco II city OF
u million population by 1913. and Incl
dentally told YOU the best medium of
advertising. 1Nwo hurrying men with
"Greater san Francisco labels in their
hatbands went busting, past us as |
stopped to speak With the German.
What Il people," he repeated and
very likely they viii do it,.
Returning to New York in less than
thre" weeks after the earthquake us
look over the morning papers | Non
der if tho city at the gateway of the
east and the city at The gateway of the
west can possibly belong To the same
country. You turn over tho pages of
IN inside column To find anything about
the great seaport which is in ruins
and where over IA hundred thousand
people are living on rations dispensed
from public bread line.
What a FeopIe!"
What n people, | repeat with the
German. Even the greatest catastrophe
in The history OF the United States can
NOT hold our attention for long. For
a few days every bit of information
was welcome. Now we turn to other
things just ut the moment when SAN
francisco itself begins to comprehend
its own situation and faces the most
amazing problem that has ever con-
fronted amy American municipality.
From the descriptions of the disaster
which have read you might judge hat
the fire swept steadily forward in one
unbroken line from waters edge to
waters edge of the peninsula of which
the ferry at the foot of Market street
is the toe. On the contrary, the APP
proach was irregular and spasmodic.
rushing for a space through Il block OF
wooden buildings, haltng again i'm the
face of skyscrapers or structures of
stone. There were times before one
third of the eventual damage was done
when the use of the city's usual wa
ter supply for a half hour would have
altogether stopped the march of the
flames. You cannot fight an earth
quake; you cannot fight fire without
water. But you may triumph over
their results The combative spirit of
the San Franciscans rose the higher
because of their hcplessness. On
Wednesday, earthquake day, they were
saying deiianty: The Almighty can't
beat us unless He slides us into the
sea. We will rebuild our city better
and bigger than ever" ON the second
day they We're saying: Hurry up and
put cut the fire so that we can start
building On the third day they We're
saying: IF you don't put ii out soon
we shall have nothing to start With"
Hopeful of Aid.
Mr. Palmer says that every San
Franciscan is asking the very concrete
and practical question: "NNho is going
TO furnish us the three hundred mil
lions In order to replace the buildings
and the furnishings and the stocks that
have been destroycd?"
| suppose that II ours We're a So
ciaistic state instead of AN ndividu-
alistic federation of commemorative.
of the public treasury. Hut now 1T
must come out of the pockets of those
capitalists, who. trusting in the future
of the stricken city, see a good invest
ment there. This disaster has shown
us how our captains of wealth and I'M
duStry are masters of the land AS
head of the Southern Pacific. Harri
man was the biggest of them all in
'I'riscn's eyes. Tho southern Pacific
and the Santa lNe rs w'!l carried refu
gees away from the city free of charge.
The public did not ask what the board.
of Supervisors was doing. Everybody
had fairly forgotten the city fathers