Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1907-01-31

my hands and especially when
we first came here l made daily
trips to the beach (about three
minutes walk from my door,
just to "see the sights" or
scramble over the rocks when
the tide was out hunting for
starfish. There was some peep
ing from behind the curtains
by the neighbors at first. |
guess they were wondering
whether was taking the mind
cure or digging CLAIMS for u
living.
Soon after moving in | was
startled one morning by an ex-
cited woman saying: "Mrs. |
want to know if my Nanny goat
is in your back yard. Oh, Man
ny, my poor Nanny, I'm afrrid
she'll go down town and the
pound man will get her!!" l
thought to myself, didn't say
it out loud, "Woman, why
should | harbor your Nanny
goat in my back yard? was
raised in Iowa where people
don't live on canned cream and
goats milk" AS said before.
| didn't say it out loud, for
some of these ''native sons and
daughters" as they call them
selves, have the bump of ego
tism developed to a remarkable
degree and some of them seem
to think the sun rises just east
of the Sierras and drops into
the Pacifi. just west of the
Golden Gate. | must have re-
flected some of my thoughts in
my countenance, however. for
she soon hurried on. (Poor
Nanny was found and still nips
all the poppies along my front
yard fence.)
| know it's getting an old
story but | must tell you some
thing about San Francisco.
Imagine you see the heart of
some great city as it would be
in time of prosperity. Now,
Danish this view and in it's place
picture as best you can, ruin
and desolation pillar of
brick or stone still standing
here, the corner of some mag
nificent building there, ruins of
churches, steeples twisted and
hanging down, tons and tons of
brick and stone and twisted
iron block after block for
miles.
Z NobfHill, once the, home Of
so many millionaires, is a mass
of picturesque ruins, for the
son OF pride and the poor man
went down together. AS l
stood on the broken marble
steps that led to the Stanford
grounds and reflected Oh it's
past grandeur as | had seen it
several years ago, could not
but think: "All is vanity under
the SUM-" | turned from Mob
Hill almost in disgust as |
thought Of the lasting monu-
ments that might have been"
the immortal souls that might
have been helped to a better
way Of living if only a par. Of
the millions now in ashes had
been used to help lift from
poverty and crime even a few
Of the girls and boys who a,e
making their struggle for life
in that great city-girls and
boys who have never been out
in Gods green country, who
never sat in the shade of for
est tree or gathered wild flow
ers by the brook.
1t looks to me as if it would
take months yet to remove the
debris, but hundreds of men
have their shoulders to the
wheel and the work of clearing
and rebuilding goes steadily on.
The spirit of the men Of '49 has
surely been handed down to
their children and the work of
fifty years will all be done over
again, only this time San Fran
cisco will be earthquake and
fire proof so far as the skill of
man can make it. If the pres
ent plans of architecture are
carried out, it is said that with
the possible exception of Wash
ington there will! be no more
beautiful city in the U. S. l
have heard that it is the plan
to have every building in the
new Chinatown of entirely
Oriental design, a veritable
Chinese city on American soil,
and a greater attraction to
tourists than ever before. The