Las Vegas daily optic., 1907-04-18
CITY ALMOST WIPED OUT or
EXISTENCE ONE YEAR AGO
TO-DAY.
ROSE FROM ruins
Business Of Western Metropolis ko~
More Than Equals That Of Twelve
Months Ago.

San Francisco. April is.-one year
ago today San Francisco vas all but
wiped out Of existence by fire sue
ceeding a terrific earthquake shock
Nearly a quarter of million people
were rendered homeless and the r.
nancial loss amounted TO about five
hundred million dollars. The city
was left O mass OF smoking ruins and
rehabilitation seemed a matter Of
many years. Today the sun rose
from cloudless sky over the busy
metropolis. In which the volume Of
business more than equals that OF
twelve months ago. and whose pop
ulation IL fast approaching It's form
er figure. Such a record Is without
parallel. During the year $4,000, 900
has been expended In the work OF
construction. over s30,00o.0oO has
been paid out for labor. and fifty
thousand men are now engaged in the
building industry, while before the
fire only 10000 were at work. Tenn
porary construction, which for a
while prevailed, has ceased, and per
mits for the erection Of first class
fira proof structures TO cost over
100000 have been granted. The
reconstruction Of old buildings which
survived the flames Is now In pr"
gress, and will require many millions
more. About 200 miles Of street rail
ways rendered useless. are now In
running order. Perhaps the most
convincing proof Of the substantial
rehabilitation of the city is shown by
the bank clearings, which for March
exceeded by nearly two and half mil
lion dollars, the figures, for the same
month of last year. In recognition
and celebration of what has been, ser
vices were held in various cities and
while not a legal holiday. work has
been suspended in many places. To
night the merchants association will
fittingly commemorate the uprising
of San Francisco by banquet at the
splendid new Fairmont hotel. many
prominent citizens being invited.
Story Of Disaster.
San Francisco, Cal. April 1S.-Just
a year ago today the newspapers
throughout the world were telling
their startled readers in big black
scareheads, that San Francisco was
utterly destroyed, wired off the map
annihilated completely and beyond
hope of resurrection. Today San
Francisco Is again great city, not
as big nor as care-free as prior to
the disaster, but still great and
progressive metropolis. Scars still
remain-blackened heaps of ruins
reminiscent of one OF the greatest ca
tastrophes in all history-but the
heroic people of the brave city are
doing their best to hide them. The
business section Of the city a year
ago almost wholly devastated, has
been largely rebuilt. To most peo
ple the days Of horror that followed
the quake have become a dim mem
ory, and to some light-hearted ones a
mere Joke. A year ago in the depths
of the direst disasters, San Francis
CO is now going about its business or
pleasure as unconcernedly as ever
Men who were renderd penniless
wear ago are today wondering il their
"sure thing" win get under the wire
first in the fifth race at Emeryvflle
Anyone who imagined that the
Golden Gate city would be rendered
solemn and melancholy and sedate
by the gerat holocaust has, in the
language of the street. another think
coming.
Wednesday, April IS, 1s06.--it Is a
memorable date for San Francisco
even though it has become ancient
history for most of them. At a quar-
ter past five in the morning the earth
heaved violently. The walls OF many
buildings were shaken down. but the
damage was slight a. compared with