The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-04-25
THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO.

-Mary Sidney in Farm Journal.
THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO.
San Francisco and the earth have
been collision. But if ever there
was city favoured by the make up
of land and sea it is in San Francisco.
When the Titan hands of nature
carved out the continent they made
the harbor of harbors within the
Golden Gate. 1t would hold all the
navies of the world, and all the mer-
chant fleets of the world and still have
wide stretches of peaceful waters left.
I have never before looked with so
much interest upon any waterway in
to the land as l felt when I gazed at
the Golden Gate. Here comes the
waters of the greatest ocean on the
globe, an ocean which washes the
shores of the most populous lands in
the world, and here they enter the land
of the people who are becoming the
greatest force of civilization. The
waters do not come in peacefully
there is tumble of waves and white
foam and flying spray, as if they were
contending among themselves for the
honor of going in first. And how
beautiful that long channel is, with
its fine curves, its promontories, green
slopes and wooded heights. If l
were painter l should odown there
and make pictures by the day, and
if l were poet should dream dreams
and write verse, but l should not send
it to the newspapers at "the usual
rates"
But what of the earthquake and the
effect now? Ask any San Francisco
man this question and he will tell you
that the earthquake is something
which they are forgetting, that they
have not felt tremor or shiver or VI
-b,ation of shake for a year. II is
eiuf'sdiH IudI LnC ViortSr vvist2~ss s~--
Of souvenir in his bones 6 sSss Il he ear9l6 salr9lG6
is resolutely quiet; it won't Shake,
old fellow" not even to make 1t in
teresting for a guest. In fact, the
crust of that part of the coast may now
be down to hard pan, or where it be-
longs, and there may not be another
shake in a hundred year, and again
there may be ratt1ing of windows
and tumbling of steeples and walls
before this article reaches the reader.
The earth is deep" and IT is not safe
to say what it will do.
But what the San Franciscan wants
you to understand is that it was not
the earthquake but the fire which did
the damage. Not more than 5 per.
cent. of the destruction, he tells you,
was caused by the quake. The fire
did all the rest. The quake simply
broke electric wires and made them
torches, tumbled down stoves, upset
furnaces, overturned lamps, made
splintered houses and chairs and tables
kindling wood, and then wrenched
the water mains apart and stopped the
fremen. 1t was very little, very lit
tie. The fire caused the havoc. 1t
wiped out 5000 buildings and de-
stroyed $1o5, 900. 900 worth of proper
ty. The difference between the earth
quake aud the fire was that the earth
quake knew how far to go and wher
to quit, but the fire did not. 1t was
too much like some of the recent OF
ficials.
But in rebuilding San Francisco the
people are keeping an eye out fol
earthquakes. The large structures
are made of steel frames, filled in will
concrete. Buildings of this character
were not much damaged by the earth
quake. Mr.. Spreckles, who is nov
the rich man of the city, holds hi
new buildings down to three or foul
stories, but the majority of the build
ers seem to have little fear of the sky
scraper, and tenand twelve stor,
blocks can be seen on every side II
the business districts.
The amount of rebuilding which
has been done in so short space @
time is surprising. No less than 10,
900 new buildings have been erected
or are approaching completion, ant
this within less than two years time
They have cost Sill 900, 900, or 80,
ooo, 900 more than the value of tn
whole 28 900 buildings which wer'
destroyed, and they have more foo
and room space than all those tha
went down in the disaster. To Wis
itor it would seem that San Francisc
already has about as much space IN
closed in masonry as its business re
quires, for numerous places are vacan
and signs "For Rent are more com
mon than is usual in the business sec
ton of big city. But this fact ma
be due to the difficulty of readjustmen
after so sweeping disaster. At a
events the rebuilding is still going O
at an amazing pace. Nowhere els
can such q rattle of engines and clat
ter of hammer and saw be heard as o
some of the corners of San Francisco
-G,abho, in The Advance.
OARS Georgy mule froze up /
, l. ~