Imperial Valley press., 1923-05-24

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This is not feasible at present,
due to the heat Of the ruins and sew
eral fires which are still shoulder
ing. 1t will possibly be the end OF
the week, he stated, before any
concerted attempt will be made to
dig out the debris covering the ruin
ed district.
Report that the body of Mabel
Sanderson, an inmate of the Black
Cat, lad been identified at the
morgue, was also found to be with
out foundation, as the woman was
found in Mexicali today, and said
she was far from being dead. The
only known casualty, or near cas-
ualty, is the Chinaman who was run
down by fire truck and is now in
the Mexicali hospital, with Il good
chance of recovery.
Few Chirese Left
There is little change today at the
scene of the fire. Possibly the fact
that most impresses visitors to the
ruins is the absence of Chinese from
the scene, Where there were thous-
ands Monday, there are only hand
ful today, the others having scatter
ed to the interior of Lower Cali
fornia in an effort to retrieve their
fortunes.
The Oriental Banking Company
was open today for business, as was
the bar adjoining it. South of the
bar, small Chinese store, which
was badly Quilted in the fire, man
aged to display few baskets of
eggs and Chinese delicacies, and
was doing fair business. In the
block south of Avenida Teniento
Guerro, one grocery store on the
corner comprised the entire com
mercial activity of the block. Here
salvaged merchandise from the ruins
was placed on sale, and groups of
slant-eycd Orientals stood around,
with their faces inscrutable masks.
No Passages Seen
Observing the runs, one was hard
put to it, to find any trace of the
''miles OF subterranean passages,
which were supposed to be clogged
with dead, according to early re-
ports. Undoubtedly they existed'
chiefly in the minds of those who
believe no Chinatown can be COM
plete without it's quota of burrows
and sub cellars.
Reports that the women of the
Il al hn1 4
like the early reports of many
deaths, were "greatly exaggerat-
ed" Far from leaving the scene of
their activities, they are located
within stones throw of their
former residence, and indeed some
refuge Oh the very site of the old
Owl of notorious fame. Careful
check up of the inmates of the vari-
GUS resorts has failed to show that
single one OF them disappeared, ac.
cording to officials.
Chinese to Rebuild
That the Chinese will rebuild on
the site of the ruined district, is u
foregone conclusion, however, it is
probable that the government Off
cials will keep a strict eye on build
ing activities, and that none but
legitimate businesses will be cstab-
lished. Several weeks must elapse,
according to insurance men, before
adjustments can be made, and there
will be no building done until insur-
ance has been paid.
No small measure of commenda-
tion should be givento the officials
of Mexicali, for their unfailing
courtesy and willingness to cooper
ate with American newspapermen
and officials. The chief of police
willingly stopped in the midst of
his many duties to answer questions
and give information.
This morning he devoted the
greater part of an hour to check
ing over his records to make sure
that no women had been killed in
the disaster and it is safe to say
that no American official could be
more patient in the midst of such
trying work than Chief Guellen.