USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 53
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Citizens Organize for Action
837
SAN FRANCISCO
The morning of the nineteenth of April indicated another like that of the pre- ceding day destroying the faint hope that a breeze might arise which would arrest the westward progress of the conflagration. The superheating of the air raised the temperature, which would have been about the April normal without its aid. On all the streets not yet attacked by the flames could be seen people laboriously dragging or carrying articles of various kinds. Vehicles were not abundant, and those who had them charged extortionate prices for their use. In places remote from the fire line the distrust of what was to come was as great as it was in the im- mediate vicinity of streets where buildings were already burning. There were many curious scenes, but none more extraordinary than that witnessed when the morning paper produced in Oakland by the joint exertions of volunteers from the staffs of the "Examiner," "Call" and "Chronicle" was gratuitously distributed from automobiles, and redistributed by energetic newsboys who reaped a harvest from customers who exhibited the ruling passion for news. It was a marvelous journalistic production consisting of four pages of seven columns each, all of which were devoted to one event. There were no advertisements and only the title indicates the auspices under which it was published. Although eagerly devoured by those into whose hands it fell on Thursday morning its contents could not have been very reassur- ing. Among the display headings could be seen: "No Hope Left for Safety of Any Buildings," and the opening sentence of the article following read: "San Francisco seems doomed to entire destruction." There were some exaggerations of statement, as for instance the estimate hazarded that the loss would reach a billion dollars, and that twenty or more insurance companies would be ruined. But there was also an astonishing quantity of information, the accuracy of which was shown later when official inquiries were made to determine the full extent of the disaster.
That there should have been even a remote approach to soberness of statement must be regarded as surprising, for on the first day of the fire all sorts of rumors were in circulation. Although communication with the East had been completely severed for a time stories were afloat that large cities on the Atlantic seaboard had been engulfed by a tidal wave; that Chicago was in ruins and that the cataclysm was universal. The fact that Vesuvius had erupted four or five days earlier caus- ing great disaster, and the then recent outbreak of Pelee, and the destruction it wrought, were still fresh in the public mind and lent color to the rumors and caused them to be accepted by many whose views respecting seismic disturbances were hazy. Ignorance on this latter point caused great distress of mind to large numbers inclined to regard earth tremors as due to supernatural or at least mysteri- ous causes. The assurances of geologists that the disturbance was due to a "fault" was not easily accepted by those who had accustomed themselves to believing that the uncertainty attending the time of tremors indicated a complete absence of scien- tific knowledge of their origin.
Fortunately there were enough men in the City who maintained their poise, and they started in at once to bring order out of apparent chaos. The so-called Committee of Fifty did not embrace all the cool headed members of the commu- nity, but they took upon themselves the almost superhuman task of planning for hundreds of thousands suddenly diverted from their usual mode of life, and who were deprived of their ordinary resources. They could have accomplished little without the generous aid which the whole world began to extend while the con- flagration was still raging; but on the other hand the open handed liberality would
A Joint Newspaper Produced
Circulation of Wild Rumors
Stimulating Effect of Optimism
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have been of little value had not the money and other contributions with which the City was deluged been properly husbanded and systematically distributed. To the effective organization of the Committee of Fifty must be attributed the extra- ordinary fact that the confusion never became a real panic. The knowledge of the existence of the committee inspired confidence in the great number who had not fled from the City, but had found refuge in parks and plazas within its limits. The self imposed duties of the committeemen had an uplifting effect upon them- selves, and it manifested itself at their meeting at the North End police station to which they were obliged to adjourn owing to the destruction of the Fairmont hotel which had been selected as the place for deliberation on the previous evening. At this gathering optimism rather than pessimism prevailed. The probability of part of the residential districts of the Mission and Western Addition being saved were dwelt upon, and members reminded each other that the wealth being destroyed before their eyes was created by the people of the City, and that the energy that had produced it would be put forth again to replace what was lost.
But the committee was not permitted to continue its deliberations at the North End station. At noon the fire again drove its members westward. Franklin hall on Fillmore street near Sutter was selected as a headquarters, and it was oc- cupied in the ensuing days during which the members of the city government had practically abdicated their functions, devolving their duties upon the extra official body which consisted of the following persons named by the mayor: Mayor Eugene Schmitz, chairman; Rufus P. Jennings, secretary; Frank B. Anderson, Hugo K. Asher, W. J. Bartnett, Maurice Block, Hugh M. Burke, Albert E. Castle, Arthur H. Castle, Paul Cowles, H. T. Cresswell, Henry J. Crocker, R. A. Crothers, P. C. Currier, Jeremiah Deneen, E. J. dePue, M. H. de Young, George L. Dillman, A. B. C. Dohrmann, J. J. Dwyer, Charles S. Fee, John W. Ferris, Tirey L. Ford, Thomas Garrett, Mark L. Gerstle, Wellington Gregg, Jr., R. B. Hale, William Greer Harrison, J. Downey Harvey, I. W. Hellman, Jr., Francis J. Heney, Wil- liam F. Herrin, Dr. Marcus Herztein, Howard Holmes, J. R. Howell, Judge John Hunt, D. V. Kelly, Homer S. King, George A. Knight, Franklin K. Lane, Herbert E. Law, W. H. Leahy, J. J. Lerman, C. H. Maddox, Frank Maestretti, Thomas Magee, W. A. Magee, John S. Mahoney, John Martin, Garrett McEnerny, John McLaren, John McNaught, S. B. McNear, William M. Matson, Archbishop Mont- gomery, E. F. Moran, Irving F. Moulton, Thornwall Mullally, S. G. Murphy, Bishop Nichols, Father O'Ryan, James D. Phelan, Albert Pissis, Willis Polk, Allen Pollok, E. B. Pond, H. B. Ramsdell, James Reid, J. B. Reinstein, David Rich, Dent H. Robert, J. B. Rogers, John W. Rogers, Andrea Sbarboro, Henry T. Scott, W. P. Scott, Frank Shea, S. M. Shortridge, Claus Spreckels, Rudolph Spreckels, Ignatz Steinhart, Gustave Sutro, W. W. Thurston, Clement Tobin, George Tourny, Frederick Ward, Charles S. Wheeler, Thomas P. Woodward and John P. Young.
Sob-Commit- tee of the Committee of Citizens
The organization of this committee was effected by noon of the 19th, and the details of the creation of sub-committees were worked out later in the day at Franklin hall, pains being taken to ascertain the desires of the members with a view to securing greater efficiency. Every conceivable requirement was taken into consideration and provision made to meet it. The designation of the commit- tees described their functions. They were named as follows: Relief of the Hungry, Housing the Homeless, Relief of Sick and Wounded, Drugs and Medical Supplies,
"Committee of Fifty" Appointed by the Mayor
-
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BREAD LINE, REACHING FROM FILLMORE STREET TO OCTAVIA STREET ON ELLIS STREET
839
SAN FRANCISCO
Relief of Chinese, Transportation of Refugees, Citizens Police, Auxiliary Fire De- partment, Restoration of Water Supply, Restoration of Light and Telephone, Res- toration of Fire in Dwellings, Restoration of Abattoirs, Resumption of Transporta- tion, Resumption of Civil Government, Resumption of the Judiciary, Resumption of Retail Trade, Organization of Wholesalers, Finance, History and Statistics and Sanitation. To detail the services performed by these committees, and to de- scribe the energy and intelligence displayed in the performances of the prac- tically self allotted tasks of the members would fill many chapters. Franklin hall before the close of the second day was the rendezvous of every one eager to help in what was already looked upon and spoken of as the work of restoration, and on Friday it was the practical center of the City, and within its precincts were enacted scenes which exhibited in a remarkable degree the American capacity for organization, and the ease with which a people will abdicate self government in the hour of need, and place their dependence on men who have exhibited their ca- pacity to do things.
The fire continued to rage during the whole of Thursday and the scenes of the previous day were repeated. Firemen and volunteers assisted by the military were still fighting the flames in various quarters of the City, the chief effort being di- rected to preventing their spread toward the residential districts. A steady stream of refugees rolled along the streets terminating at the park and large numbers es- caped to Oakland. Fortunately the water front was not reached by the fire which capriciously left the docks and the Ferry building unscathed. But as the day ad- vanced access to the bay became more difficult and the homeless turned their faces westward. The owners of houses along residence streets lying west of Van Ness avenue were in a state of uncertainty and eagerly sought information from the fugitives but could obtain none that was of value, and before nightfall a large number of residences in quarters which were spared were wholly deserted. At in- tervals during the day the word was passed to open windows to avoid the destruc- tion of glass from the concussions produced by explosives, and houses were aban- doned in that condition; but so far as could be learned there was little looting, although entrance could easily be effected. In many cases the doors stood in- vitingly open. The occupant of an apartment in a large house on Taylor street returned after conducting his family to a place of safety and found it completely deserted and noted that few doors had been closed. The rooms in many of the apartments were filled with valuable bric a brac, costly rugs and expensive cloth- ing, none of which was disturbed. A few hours later the building was swept away and all its contents destroyed. Those who desired to move effects found it im- possible to obtain conveyances at any price, except in rare instances, and many who had automobiles failed to avail themselves of the opportunity to remove their belongings. Curious vagaries of selection were noted. A man was seen tug- ging a sewing machine up one of the lesser grades of California street while a weeping woman struggled after him bearing a tenantless bird cage in her hand. Many laboriously dragged trunks whose apparent weight indicated that they were trying to save other articles than clothes. The owners of valuable pictures hastily cut them from their frames and bore or had them borne to points which they fan- cied would not be reached by the fire. Some who were cast in a prudent mold devoted themselves to bearing away such provisions as they could lay their hands upon, and serviceable clothing. Occasionally one of this kind would return for a
The Fire During the Second Day
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SAN FRANCISCO
second instalment of articles, and to rescue his more valuable belongings, only to find an inexorable sentry standing guard who would not permit him to approach his home. No discrimination was shown and pleadings were unavailing. The orders given were imperative; the soldiers could exercise no discretion and consequently an enormous number of books, paintings and other articles that might have been saved were burned.
Rigid Pre- cautions of the Military
The object of these rigid military precautions was twofold. It was sought to prevent looting and loss of life or injury to over venturesome persons. The presumption is that a plan was pursued in dynamiting buildings to stay the flames, but it was entirely too comprehensive and defeated its own purpose by a too close adherence to the military theory respecting the value of secretiveness. The sentries were quick to regard and treat as enemies those who argued with them. Typical instances of their methods are related. A possessor of a valuable collection of books inscribed with author's autographs endeavored to rescue them, but was driven away and not permitted to take a single copy. His house did not burn until sev- eral hours later; when it did his treasured volumes were all destroyed. During the whole of Thursday it was impossible for people living in neighborhoods re- mote from the fire, but in its apparent track, to obtain any information which might have guided citizens, and in many cases would have allayed apprehension. All endeavors to gain a knowledge of the situation were frustrated by the estab- lishment of the military cordon, through which it was impossible to penetrate, and the most alarming rumors prevailed.
After nightfall on Thursday the residents of the Western Addition were en- abled to survey the situation by ascending to eminences. It was far from assur- ing. At ten o'clock the flames were still eating their way through the district south and east of Van Ness avenue. The houses in the region between Jones street and the avenue were burning in many places, and east of the latter thoroughfare the structures, all frame, on Clay, Sacramento and Washington streets were licked up. Rumors were being carried to the anxious householders who had not yet fled whose contradictoriness created confusion. At one time word would be brought that a final stand would be made at Polk street, and that the block intervening between it and Larkin would be razed to prevent the possibility of the fire leaping across Van Ness, and presently another story, apparently corrob- orated by the appearance of the silently descending sparks in streets far west of that thoroughfare, would be brought that the avenue had been crossed, and that there was no longer any hope of saving the Western Addition. The situation in the Mission was no less terrifying. The fire in that section did not cease to burn menacingly until about two o'clock on Friday morning. It had not been controlled; it simply spent its fury. Energetic and intelligent efforts had arrested the course of the flames in this district, where supplies of water were obtained from sources independent of the Spring Valley, and one or two cisterns whose locations had not been forgotten by the inhabitants. In the down town districts there were similar constructions, but they had been neglected for many years and they con- tained no water. They were survivals of the precautions adopted after the great fires of the early Fifties, but a fatuous reliance on the hydrants of the local water system had caused them to be forgotten and their existence was unsuspected by most inhabitants of the City.
The Fire Rages Through Thursday Night
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The forethought and energetic efforts of the citizens committee and military, and the liberality of neighbors prevented the pinch of hunger from asserting itself seriously even in the first stages of the disaster. On Wednesday, under the ter- rifying influence of the ravaging fire, few adults gave heed to the demands of appetite, but they asserted themselves on the ensuing day. The large numbers gathered in the parks and open places in the Western Addition, and on the hills back of the Mission were utterly destitute of provisions. In very rare instances the refugees had managed to supply themselves with a limited quantity of food, but the great majority were absolutely unprovided, and even those who had money with which to buy could find no one to sell to them. The depots where the main stocks of the City's food were stored were in the districts attacked by the flames during the early part of the first day, and the supplies of the retailers in the outlying districts were speedily purchased by the thoughtful who foresaw what was to come. The corner groceries were swept bare of everything edible. Not merely the nutritious foods were in demand. Whatever suggested the possibility of sat- isfying hunger was bought. Candies, dried fruits, canned goods, breakfast foods and all kinds of shelf goods. Later when it was sought to augment the supply for general distribution from this source it was found that many of the groceries had absolutely nothing that could be requisitioned.
Fortunately before the need became pressing, supplies were pouring in from every direction. Train loads of provisions were rushed to the City from nearby points. The military depots opened their stores and distributed large quantities of biscuit and baker's bread, and by Friday morning arrangements were made by the citizens committee for the baking of sufficient bread to meet the needs of all asking assistance. The latter included nearly the whole community, for it was no longer possible to purchase food; and for a few days the rigid orders prohibiting the use of stoves within doors made everyone resort to the bread line. On Friday the headquarters of the citizens committee gave signs of effective organization. The places allotted to the various subcommittees were all plainly indicated, and an efficient information bureau directed the constantly increasing throngs who crowded the hall in quest of information or seeking relief to the proper place to secure what they sought. An equally large number reported for quite another purpose. They were volunteers eager to assist in the work of relief, and only asked to be put to work doing something helpful. It was an extraordinary exhibition of unalloyed unselfishness, one of those rare occasions when all distinc- tions are obliterated. Men who two or three days previously had commanded the services of hundreds of their fellows obeyed with alacrity when directed to do anything. Physicians no longer chose their patients, but devoted themselves to all who needed succor, and there were many such. The organization in this depart- ment of helpfulness was extremely effective. Indeed it had been in operation from the beginning and was merely perfected in Franklin hall. On Wednesday morning the Mechanics' pavilion, then situated on Larkin street, opposite the city hall, was converted into a temporary hospital to which many injured persons were removed, who were treated by doctors, many of whom had left their terrified fam- ilies to respond to the highest duty of their profession. The improvised hospital had to be abandoned early in the day. At noon the approaching fire threatened the large wooden structure, and the injured were hastily removed to the Presidio. A half an hour after the huge pile was in flames, and the horrible but unfounded
Food in Great Demand
Relief Pours in from Every Direction
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rumor that many injured were consumed in the burning building was circulated throughout the City.
Extraordi- nary Powers Assumed by the Mayor
Before the close of Friday, although fires could be seen in various places, the assurance was general that there was no further danger of it spreading to the district beyond Van Ness avenue, and to a large part of the Mission. But the spirit of rumor did not subside with the flames. A grisly story which had its origin in some diseased imagination spread throughout the Western Addition, that many of the refugees, incensed because the abodes of the more prosperous classes had been spared while theirs were destroyed, were resolved to take possession of the houses still standing. There were also stories that thieves were abroad loot- ing and committing outrages, but most of them were without foundation. There were some robberies but not many. The vigilance of the military, and of the police, and the hastily organized auxiliary citizens' force, effectually preserved order and property in the unburned districts. Their effectiveness is testified to by the fact that the necessary surveillance soon became irksome and caused complaint. People unaccustomed to strict regulation do not easily accommodate themselves to the re- quirements of military discipline, and become resentful at interference even when it is exercised in their behalf. In the first hours of terror no one thought it strange that the mayor should have issued a proclamation in which he stated that: "The federal troops, the members of the regular police force and all special police officers have been authorized to kill any and all persons found engaged in looting or the commission of any other crimes." Those into whose hands the extraordinary docu- ment fell may, for a while, have thought that his direction that "all the gas and electric lighting companies must not turn on gas nor electricity until I order them to do so" was not entirely superfluous, but they speedily found the enforcement of the regulations necessary to give effect to his directions very irksome. His order that "all citizens remain at home from darkness until daylight of every night until order is restored," was obeyed without cavil. Sometime afterward unwarranted criticism was called forth by the discovery that following close on the dissemination of the printed handbill there was issued to the members of the citizens committee the following commission: "The bearer is a member of the Relief and Restoration Committee of Law and Order and is invested with the same powers that I possess. You are therefore notified to give him every assistance possible in the prompt performance of his duty and cheerfully comply with any request that he may make."
That these extraordinary powers conferred on a considerable number of hastily selected citizens were not abused is a matter of record. In all their doings the spirit of cooperation was predominant. There was very little of what was promptly characterized as commandeering, because a request usually succeeded in cases where the want was not anticipated by volunteers. One of the greatest needs was means of getting about, and it was facilitated by the placing at the disposal of the citi- zens committee of a number of automobiles. All the transportation lines in the City had suffered from the shock and fire. The wires of the trolley lines were down in every direction, and the power houses of the cable companies were burned, or their machinery was hopelessly disabled. In all the burned region the tracks were impassable, being obstructed by the debris of falling walls. There were few people in San Francisco who lacked confidence in the efficiency of the motor-im- pelled vehicles after observing the valuable service performed by them in the
Important Part Played by Automobiles
COMMISSION HOUSE MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES CELEBRATING THE REHABILITATION OF THEIR PART OF THE CITY BY HOLDING A BANQUET IN THE STREET
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sudden great emergency, and there were still fewer inclined to censure the steps taken which virtually placed every machine in the City at the command of the whole community. No cause contributed half so much to the strengthening of that confidence which speedily inspired the citizens' committee and the people, as the ability to get about rapidly which the automobiles afforded. It enabled the subcommittees in their operations to keep in touch with the main committee, and measurably compensated for the deprivation of the use of the telephone which the disaster had rendered unworkable.
The automobile and the press proved the most powerful auxiliaries of the citizens' committee in bringing about a general restoration of confidence in the future. On the second morning the "Chronicle" and "Examiner" issued their pa- pers from the offices of the "Herald" and "Tribune" of Oakland respectively, having made arrangements with those journals, both evening publications, for the use of their plants. The "Call" some days later was published in the "En- quirer" office of the transbay city. The plants of all the newspapers of San Francisco were destroyed by the fire. No part of the machinery of the "Chron- icle" was damaged by the shock, and operations in the building on Market street would not have been interrupted had the conflagration, as was at one time hoped, been arrested in the northeastern part of the City. As the building was the first tall structure in the City built with a steel frame it was an object of special in- terest to later official inquirers who, however, failed to ascertain the cause of the carrying away of all the floors in that part of the structure on the corner of Kearny and Geary street, while in the remainder of the building the flames merely destroyed the combustible contents and woodwork. The facts could have been learned from the proprietor and a misapprehension would have been avoided. In the portion of the building carried away were installed the linotype machines, twenty in number, and overhanging a part of the lofty room in which they were situated there was a gallery suspended from the steel beams by rods of that metal. In this gallery was stored a large collection of zinc etchings available for use if required and many drawings. As already related the tower of the building had been destroyed by the fire during the preceding November, and a temporary roof had been erected to serve until two stories were added which were to be connected with the nearly completed seventeen story adjoining structure. This roof became ignited and the flames were communicated to the inflammable contents of the gal- lery, the floor of which was destroyed, thus causing several tons of zinc to drop upon the machines beneath which were in turn carried away. The accumulated weight was too great to be supported by the tiling and the whole mass descended to the basement, in its course destroying the "Chronicle's" library which represented forty years' careful assemblage of material useful in the publication of a news- paper.
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