The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 21, 1906, Page 1

} ! H EA Temporary Office i P of The can, § § 1651 Fillmore Street i Oakland Office of The Call, 1016 Broadway. VOLUME XCIX—NO. 142 SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1906. PRICE FIVE CENTS. WATER_FRONT BURNS ALMOSTTO THE FERRY RUSSIAN HILL IS PREY TO FLAMES The lo ss of North Beach, Russian Hill and the waterfront almost, if not quite to the ferry building completed yesterday’s record of disaster. The second saving of the Western Addition made record, of achievgments. Fierce Gale Drives Flames to North Beach During Afternoon De- spite Brave Fight. About midnight a strong gale was raging and the fire was spreading rapidly toward the ferry building. Despite the despite the hopes that seemed fairly well-founded up to a ate hour, the sudden springing up of a strong wind baffled | e.er}‘afiempt to save the eastern water front from total de- | struction. Those at the ferry building had hope until after mid- night, but when the wind veered and the flames began to rush toward the noble structure that has served as a union | ferry for so many lines of suburban boats during. many vears. the situation appeared_dark. _ - Just when hope was almost abandoned there was back- firing from Vallejo to the bay which gave some hope of saving the ferry and a block or two of the water front adjacent thereto. Soldiers that had been in readiness to blow up the ferry were withdrawn. | A number of dead bodies found along North Beach and other parts of the water front were those of thieves and hard characters who had been killed by the soldiers. One hundred and seventy-six prisoners from various branch county jails were sent to San Quentin, but the War- den refused to receive them, as they had not been sentenced. They were landed at Alcatrazand will probably be removed from there today to various jails adjacent to the bay. George D. Collins was among those thus transferred. | | resterday in San Francisco—the | t consumed Russian Hill and apex and a point on the water ferry building, and the subduing mpts to creep back to the west large section between Van Ness avenue t between h of ost the fight to save Russian Hill was the rgely to the saving of the Western Ad- olent gale from the west. The t drove the flames over Russian Hill did much v ym the Western Addition. This, with dynamit- ngs to the west and using the waters of the bay through Se v the battle for the untouched areas west of ver T BRAVELY. ht to save the water front after the blaze had.crossed ed entirely by a number of fire tugs that id did much to check the blaze from leaping Market street. s an anxious and eventful day to about half a particularly to a large proportion of that num- e areas west of Van Ness avenue, who still olocaust was at an end, but the leaping of ering of dynamite blasts all afternoon awoke sand men, women and children who were rks, on sidewalks or in beds. and automobilists hastening to the West- re line was that there was danger that the »ss Van Ness avenue and consume the western e city despite all dynamiting and other measures at disposal of the department. WESTERN AREA SAVED. Soon after that there were reassuring reports to the effect demon had been throttled and turned back toward the 11 a. m. the blowing-up of houses in the vicinity of 1 Hill showed that there was a close battle to save the water , but by noon the flames had run over a large area‘in the bay Te nd with the fiercest westerly gale in many days driving flames to the east, it was soon evident that much of the water ront was doomed. North Beach was the last section of the city to be devoured e flames. All hope for it was abandoned when the fire Pacific street near Kearny. Throughout the night the gration raged in the direction of the beach, sweeping up the f Telegraph and Russian hills, rly in the morning the fire had reached the lumber yards ‘tories adjacent to the bay and stretched as far as Van avenue. | TUGS FIG lant fight made by many tugs during the afternoon, and . o + ' ] i N 1 [} ' PARDEE (ALLSLEGISLATUR Govemnor Pardee will call a special session of the State Legis- lature at once to prepare for relief measures for San Francisco. f | { | ! | | + + Then they stopped, but burned in an easterly direction from Kearny street, destroying the two sections of the seawall'and en- circling Telegraph Hill. At the southern base of the hill lay Barba)y Coast, which had until this time escaped the blaze. In a- comparatively short time this far-famed distfict was laid’in ashes and the fire reached out for that portion of the city on lower Broadway, Vallejo and Pacific streets that yet remained intact. The flames then crackied in the directicn of the water ‘ront and made the work of de2molition ‘in this section of the tcwn com- plete. 'The fire tugs were pressed in‘o service: and fought - the fire as quickly as it ‘reached East eireet. MEIGGS WHARF GOES. By 3 p. m. Meiggs wharf was in flames, which traveled fast toward the ferry. From the deck of the Vanguard, opposi.e Meiggs wharf, a Call man saw the burn’'ng of Meiggs wharf and the gallant fighc of about twenty fire tvgs, which-pumped large streams of bay water atiead of tl.e advancing flames and even in the very teeth of the fire. The battle was an unequal cne. hut'the work of the tugs did much to check tie progress of the fire ‘ind finally, it is believed, to save the ferry depot from annijhilati..:, Despite a ieport received hy Governog. Pardee at 9 o’clock last night to the effect that the ferry building was doomed and being abandoned the fire was nct within two blocks of the gre«t tower-Jike structure as late as 11 p. m. and employes had rot thought of deserting their posis It -was then believed that tke tugs might save the noble structure ard stop the flames a block away jfrom it. ; § An hour later the wind shifted to an unfavorable directivn and it seemed inevitable that ihe ferry building must go. At an early hour this morning hope of saving the terry was —aban- doned. i 2 Continued on Page 2, Columns Gand 1. 0> B < . . g':;f ot AT e + 1 z WILL RISE AGAIN ~ IN SPLENDOR With Undaunted Spirit San Francisco Faces the Future, Confident That All Is Well. San Francisco has demonstrated the courage and confidence of her citizens by declaring to the world that assistance will not be solicited from cities other that those in California. The spirit of the hour is that the city will rise again in renewed splendor and in such form that the dream of beauti- ful San Francisco will be realized. The INayor has invoked the Governor to call a special session of the Legislature and whatever aid the great State of California may extend to the metropolis of the commonwealth will be appreciated. T - ‘Continued on Page 2, Columns 3. 4 and 5. SCENE ON MARKET STREET LCOKING WESTWARD FROM EAST STREET RUINS OF THE CITY HALL AS THEY APPEARED YESIERDAY AFTERNOON; -AND VIEW- OF RUINED. DISTRICT EAST OF THE POST OFFICE.