The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 12, 1906, Page 21

wmns] THE AI |I IlPAGESZlTO28 FRANCTSCO, SUN DAY, Mavor Schmitz Message fo the the City and World 1> SUNDAY SERMONS BY SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS MEN O<1 Tells of City That W111| Rise Anew. | T seemed as if hell itself had broken loose upoa that | terrible day in April and that nothing could stop the\ total destruction of the city that is loved so well by all | San Franciscans and by all those who have resided for | any 1engzh of time within her, gates. And yet, looking dt“ her past, looking at her present and attempting to 1001\ to her future, I believe that as years go by and we see| v rebuild with wider streets, more magnificent build- | gs ‘t”d :pecial attention paid to the most modern con- | ruction, we shall all say that the fire of April 18, 1006" all its destructive force, instead of being a curse \xas‘ ssing to San Francisco. { The earthquake and fire have demonstrated that the | must have bet'er fire protection in the way of an ade- | water supply system. Surrounded as we are on three | s by a magnificent salt water supply, it is an eacy| er to provide pumping stations and to arrange a sys- of fire protection unequaled by any city in the world. esent water supply is absolutely madequate for the\ nt needs of the city and woefully inadequate for the ture San Francisco. i We must go to the mountains in order to secure a mountain supply of water, and with that object in Board of Supervisors has arranged for investi-| y propositions submitted to furnish such water to the city. I have appointed three eminent en-| to act with our City Engineer in making a thor- estigation of the different supplies submitted to | of San Francisco with a view of accepting the | and submitting it to the people of our city at| st possible moment to be voted upon. f s means that the municipality will be given in a e an opportunity to own its own supply of supply that will be ample for a city of sev- llions of inhabitants. All buildings hereafter erected be of the best construction, with special care to make | fireproof. Everything possible will be done to attract those who are looking for safe investments. Pctaltatmn on Insurance Companies. v unfortunate fact, to which I call the atten- re world, is the action taken by the insur in their manner of paying the fire losses. a helpless condition the insurance com- | ve taken every advantage of our position and, cceptions, have tried every means possible ment of just claims. The cities of Chicago | more have had the same cx'perience with fire| e companies that we have had, but umortunatelv- publicity was given to the corporatxons i some of the companies that paid sixty cents and other companies who failed to pay alto- re, after the fires of Chicago and Baltimore, able, lack of publicity given to "their actions, to do a| ss in fire insurance in San Francisco, and | - the fire to take the same stand and use the same that they had used after the fires of Chicago and the people of San Francisco are determined that the names of these fire insurance companies that have | so unfairly with our afflicted people shall be pub-| hed to the entire world repeatedly, not so much with a view of injuring the individual companies for the des- picable stand they have taken, but in order that the citi- zens of other cities may have an opportunity of protecting | selves under similar conditions by knowing the com- ies that are unreliable. Desires the Aid of Architect Burnham. Personally, I am enthusiastic in the future develop-| 1t of our beautiful city, and enthusiastic in anything t tends toward that development, possibly for these| reasons: I was born in San Francisco, and therefore love | her, the city of my birth; my father came to San Francisco | in 1850 and helped with other pioneers to lay the founda-| tion of the city that we saw on April 18. He was a progres- | sive citizen, having built the first brick building in San | ncisco, and with that spirit which has been mtcnslfiedl ~ inheritance I am proud and glad to have the oppor-| tunity, as the chief executive of a brave people, to be one f the pioneers in laying the foundation for the future San | Francisco. An effort is being made to have the well-known archi- tect, Mr. D. H. Burnham, come to San Francisco and give s entire attention to laying the foundation for its rebuild- | Long prior to the disaster of April 18 Mr. Burnham ) :)rujared plans for the future development of our cif d now that we have an opportunity to carry out these1 15 he is the man that I am seeking in order that they be carried out under the direction of the man who pre- —— ] p— | ¢¢ UR citizens have rallied remarkably since ‘ April 18, 1906, exbibiting that true American | spirit that exists in all Americans, the spirit | that nothing can daunt. On all sides is but one thought, and that is to bave a better and more beau- tiful city than ever before.”’—Mayor Schmitz. kS - This will continue for only a few months, however, when it must settle down to its normal basis again. There has not been, nor do I anticipate any serious disturbance in labor circles, as after all the question is simply one of -|supply and demand and will adjust itself without any detriment to the community. There is plenty of oppor- tunity for skilled libor to find employment in San Fran- cisco and will continue to be so for several years to come. S Cags 74 We want all classes here, employers and employes, capis tahsts and poor men, workmg together for the common good We want every citizen to put his shoulder to the | wheel and help the caravan of our prosperity on its way in the ultimate progress of our city. Unskilled labor \\'il! in a short time become a drug on the market, as that class of labor can be secured at all jtxmes but skilled mechanics, especially those skilled in liron and steel work, will be able to find employment in | our city and will be welcomed by all. \Harm Done City by False Statements. The attitude of the labor organizations during the catastrophe was one that called forth the commendation of all. They gave their services ely during the great | emergency of April 18 and since time have declared {that wages would mt be increased. This would have remained so had not, as I menticned before, the price of | everything ncces:ary for b ng, for home purposes, etc., | increased remarkably. Con tors, on account of the | scarcity. of men, began to bid against one another, and so without action being necessary by the unions the scale of wages increased in some cases to a very unreasonable | degree. But the Building Trades Council and many other { unions not affiliated with that body decided not to increase [ the wage scale and have discountenanced any attempt to- { ward raising, at this time, the price of labor. 1, The outlook, therefore, for the speedy rebuilding of | our city is all that can be desired. We want the assistance | of everybody, not only of those within our gates, but also {of all the citizens in this nation, because the rebuildiag \o’E San Francisco means more than merely the restoration | of destroyed property; it means the restoring to the nation | of her greatest port on her Western shores. | I anrsorry to see certain false statements that have ‘been made about the city of San Francisco after April 18. | While the destruction of propertv was great, aggregating |at a conservative figure $500,000,000, the loss of life, as far as known up to the present time, did not exceed five hundred. Yetf newspapers and periodicals have continued | to publish statements that the loss of life ran far into the | thousands and that San Francisco was doomed forever. | These statements are not only false and misleading, but | can do no good to any one and only harm our city. True American Spirit in Distress. At this time the refugees have been reduced in numben to about twenty-five thousand; the relief funds have been placed-in the hands of men known in the community for their integrity and for their business ability. Everything ns being done that human beings can do for the relief of | those who need it. The building of homes is of the first importance, and while the relief committee is taking up that phase of relief work immediately there is absolute need for the erection of dwellings for families, and there is an ample opportunity for men of means to make profit- able investment algng this line. Our citizens have rallied remarkably since April 18, 1906, exhibiting that true American spirit that exists in | all Americans, the spirit that nothing can daunt. On all sides is but one thought, and that is to have a better and more beautiful city than ever before, a city that will rise from its-ashes into a city far greater than I have here pre- dicted, and far greater than any of us can at this time, foresee. I have been and expect to be criticised in the work | I have done for San Francisco and hope yet to do for her | rehabilitation. But I shall not permit criticism, whethen | just or unjust, to interfere with me in carrying out the | | | | ‘I big work that lies before us all. While I court honest | criticism I deeply believe that this is no time to cri;icist: |anybody or anything engaged in rebuilding our city. It |is a time for suggestion and for evenbody to help I { want the people of San Francisco to believe that I am not ’gomg to allew any former, or any present, or any future political ‘antagonism to interrupt me in policies that I believe make for the weliare of San Francisco. | As an earnest of my purpose I assure the peopX of | San Francisco that every commissioner and every employe of the city government will be honest and capable. The pared them. I mention this to show that nothing is bging | Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz, ‘Who Has Written- tiie Second of the Series instant I discover a commissioner or any one else servi left undone that will insure the rebuilding of San Fran- cisco speedily and on the most approved plans. At the present time we are having a little trouble in| labor circles. After the fire, as building material became | more scarce the prices began to rise. The two hundred of Sermons by San Francisco Business Men. n the municipality guilty of graft or incapacity he will bfl removed. We need every energy for our rebuilding m thousand people made homeless naturally flocked to that section of the city where th..y { olerate fiothin, /il rd or iniure us in Labor Trouble for a Brief Time Only. |could secure accommodations :nd of course, the demand for homes sent the rerits e b €183t will setard J soaring skyward. Everything in our city has been temiporarily increased in price, and the wage-earners, findmg that the necessaries of lee wbre raxsed in price, found it neces- sary to ask for an increase. of wages. : . work. EUGENE & SCHMITZ, Mayoroftbe City and County of San Franciscos 1 »