EARTHQUAKES AND
THEIR CAUSES
A great horror like that which yes
terday overtook Sail Francisco invari
ably centers interest in the cause,
which, primarily, was an earthquake,
and speculation naturally has been in
dulged in as to whether the recent
eruption of Mount Vesuvius could
have any possible bearing on the
tremor In San Francisco.
As to Earthquakes.
It is estimated that twelve or thir
teen earthquakes, destructive more or
less of life and property, occur every
year, and it is well known that the
surface of the globe Is never free from
sensible evidence of the continued op
eration of earthquake agency—that in
some quarter or another tremors or
slight shakings are always taking
place. When these are of a serious
nature whole cities have been de
stroyed; fertile districts, with all their
fruits and grain, have been laid waste,
and enormous masses of human beings
have lost their lives.
The Lisbon Catclysm.
In 1765 no less than 60,000 persons
perished In the great Lisbon. Portugal,
earthquake, while that In, Calabria
Spain, in the end of the eighteenth
century, 40,000 were destroyed. In this
way It is estimated that 13.000,ooo of
the human race have perished.
A Mysterious Subject.
The mysterious nature of the pro
ducing causes of earthquakes has al
ways been an incentive to their study,
but it is unfortunately true that the
most popular scientific inquiries are
those In which the imagination has
large play; dry deductions from ob
served phenomena are not suited to
tile genius of popular modern science.
Consequently, earthquakes, where
every attempt at explaining their
origin is theoretical, from the impos
sibility of obtaining direct observation,
affording as they do a wide field for
the display of the poetic faculty, find
plenty of students.
Occur Everywhere.
No portion of the earth’s surface is
exempt from the influence of earth
quakes. Egypt has been less visited
than perhaps any other country, but
even there one took place In 1740; and
Holland, with Its loose alluvial soil,
has also felt their power. Nor is the
bed of the ocean exempt. Records of
many sub-aqueous earthquakes exist,
taken by vessels at sea, sometimes
passing over the point of greatest dis
turbance at the moment of the shock.
They are most frequent around the
present lines or centers of volcanic
action, and their frequency and vio
lence seem to bear some relation to
the activity and intensity of associated
volcanoes.
Nature of Earthquake*.
All theorists are agreed as to the
connection betweeen volcanoes and
earthquakes; that they are produced
by the same subterranean agency.
Therefore it may be assumed that the
recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius
had a direct beuring on the earthquake
yesterday in San Francisco. The ex
istence of molten matter in the in
terior of the earth is the starting point
in all. except the chemical theory pro
pounded by Sir Humphrey Davy,
which, though in the end abandoned
by him, still finds supporters. When
he discovered the metallic bases of
the earths and alkalies he threw out
the idea that those metals might
nbound in an unoxidlzed state in the
subterranean regions, to which water
must occasionally penetrate. When
this occurred gaseous matter would
be set free, sufficient to produce earth
quakes, the metals would combine with
the oxygen of the water, and heat
enough would be evolved to inelt the
surrounding rocks.
Earth Mainly Solid.
The old assumption that the earth
consists of a molten fluid core, with
a cooled and hardened rind floating
upon it. Is inconsistent with the rigid
ity that astronomers have proved the
earth to possess. But. although the
earth must be mainly solid, it is yet
believed to be of a honeycombed
structure, and that the cavities con
tain in many places lakes of molten
rock, between which and the surface
volcanoes are orifices of cominunica-.
tion. Into these crevices water, sink-1
ing down through crevices from the
ocean or the land, must be constantly
finding Its way; and the steam thus
generated exerts such enormous pres
sure as to force the molten matter to
the surface, Itself mingling and escap
ing along with It. When a mass of
water is suddenly precipitated into a
hot cavern, the explosion of steam will
^Nhjse an earthquake concussion, and
where there Is no vent may be suffi
cient to rend the superincumbent
strata.
Noted Earthquake*.
The celebrated Lisbon earthquake
of 1755 was severely felt in the Middle
and Eastern states, and high waves
appeared In the harbors of New York
and Boston. In October, 1811, an earth
quake extended from the mouth of the
<>liin river 300 miles southward, con
tinuing its disturbances until March
26, 1812. A shock October 10, 1870,
covered the area including Quebec, the
eastern provinces of Canada, Chicago
and New York, and the velocity of the
wave was estimated at 14,000 feet per
second. November 18, 1878, an area
of 150.000 square miles hi the valley
of the Mississippi was disturbed.
Pacific Coast Earthquakes.
The heaviest earthquakes on the
Pacific coast in this century were in
1^68 and 1872, considerable damage
having been done in the former earth
quake in San Francisco, as related
elsewhere in tills newspaper.
In August, 1844, the area including
Washington, Toledo, < thin, and Port
land, Me., was shaken. The shock of
August 31. 1S86, covered twenty states,
and was felt from Ontario, Canada, to
Florida, and westward to Detroit. The
direction of the vibrations was from
southeast to northwest, and no tidal
wave followed, as was expected.
one of tlie most destructive earth
quakes of comparatively recent occur
rence was that which took place on
tlie island of Ischia, near Naples, July
28, 1883, by which over 2,000 persons
perished. My the earthquake of Men
doza, South America, March 20, 1861.
over 12,000 persons lost their lives. A
violent earthquake, most destructive
in Charleston, S. C„ and vicinity, oc
curred on the night of Aug 31, 1886
CROSSES
OF GOLD
Women Crucefied by So
cial Ambition.
Character, Ability and Intellectu
ality No Longer Weigh In the
Social Scales, According To a
Woman From Kansas.
JOLIET, III.—A little woman from
Kansas took the platform at the con
vention of the state federation of
women's clubs, in ttiis city, and painted
a word picture of "the woman of to
day” that made four hundred feminine
faces Hush. She was Margaret M.
Mather, of the College of Agriculture
of Manhattan, Kan.
When the little woman had retired
she had projected, upon ihe mind of
every mother and every daughter in
the audience, an image of a woman
with heart shrunk by lack of whole
some nourishment and with soul soiled
by Ihe stain of tainted money. And
this, she said, “was an image of the
woman of today.”
In the making of her picture Miss
Mather declared that femininity “had
been crucified upon a cross of gold."
No longer, she said, is a young woman
willing to marry a man with a modest
Income. The love in a cottage ideal,
she declared, ruthlessly, lias been de
stroyed by the onrush toward social
ambitions.
In the Social Scales.
“Character, ability nnd intellectual
ity no longer weigh much in the social
scales," said the speaker, "nnd when
one mother asks another if her daugh
ter married well, the usual answer is
affirmative or negative, aclordlng to
the size of the check the happy bride
groom can sign, Our Ideals have been
powdered with gold-dust. Woman's
measure is taken in diamonds and
jewels, instead of worth, womanliness
and culture.
“The complexity of modern life has
reduced the joy of living to a mini
mum. There would be fewer embezzle
ments and defalcations if the house
wifi- understood the value of a dollar.
Few women know how much their
husbands can afford to have them
spend, and most women on the top
most rung of tlte social ladder are liv
ing beyond their income.
Where Parents Left Off.
“Not long ago a girl would have felt
she was doing well financially if she
married a man with an income of
$1,500 to $2,000 a year. Nowadays
girls expect their husbands to begin
at the place their parents left off. T
have heard men with large incomes
say they had not the nerve to ask a
girl to marry them until they could
give them as much as their parents
had given them. They forget that
possibly it took the girl's father half
a century to accumulate his wealth.”
Miss Mather urged that every wife,
son and daughter be given an allow
ance, no matter how small, to teach
them the principles of economy and
the value of money. She said that out
of hundreds of families with whom
she had come in contact she had failed
to find a single one In which the
daughter and sons were given allow
ances. and only one in which the wife
had an income.
*93 Lacey Bourbon, '94 Hermitage
Rye, 121-2 cents.. Board of Trade.
We cari-v a full line er fancy Crack
era, 6 o’clock teaa, etc. Archer, Ewing
A Co.
FROM FRIDAY’S EXTRA EDITION
Nugget’* Special Service.
SAN FRANCISCO. April 30, 11:30
A. M.—San Francisco is no more.
Three distinct, merciless fires are rag
ing, defying even dynamite, which has
been procured to check their ravages,
and back firing has been resorted to In
order to stop the spread of the con
flagration. Rut this, too, has proved
unavailing. Nob hill is devastated,
and the flames are sweeping in an
easterly direction toward the water
front and Telegraph hill—the district
where It will meet a burnt-out area,
and the.i It must die out.
"The Mission” Destroyed.
A second conflagration in "The Mis
sion” ha“ cleaned out everything from
the water front south of Market street
to Eighteenth street, and is now work
ing westward
Sweeping Residence Section.
The third and most dangerous con
flagration is now in the western sec
tion of the city, beyond Van Ness
avenue, where It is sweeping the resi
dences in that part of the city. The
firemen are bending every effort to
st< in the fire in the latter section.
Will Lick Up Everything.
The fire, apparently, will lick up
everything from Point Richmond until
tlie open space a tulle from the en
trance to the Golden Gate has been
reached.
300,000 in the Park.
Three hundred thousand former
wealthy men, society women, working
men, boys, girls and outcasts slept on
the ground in Golden Gate park and
on the beach near the Cliff House, last
night. The camp of the homeless is in
charge of Major McKeever, of the Pre
sidio.
Wires Re-Established.
The Postal Telegraph Company last
night re-established a wire in u tent
on the water front, and over the still
warm ashes bakeries are being estab
lished Fifty thousand loaves of bread
will be baked today.
Flames Travel Fast.
After midnight the flames traveled
RAILROAD
HISTORY
One Of Corruption Says
Bourke Cockran
Declares It Dominates Courts and
Political Parties—Rate Bill
Only Means By Which Public
Ownership Can Be Stopped.
WASHINGTON, I). C„ Feb. 17.—
Bourke Cockran, speaking on the rail
xroad rate bill, in the house today, said
that while he did not consider it a
panacea for all evils, it was a most
wholesome manifestation of a unani
mous public determination to deal with
the real. It was the only means by
which public ownership could be
stopped and checked, the most plaus
ible argument of the socialist.
M r. Cockran had been speaking but
a few minutes when he had a full au
dience on the floor, and the galleries
were also occupied to their capacity.
Mr. Cockran gave simple analyses
of favoritism and discrimlniatlon to
show its inherent injustice. Favorit
ism was always granted corruptly.
“Sir," he continued, "the history of
railroad management in this country
is the history of favoritism, of corrup
tion and of fraud.”
In spite of this he would not say the
railroads had not rendered enormous
service, but they hud not been as effi
cient as they should be.
Railway influence, he declared, dom
inated both political purites.
Scores Courts.
Unstinting this, he showed how the
representatives of wealth ignored the
courts and dominated state adminis
trations. The very court which had
dropped the proceedings against H.
H. Rogers had the next day issued a
most vigorous injunction against strik
ing printers. In this connection he
reviewed the Northern Securities deci
sion, which, he said, declared criminals
and conspirators those responsible for
that combination. Harriman and Mor
gan. he said, quarreled over the con
trol of several railways in the North
west, which threatened to interfere
with their plunder. The president di
rected an action against them. The
court declared a conspiracy.
"What was the result?" he asked.
“It was to reduce the control of these
properties from two to one. When
Harriman had been eliminated. Morgan
was supreme. A more perfect con
spiracy was perfected through the de
cision of the court itself, and the stock, I
ho fust that they licked up the debris
of buildings which had been blown up
by dynamite. The debris was dry as
a tinder box, and the fire spread with
increased force before the thousands
of workers could clear the debris, and
thus make an open space to prevent
the continued spreading of the con
flagration
Van Ness Homes.
Nearly all the homes of the wealthy
on Van Ness avenue were blown up,
but the fire leaped across that wide
thoroughfare as if It had been a nai
row ulley.
Caring for Refugees.
A limited number of refugees ar
being taken care of at the Presidio.
E. H. Harriman has wired the South
ern Pacific to place the ferry boats
at the disposal of those who want to
leave the city
Thousands Are Hungry.
Thousands of men, women and chil
dren are hungry and entirely without
means, and it Is expected that today
tents will be taken to Golden Gate
park and rations distributed. A water
supply Is promised this afternon. The
suffering from luck of water, even to
drink, has been great Oakland is
sending water in barrels to San h'ran
cisco.
Charge of Grocery Stores.
The police have taken charge of all
the grocery stores, and each person is
sold only one article of food at a time.
The government transports and tugs
have begun taking refugees to Oak
land.
Houses Are Deserted.
There is not a house in the city
that is not now deserted. An area
embracing more than eighteen square
miles of the city is completely de
vastated. and all hope of checking the
roaring hell of flames has been aban
doned.
Hut the great excitement of the past
forty-eight hours has spent itself. The
people are becoming calm, having now
realized that nothing much worse can
possibly overtake them.
Tin- Fairmnunt Hotel is a mass of
ruins.
SEATTLE SENDS
MONEY AND FOOD
SEATTLE, April 20.—The San Fran
cisco relief fund committee has raised
$70,000, and will double that amount
today. A train load of provisions
leaves here tonight. Governor Pardee
has wired Mayor Moore that the peo
ple are almost starving. The city
council has appropriated $10,000 for
the relief of the sufferers.
PRESIDENT URGES
RAISING FUNDS
Nugget’s Special Service.
WASHINGTON, D. C., April 20.—
Th.* president has issued a proclama
tion urging cities everywhere to raise
j relief funds and send them to Charles
H. Keep, treasurer of the Red Cross
Society, Washington
Santa Rosa Obliterated.
OAKLAND. < '.i. \,iil .'it ■ ourte.-s
from Santa Rosa say the town has
been obliterated, and live hundred
people are dead Refugees are now
arriving here.
_
OAKLAND, April 1», II 1’. M (Via
Courier from San Francisco)—The
firemen ami soldiers arc dropping from
exhaustion. Many are lying under
wagons asleep.
Flames are leaping all about, and
on Nob hill, from house to house, al
most every house being on fire. The
fire, too, is rapidly spreading to the
outlying districts. Not another stick
of dynamite is to be tiad anywhere.
Gas mains are exploding, blowing
buildings Into the air with terrific
force *
United States Mint Is Safe.
Superintendent of the Mint Leach
has just wired the treasury depart
ment at Washington that lie has saved
a hundred million dollars. The mint
building is still standing, and is the
only on*- left in that district. Super
intendent Leach says the safety of
the structure is due to the efforts of
Lieutenant Armstrong, of the Sixth In
fantry. and the men under him, who
worked most heroically.
The St. Francis hotel walls have col
lapsed, but no one has been injured
in the hotel so far as can be ascer
tained. The guests and employes left
the hotel shortly after the second
shock on Wednesday.
Fire Chief Dying.
Fire Chief Sullivan, who was injured
by a falling wall yesterday, is dying.
Mure than twenty policemen have been
seriously injured, and some fatally
None Will Be Left.
A courier from San Francisco at 3
o'clock tlds afternoon says that not a
building in San Francisco will be
saved.
• me hundred thousand are trying
to leave the city, but tluy are unable
to do so, as the trains and all ferries
have stopped, and boats cannot be
hired.
Many deaths are reported from
heart failure. Men and women have
fallen on the streets, never to rise
again.
Congress Gives Million.
WASHINGTON. D (V. April 19 —
Congress this morning passed resolu
tions appropriating a half million for
tile relief of the sufferers of Sail Fran
cisco and other towns. The amount
was increased this afternoon to one
million.
Seattle Raises $40,000.
SEATTLE, April 19—To date Se
attle has raised $40,nno for the Cali
fornia sufferers.
Indianapolis Sends $10,000.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.. April 19 —
Tin thousand dollars have already
been forwarded to San Francisco for
the relief of the sufferers of that city
San Jose Wiped Out.
HAN JOSE, Cal.. April 19—This city
has been practl ally wiped out The
city Is under martial law, ond the hos
pitals are crowded with the dead and
the dying.
Six Ghouls Killed.
\KLAND, April 19.-Six ghouls
have been killed to date In San Fran
cisco, and the criminal element Is In
creasing
Loaded With Refugees.
Two steamers at the foot of Jackson
street are now loaded with refugees,
their destination being unknown
Los Angeles, Too.
OAKLAND, April 19.—It has Just
he ii reported here that Hire has been
hii earthquake In Los Angeles, hut the
report lacks confirmation.
Many People Cremated.
SANTA ROSA, April 20—The whole
business section of this town col
lapsed. Many people were imprisoned
in the buildings which caught fire, and
they were cremated.
At the town of Brawley a hundred
buildings were wrecked, but no lives
lost
More Ghouls Killed.
OAKLAND, Cal.. April 20.—During
the night ghouls and thieves raided
the burnt district, and two more were
killed, making eight. Many others es
caped after being wounded by the sol
diers on guard.
The blowing up of the millionaire
homes on Van Ness avenue sounded
like a cannonade of artillery.
Bread Is selling this morning for a
dollar a loaf.
Chinatown Wiped Out.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 20—At U
o’clock this morning Van Ness avenue
was a seething mass of flames, which
were sweeping toward Russian hill
Chinatown has been wiped out.
alaskansThave-”
BEEN HEARD FROM
Nugget's Special Service.
SEATTLE, April 20.—The following
Alaskans are safe; C. B. Phillips,
grand arctic chief, Arctic Brotherh
oood, at Oakland; Judge Hannum, San
Francisco. Ed. R. Dunn has contrib
uted $500 to th*- relief fund. His son,
K R. Dunn. Jr., is safe at Berkeley.
Local Woodmen say the grand camp
lias raised $100,000. The local Elks
have raised $1,000, and will add more.
All local associations, churches, banks
and municipal departments are making
contributions. The local quartermas
ter has been notified from Washington
to purchase a thousand tents and sup
plies and rush them south by special
train. All Oriental mail has been or
dered to Seattle
which was selling at $100 to $102 when
the decision was pending, sold for $160
after It was announced, thus enriching
the conspirators, who walked out of
court just $240,000,000 richer for hav
ing been convicted."
Hits Rockefeller.
The fact that no criminal proceed
ings had been begun was dwelt on at
some length, and the jail sentence of
Debs and the conviction of the two
senators for "mere indiscretions" con
trasted. Compliments were paid to
Rockefeller “at once the richest and
most despised of our whole popula
tion."
The moU effective feature of the
bill, he maintained .was the popular
disposition back of it; the next was its
publicity feature.
Universal. applause greeted Mr
Cockrnn's conclusion.
Carstaira for sale at all first class
bars.
If your watch is not giving satisfac
tion, take it to Zehner’s to be repaired
Go to the North Pole
Bakery for the best bread and pastry.
The only cottee house in town.
T. J. NESTOR
Carries the largest and only exclusive
lines of wines, liquors, beers, mineral
waters and cigars in Alaska.
Freighting to all parts. See R. L. H.
Marshall, 339 River street, west of
bridge.
PITY THE MAN.
Look at the man.
His eyes are wild, his countenance
contorted, as w'.ih griff or rage.
Whnt is the matter with this man?
Listen.
He left the new coal shovel in the
bin last spring, and the coal man has
just dumped seventeen tons of coal in
on top of It.
And this is the eighteenth time his
wife has mentioned the matter.
Carstairs Rya, tha boat drink that
12'/j cants will buy.
Lamp's bottlad baar, tha ehoicaat
produot of tha brawar’a art.
Canstali a» aatabltahad 1771.
Fast, Passenger Steamships
BICKMAN, INDIANA and WATSON
San Francisco to Nome and St. Michael
DIRECT
First Sailing from San Francisco J|jf|g | |QQ0
Steamers specially equipped for Perishable Freight
BARNESON-HIBBERl) CO., 116 California Street, San Francisco
Pacific Cold Storage Co.
Fresh and Refrigerated 9
j MEATS
Poultry, Fish, Sausages, Etc.
Fancy Ellensburg Creamery Butter
NOME=.=-- __j=====ALASKA
You do not know how delicious Tea can be unless
you have tried
i
Buy the red label.
NORTHWESTERN COMMERCIAL COMPANY, Agents