He
was appointed liaison between the civil and military disaster
response. His comments on the response, recorded in this article
in the Astorian on 04 May 1906 sound very much like what has been heard
more recently regarding the response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster:
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TELLS
EXPERIENCE
-
--
-
W.R.
Hume Returns From the Earthquake District
-
---
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RELIEF
SUPPLIES WASTER
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---
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Mr.
Hume Says Many Carloads of Supplies Were Allowed to Spoil in Yards -
No System at First.
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W.R
Hume has returned from Oakland and San Francisco were he went
immediately after the earthquake. He states that his family which
resides in Oakland escaped all harm, and aside from the fatigue
attendant upon the excitement, are well.
-
Mr.
Hume upon his arrival was detailed by Mayor Mott and Governor Pardee,
whom he knows personally, to act as a sort of intermediary between
General Funston in charge of the army, and the civil authorities, in
regard to arranging...
-
[newspaper
clipping mangled here]
-
"A
great many of the carloads of perishable food simply spoiled in the
yards, where they were left for days. Other cars were rifled, and
for a time it seemed that no order could be brought out of the chaos
that existed. The relief committees were unable to cope with the
situation, but now that the army has charge things are becoming
better, and most of the graft is being cut out.
-
Continuing
Mr. Hume stated that the ruin and desolation in San Francisco, are
utterly beyond the comprehension of one who has not seen it.
"It is totally impossible to adequately describe what
destruction the fire and quake have wrought. The entire business
section of the great city, is in ashes; the broken and blackened
skeletons of those immense steel structures which formerly graced
the city, loom up against the sky, in grim mockery of man's efforts
to defy the flames. The mammoth steel girders, are warped and
twisted by the blasting heat which overcame them, and many of the
supposedly fire-proof buildings will have to be torn down.
-
"Official
figures which have been prepared show that in San Francisco the
burned district includes an area of 16 square miles, or 3,070
blocks. Sixty thousand buildings were burned in this district, and
the property loss will amount to $400,000,000 of which about
$200,000,000 is covered by insurance."
*Great-grand
uncle of the Cactus.
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