California's Ruined City

New Zealand Tablet, 26 July 1906, Page 33

California's Ruined City

Mr. D. Dwycr, of Oakland, California, (writes our Chnstchurch correspondent), in a letter to his brother Mr. Sub.-In'specLor Dwyer of this city, speaks hopefully of Oamaru stone being largely used in the rebuilding of the wrecked city of San Francisco, and als o in the repairing and building operations generally on the Pacific coast of the U.S.A. In fact, should the stone prove suitable (says Mr. Dwjer) the quantity required will be practically unlimited, at any rate for the next twenty years. Mr. Dwyer, who is head of extensive marble and granite works in Oakland, has had samples of our New Zealand stone submitted, and is hoping to ho successful in having a reduction in tho tariff effected. Referring to the recent earthquake Mr Dwyer -continues . 'To put it mildly, it was frightful I have experienced a good many shakes for the last '31 years m California : I thought this one would be the last Io imagine that this morsel here of our clobe could remain intact is something beyond my mathematical comprehension. Take any other'body or mass of inanimate matter and strain a rortion of it with a force in proportion to this shock, and tho result must be dissolution. There must be a greater power than the power of cohesion to keep it together. Anyway, it left a Ifff r°i rUC i i?n in its palh - We ' in Oakland, have suficred, but not in comparison to our noble sister city ban Prancisco N o one can realise anything like a fair f' u ri re t of r ,L he homfying disaster, and to behold it at irV, tf^P (( n a^ 24) ls , Slck f ni ng in the extreme. The fh? rnfn * V T^' ful ' ther description Of on"lv ?n arfrt *h° t^? p .^ o P cr ty by me, I consider futile, only to add that the citizens of the most generous city ff^ 7l7 li n n! a e rf WW ° rld v re taLing assistancp - need i{ from all quarters Yes ; never was there a call of any kind, by suffering humanity in any part of the World 7 ™SLh ° f Sa r Fra n ci sco were not the first t 0 3 d ; ? n £^ esc + pc <" le are to " da y. in the face of that smHea S s,^' / tandl "? o ,Ver, Ver Iheir ruined homes with smiles on tiheir faces, displaying the grit of the stirih born pioneers.' In concluding a most interesW letter of'-t^Pn ff ediC !f J ? aL ° aklan ' d ma^ be the comfng city ?lilfoadS P a rrifn' Vlth f P<>P«lalion of 225,000 to date, hmft L i n f' aud ffien > c water facilities. There is n o ho Lt l S mtol T' and '"^ll Franciscans arc realisiSg Lrr'Jf 1 seciiri »S factory sites. His Lordship Bishop Grimes, accompanied by a French Father calledfSa W7 ° r and family hilst l' aSsin S through c"S!