Panoramic View of San Francisco Showing the Preponderance 
SOME OBJECT LESSONS FROM SAN FRANCISCO 
By F. W. Fitzpatrick 
AX 7 E appear to he living in an era of destruc- 
tion, with a tendency towards ultra-reform; 
towards the investigation of things and towards the 
destruction, or at least upheaval, of great commercial 
organizations; a campaign mainly waged in the 
popular monthlies; a campaign destructive to an 
extent, though for ultimate good. But would not it 
he wise to inject here and there, at least, a little cam¬ 
paigning looking to the reconstruction of things that 
have been done wrongly.? 
In this particular instance 
I would apply the term 
“ reconstruction ” literally 
and directly to our huild- 
ing enterprises. 
F o r y e a r s w e a n d our 
fathers have huilt flimsily, 
somewhat through motives 
of alleged economy hut more 
largely through ignorance, 
d'he result is that we are 
indulging in a fire loss to-day 
that exceeds that of any 
other nation on earth, actu¬ 
ally and per capita. We 
hum up over $230,000,000 
worth of property a year 
normally, and it’s very diffi¬ 
cult to know when to apply 
the term “normal.” Each 
great conflagration is called 
“the greatest of our times” 
and is fondly supposed to 
last us for a generation. We 
thought that when Baltimore was afflicted; hut 
here comes San Francisco, within two years, and 
several not-to-he-despised little conflagrations in 
the interim. San Francisco’s fire loss means at least 
$300,000,000 destroyed. That, added to the $200,- 
000,000 we can reasonably expect as the ordinary 
loss of the year, makes $500,000,000; and our 
most flowery calculations can but reach $750,- 
000,000 as the highest possible value of all the new 
building to be done this year. 
Who can tell us that we will 
not have a great conflagra¬ 
tion next year—we have done 
absolutely nothing to pre¬ 
vent it—or that these huge 
losses are really the normal 
annual waste ? Destroying 
more than half of what we 
build spells ultimate bank¬ 
ruptcy for the community. 
These appalling losses are, 
perhaps, primarily due to 
the people’s ignorance, then 
to the criminal carelessness 
of those who ought to know 
—the architects,—the inad¬ 
equacy of our building laws 
generally, the laxity of their 
administration, and, finally 
in great degree, to the fact 
that we are aided and abetted 
in our folly by the gentlemen 
constituting the insurance 
companies, who have always 
J lie Aronson Building. Stonework of lower 
stories damaged and metal cornice gone 
132 
