to repair the road and are working day and night, having
electric lights all along the road; but with all of that it looks as
though it will be utterly impossible to have even a single track ready
for business before ten days or two weeks, as there is not the slightest
vestige of a railroad track to be seen. The railroad people around here
are of the opinion that it will take as long as that. The railroad men
say that it is the most complete destruction of the kind that they have
ever witnessed.

Wealth Borne Away.

I had an interview to-night with Colonel James A. McMillan, the
consulting director and principal owner of the Cambria Iron Works. He
said:--

"What will be the total loss sustained by the Cambria Company is rather
hard to state with perfect accuracy just yet, but from the examinations
already made of our works I would place our loss at from $3,000,000 to
$4,000,000. That includes, of course, the loss of our Gautier Steel
Department, above Johnstown, which is completely swept away.

"Day before yesterday I took the liberty of determining the action which
the company will pursue in the matter of reconstruction and repairs. I
accordingly telegraphed for Mr. Lockhart, the secretary of the company.
He arrived here to-day and said to me: 'McMillan, I'm glad to see you
intend to stand by the company and push the work of repairs at once.'

"I think his words voice the sentiment of all the stockholders of the
company.

Reconstruction Begun.

"All day we have had at least eight hundred men cleaning away the debris
about our works, and we have made so much progress that you can say we
will have our entire clerical force at work to-morrow evening. Our large
pieces of machinery are uninjured, and we will have to send away for
only the smaller pieces of our machines and smaller pipes, which compose
an enormous system of pipe connections through the works. In from ten
to twelve days we will have our works in operation, and I feel confident
that we will be making rails at our works inside of fifty days. As we
employ about five thousand men, I think our renewal of operations will
give the people more encouragement than can be imagined. Besides, we
have half the amount of cash needed on deposit in our local bank here,
which was brought over by the Adams Express Company on Monday to pay our
men. This will be paid them as soon as we can get access to the bank.

"Our immediate work of reconstruction and repair wil