The sun., 1903-10-18
HOW PATERSON WENT ABOUTIT
FLOOD FOUND PHILANTHROPY
UNIFIED AND ORGANIZED.
Why It II Believed There VIII he No suf.
ferins In Paterson This winter -
Result Of tho Dlsaster-Thc Men and
Women Who Have Been DOins the Work

| WVutcu WuO HAVE Dfeu DOtNk JlO WOTh
In Paterson. Inside the relief workers
were tugg;ng at the load of 800 families
most Of them without cent to their names
all Of them with their homes full OF water
The food had left the fellow his under.
clothing, but he had on no trousers. They
fitted him out. In an hour or two he was
back again at the armory, again trouser,
less. The officer at the door spotted him
for fraud and he was sent flying. Ten
minutes later, disguised In the garments
| given him on his first visit, he had the ef-
frontery to appeal third time for aid.
| Imposture Of this sort and the ever lurk-
ing danger Of long drawn out dependence
are the ragged edges Of the big task which
relief workers have been meeting In Pater.-
son for the past four days. Seldom has
an emergency, coupled with widespread
distress, been faced by such well knit
organization of forces. Detectives, gas
men and militia, remnants Of old clothes
and the residue Of strike-these are some
| of the odd factors they have thrown into
the work; and out Of 1t all they expect not
only that Paterson will meet It's own needs
without outside aid, but that the poor
who have suffered will have their losses
made good and be ready for the winter on
basis Of self-support.
It will cost, they estimate, $4,000 and
infinite pains. But Paterson was not
swept by fire and soused by flood year
and half ago for nothing. The relief then
had been a. generous as the need was
sore. but 1t had been haphazard. Rounders
thrived on one agency and another, and
benevolence hadn't backbone to meet the
emergency. That set men thinking, and
the year was not over before a public
meeting was held and a union Of forces
planned which finally took the form OF
| q charity organization society.
People in Paterson went to bed on Friday
night with the notion that the worst Of
the food was over. They woke up to
find fifty families in the police station and
more coming in by the boatload. These
boatloads kept coming in for two days.
The city authorities were swamped with
the more pressing task of saving property
and rescuing lives. Here was the new
society's chance, and it met it.
DR.. John G. Mccoy corresponding secre-
tary. and the Rev. David Stuart Hamilton.
| called on Mayor Hinchliffe early Satur-
day morning. At 8 o'clock the physician,
the clergyman and Agent Otto W. Davis
had opened Apollo Hall and had hundred
| or two hungry people under their care.
There wasn't stove in the hall. They
put one in. At 10 o'clock they were serving
| breakfast to $50 people, That night they
provided for $50, At noon there had not
been q rag of bedding in the place. They
bought $50 mattresses outright, merchants
donated Others and with the exception of
the single men, who were bunked in the gal
lery, every one slept in bed
Sunday the situation assumed more
serious proportions. By nightfall it was
estimated that 1900 persons had been taken
from the River street section alone. Three
hundred and two families wore actually
registered by the relief workers, and !, 200
people were sheltered at night in the Pater-
son armory. That was the first step in the
day'sprogramm Apollo Hall was no match
for the crowd. The big drill room OF the
armory was thrown open and detach-
ment OF militia detailed to keep away the
curious.
Wagons gathered bedding and old cloth
| ing from oil parts Of the city, new cloth
| ing was purchased In quantities. The
| lasiies Of the Charity League and those of
| mustered in as volunteers. The Public
Service Corporation had been fearing a
| strike on its lines. 1t had several hundred
mattresses stored in Paterson and Newark
In preparation for a siege. Those mat
tresses we're godsend to the flood sufferers
inspection corps by DR.. Mccoy, and close
tab was kept on the health OF the people in
the armory. There was enough to fight
already without an epidemic. Five trained
nurses were placed on duty, in two shifts
There was need of them. Saturday night
and Sunday no less than four infants were
born in the General Hospital whose mothers
had been among the crowd Of homeless.
Plain clothes men from headquarters
nosed about among the groups on the look
out for familiar faces. Here they picked
out fellow with s45 in his pocket; there
another with notorious record. Fifteer
were put out of the hall on Monday, round,
there was all but a skrmish when a big
policeman lugged an Obstreperous bene
ficiary out by his collar A meeting Of
the general committee was held Sunday
and local campaign for securing fund'
was organized. Forty thousand dollars
was raised at the time OF the previous
catastrophes Thirty thousand dollars
was asked for this time.
Starting empty handed, II had taker
less than three hours Saturday morning
to be ready for the first crowd OF hungry
refugees; it took less than thirty TO Organize
this whole system OF relief. The work al
the armory has gone ahead almost like clock
work; q big reconcentrado camp has beer
organized with couple of broad shoulderet
workers in command, one the physician ant
the other the clergyman and they have hat
everything at their finger tips. In the
day time the mattresses are piled in the
corners in heaps as high as trolley cars
at night they are spread over the floor
families In little groups. The names OF
the applicants are taken in the entry and
so fer as possible, the fact that they were
really food sufferers is established. /
only food and shelter is needed, they arr
kept at the armory; il more is needed
they are sent to the officers OF She society
This division Of work has simplified thu
whole task Once in the armory the exac
clothing needs are found out, and famil,
nv family Is taken first to the bathing
rooms. then to the old clothes room wher'
they are fitted out SO far as possible; ant
last TO the new clothes room for the finish
ing touches. ,
The work at the central Office Of thu
society has been more exacting. Agen
Davis graduated from Wesleyan Uniyersit,
n wear or 30 ago and surprised his friend
by working his way to Europe on catt
ship and afterward going in for CHART,
work on the lower end OF Manhattan. I'll
took a course in the Summer School il
| ,n.-Al.o,hy Mics CnrNIyp Matthew's