Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-22
LIFE AMONG THE REFUGEES
Conditions of the Poor and Homeless in
Relief Camps Of San Francisco,
INCoMpETENrs HANDLE NATIONS BOUNTY
Old Ways and Old Times BristIing on
the Fringe of the Ruins-HOusing
the PeOpIe-ReIics of the
Fire.

Constance Dean, a woman member OF the
San Francisco Call staff, disguised as a
refugee, lived for a week among the poor
and homeless in the relief camp In Golden
Gate park. The purpose of the assign
ment was to obtain at first hand knowledge
OF the conditions under which tho victims
Of public calamity lived, how their needs
were supplied, and, particularly. how the
bounty of generous people was dispensed
among those for whom it was contributed
The knowledge thus obtained, consisting
of personal experiences, interviews with
refugees, methods Of distribution of relief
| the hardships endured by those whose
pride or physical weakness keep them
away from the crowd jostling for a crumb,
and the apparent plenty of the strong and
nervy, fills two pages of the Call. To
] fully appreciate the conclusions of the
Calls representative it must be remem-
bered that the bureau of relief has a staff
Of we'll paid officials. the pay roll approx
mating 100000 a month and should render
service reasonably free from complaint.
Mrs. Dean found the contrary to be the
| case. LAS to my personal experience" she
writes, II will stop only to say that. adj
mitted into the park as a needy soul who
had no place to sleep, l was unable to OBJ
tain any bedding for three days, although
1t was definitely Understood that l had no
home. There simply was no bedding to be
| had. 1 come back from my life as a
| refugee In Golden Gate park camp (said
/ to be one of the best In the city, burning
| with indignation at the outrages which
conditions there heap upon the people $
| proteges, and return with this message to
| the thousands who have freely given to
their worthy fellow citizens on whom fate
laid heavy hand last April
Neglect and MlsmannEement.
Though there are murmurings about
leaks and steals, 1 found no evident at
| tempt to swlndle, no willful neglect, but a
mismanagement so woefully apparent that
the least complaining, longest suffering cry
out against it. l saw women, many obvi-
ously delicate, standing in line for days
like patient dogs to crave few household
indispensibes. 1 discovered families who
had slept on boards since the disaster
came upon shy and proud souls, whose little
all the flames had devoured, subsisting as
best they could, unwilling to ask for what
north, south, east and west had meant
should be freely bestowed, because they
must take the attitude of beggars to affair
their desires Many unsuspecting fellow
refugees told me of favoritism shown by
| Lnobe IN charge OF the warehouses e
friends in the camp; of new, deslrabl,
clothing lavishly bestowed on those with
out proper papers, while patient walters
In the ever-present line produced theil
countersigned orders in vain" Mrs. Dear
says the solution for this shameful condi
ton is "forcible, honest executive officials
and plenty of them, and a speedy arrange
ment of a system by which the concentra
dos can obtain needed supplies as readil,
and simply as they would make purchas
in a public store. In short, for the solu
ton of the refugee camp mix-up we wan
brainy, experienced business men, and no
mere enthusiasts, whether of the well-in
tentioned or the Purchasing order"
Bachelor After Baby Clothes.
How did the Alameda man get wise o.
the subject OF Iayettes?
That's easy. According to the Call, h
sought out a department store and snoope
around for a pattern department, an
, catching the eye of likely looking gin
? with a helpful smile he confessed his Ell
rand-patterns for everything for a ne,
, baby.
? IAN right, sir; here you are. Here's III
r pretty little slip, and one for the petticoa
( and the shirt and the bands. OF cours
4 youll need one for the"
) These details were getting on his nerve
and the bachelor gasped in a whisper:
a give me fifty OF each and let me get OF
e OF here quick
o Fifty of eachT'' gasped the girl. Fifty