Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1906-05-05
IL. +. DUNLAP's STATEMENT BY REQUEST OF EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE OF BOARD OF TRADE.

OF Tonopah, is in no wise a report Of the work done by the
Relief Committee which was sent to San Francisco. At a
recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of
Trade, | made practically the same statement as will appear
here and supposed that the newspaper representatives were
getting such data as was necessary for their notices in re-
gard to the conditions. However, find that | was mistaken
in that, and consequently am called on to repeat practically
what was said at that meeting.
! will not attempt to give a description of conditions
which resulted from the disaster, because that has been
written upon very voluminously and ably by the newspaper
correspondents, who are in every way capable of a more
accurate description than | could possibly give. Another
reason for not attempting to describe the disaster is 1 that |
believe it IS impossible for anyone to transmit the impress
sion he receives to the mind of another. 1t seemed to me
as if each ones mind must receive it's own impression, just
as a sensitized plate does in the matter of photographing
different objects.
The two main points, as a result of the disaster, were,
as a matter of course, the suffering and discomfort of the
individual and his financial embarrassment. The com
mlttee conceived that it was their province to make an
effort to relieve the distress and all our efforts were bent in
that direction. Our first act was to obtain permission from
the authorities in charge, at Oakland, to erect our tent
We received permission from Col. Crawley, of Governor
Pardee's staff, to place our tent on the City Hall Square,
which was the best location in Oakland. We started i'm
medlatey to put up the tent, but before we had accom-
plished it there was line of Nevada people stretching clear
across the sidewalk attempting to gain admittance to the
tent. These were people well off in this worlds goods. with
good, substantial bank accounts in their home towns Of
%Tonopah, Goldfeld and Manhattan, but who were absolute
ly without actual funds at that time. In cases of this kind.
the committee would cash the checks of those parties
known to be perfectly good, so that we might be able to
send these checks back to Tonopah and Goldfeld and have
the money returned to the committee to be used in reliev-
ing the suffering Of those who were unable to provide them
selves with funds or the necessities.
1t would be impossible to name the individual cases
that were relieved, and therefore it will not be attempted.
However, desire to state that we made arrangements with
the Southern Pacific Passenger Department to pass our
people home, and, in this way, relieved the general com
mittee and our own committee by having these unfortun-
ates removed from the scene of disaster where food and all
other supplies were SO very scarce. A little later it be-
came necessary for us to pay one cent a mile for the trans
portatlon OF people, and still later half fare.
OF course our first idea was to help the people from our
immediate vicinity, which was easily done because upon
seeing the banner stretched across in front of the tent. de-
noting that it was the Nevada Headquarters, and that it
was represented by the relief committee appointed bv the
Board OF Trade OF Tonopah, they felt perfectly at home
there, and at liberty to ask for relief. A little later on,
however, different members of our committee would find
some person in need, and, regardless of their former loca-
ton or utilization, their distress was relieved. It made no
difference to the committee whether they came from Nevada
or elsewhere; the necessary succor was always Forthcoming.
Mothers, themselves suffering from lack of food and proner
clothing, accompanied by children, hungry and scantily clad.
were not uncommon, and when such an opportunity pre-
scented itself, we knew that 1T is more blessed to give than
to receive" However, in no single instance was gratitude
lacking.
In order to expedite our work, we published in the
Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Examiner lists of parties
whom we were commissioned to look up, requesting all
Nevada people to report at our Headquarters and register.
By this means, many of the missing were located and many
who had been separated by the disaster were reunited.
On the second day we established headquarters in
Golden Gate Park, which were Immediately placed in "
charge of our fellow-townsman, that staunch supporter Of =
every Tonopah enterprise, the father of the Board of Trade. +
Thos. H.. Bannerman. 1t will be impossible to say too much IS
in praise of the work of Mr.. Bannerman, and his voluntary assistant Mr. Ii
W. W. Barnes, of Hannapahi and assistance Of every nature was literally Fl
but ludcousy dispensed at these headquarers. Miss Rannernan Ln