The San Francisco call., 1906-06-27

have been authorized by the finance
COMMITTEES and the certincats
agents of the commission would be-
come, warrant for payment when
acfion aefh Of Of the nanee IN commttee Cer
titled copies of resolutions authorizing
given lines of work should be supplied
by the finance committee to the COM
miSsion. On the other hand. to fix re-
sponSibility and prevent confusion all
executive work. both for relief and for
rehabilitation. should devolve upon the
commission. which should be held re-
sponSible for initiating relief measures
presenting. them to the finance COM
mittee and sqbseauentlyy carving them
behaII of the Relief Commission
E. T. DEVINE. Chairman.
SERVICES OF ARMY OFFICERS.
1t Is the intention of the relief COM
mission to obtain the services OF the
army officers who are at present en-
gagged in the relief work after the mil
itary aid has been withdrawn Upon
this subject General Greedy said: OF
GERS with whom I have consulted upon
this matter declare that they would not
accept the positions for any amount Of
money, as the Criticisms Of the press
have been oversevere in their estima-
tion."
They may be persuaded to accept.
according to the Generals opinion, and
will be ordered TO do so by the War
Department in many cases. These Of
fcers are largely engaged in the dis
tributfon of supplies at the various
warehouses.
The policy which the commission has
signified its intention of following Is
set forth in the accompanying docU-
ment:
Many matters of Importance await
! the attention of the relief commission.
! Tt will un6OI1htadlV he the adE1n-
/ tage of all concerned for the commits
/ sion to promptly decide upon salts
those who are to be charged with re-
sponsible duties. The chief point or
urgency in this lies in the necessity
! that no interruption shall occur in .he
work of relief and that certain import
ant improvements now pending may go
! forward without delay. Those who ere
to come new. into the relief work
should have few days training under
: their predecessors, and this 100, 1e-
quires Immediate action.
I Searching for families in need-t Is
| believed that many sufferers rom the
| fire have failed to obtain the supplies
/ necessary to their comfort through iR-
/ norance of the channels through winch
assistance comes or through umidity
1 in making application for help L wish
1 to recommend that a special corps OF
visitors be authorized, whose 3se duty y
4 need whose wants have not been sup
/ piled and assist them to obtain relief
/ through regular channels. II Is be-
! lieved that this service could be well
|. performed by the California Branch of
/ the Red Cross. whose members are IN
/ timately informed concerning the local
( conditions in San Francisco The Wor x
/ of relief which these members have al
/ ready performed since the fire has been
an experience which will be OF great
value in carrying out this recommends
/ tion.
CLOTHING INSUFFICIENT.
The Clothing Supply-The amount of
clothing. which has been distributed
since the fire is very great. but far
special effort be made to satisfy the
1 most pressing demands for clothing IN
! the camps and among the rerugees nOs 1s
general distribution There is no douot
! that the commission could go on in
definitely distributing clothing with an
ever-unsatisfied demand precisely as
i ii may distribute food supplies without
/ ever reaching point at which the de-
mand ceases. There is no question that
/ much clothing must yet be distributes
4 before the urgent needs are met. but
with the large consignment W.rch =
! on its way from Chicago, and sho'Ia
/ two, and supplementary purchase
made by General Greedy and HSely 10
4 be in hand very soon. 1t would seem
\ that we should have reached n point
! where II might be adVisaotS to greatiy
/ contract our issues should not
/ recommend an entire discontinrance Of
I
/ the general distribution and issue
/ clothing thereafter only TO families
/ which have been taken up one 10y one
/ on their individual merits and consid-
/ cred by the Department of Special Re
i lief.
ANY families who have not been sup
/ ended could be referred to the special
relief department and would receive
| prompt attention. Before this action
i is taken however, it seems necessary
/ to make a vigorous effort to provide a
4 sufficient supply Of clothing to place
4 al refugees beyond the point of actual
i suffering. This will probably involve
i considerable purchases in some lines
/ but / believe that with vigorous ad-
i ministration the amount of clothing
4 necessary to insure the commission
/ that no serious hardship Will ensue
/ may be distributed within the next
two weeks. Il
tuberculosis Inquiry-Reports indi-
1 cate that numerous cases OF tuber-
culosis are to be found among the
refugees crowded into Temporary habi-
tations. This matter has received con-
Shiels. executive representative of the
hospital committee. who has prepared a
plan for a camp for sufferers from this
! disease. 1 suggest that careful can
vass be made of the camps. both per-
manent and nom permanent. with a
view to securing accurate data upon
| this subject. With reliable informa-
tion in hand it will be possible for
the commission to determine whether
/ 1t is important to establish a separate
/ camp for tuberculosis patients and to
secure estimates of the probable ex-
| penditure necessary.
Vacant Houses-It is suggested that
as a preliminary to the adoption Of a
plan for the erection of houses, a
! careful inquiry be made concerning the
amount of unoccupfed space in houses
! already erected. 1t has been repeatedly
stated. and no doubt with entire truth
/ fulness. that the number of houses In
San Francisco Is entirely inadequate
to shelter the people now IN tents.
i While this statement Is undoubtedly
true, and is generally accepted. IL
4 would seem the part of wisdom for
this commission to inform itself more
4 accurately before entering upon vast
\ expenditure for new houses. Possibly
4 1t might be found that active efforts
on the part Of agents OF the commits
4 sion may result in a percentage OF the
i people now under tents being located
i permanently in houses already exist
ing As the erection of a home for
single family is likely to cost the
4 relief fund from $1,000 to $1,000. il Is
evident that an effort to discover and
utilize vacant livingroems will be
worth all its costs. il only few fam
lilies are thus satisfactorily accom-
modated.
SOME MORE POSITIONS.
Information Bureau. = Immediately