The San Francisco call., 1906-06-19
HISTORIANS ARE
HARD At WORK
Mayor Schmitz Appoints
Subcommittee Who
Seek Data.
Co-Operation of Gen
eral Public Earnestly
Solicited.


! by Mayor Schmitz at the suggestion of
| United States Circuit Judge Morrow,
/ as a sub committee of the committee of
! fifty and then of the committee of for
| ty is actively engaged in gathering
| material for what will be the only Off
t cial history of the memorable calam-
| ity of April Is last. The committee is
| composed of John S Drum, the well
! known attorney who is chairman: Ed
ward F. Moran, president of the Civil
| Service Commission and also an attor-
! ney. who is acting as secretary and
giving his particular attention to the
collection of material: Richard C. Har-
rison, one of the city's rising young at
torneys; Clement Bennett United
states official reporter, and Professor
Henry Morse Stephens. professor of
history in the University of California.
At the meeting of the committee in
Century Hall Friday night, Professor
Stephens addressed the committee and
explained at some length the work
upon which the committee of history
is engaged. He stated that the his
torians of the calamity Were particu--
larly anxious to obtain copies of all
documents issued or used by any Fed
eral State or civil authority during the
days of peril and excitement accom-
panying and following the great fire,
and statements from members of the
committee of forty and of fifty relat-
ing in detail their experiences in ad-
ministering relief, in maintaining the
emergency government and re-eSta alb
fishing law and order and in endeavor-
ing TO formulate, adopt and put into
execution the many plans now before
the public for the upbuilding of d
greater San Francisco
-. g.
the standpoint of a historian the op
portunity now presented TO compile an
authentic record of the work done in
the city by the men who arose to the
occasion was uneXampled, and he urged
/ all the members of both citizens com
mitees to aid in the great work neces-
sary to bring about the publication
of an official history of the great dis
aster.
The work of the committee on his
tory has the support not only of both
citizens committees, but of the author
tiles at Washington. 1t is the custom
of the United States Government to is
sue historical records of all work of
relief done under the general direction
of the National Red Cross Society.
These publications are issued by the
SecretarySof War. The history TO be
published in this manner as the result
of the work of the committee on his
tory will not be merely compendium
! of statistics such as may usually be
! found in Government publications. but
! will be a live, graphic, human interest
account of the great disaster that over
came San Francisco; of the manner in
which the city's people were deprived
| of their homes and means of subsist-
ence; of the way in which relief was
! distributed; of the establishment of
camps and, generally speaking, COM
plete historical record in detail of all
! the work accomplished.
To obtain all the data necessary for
| its work the committee urgently re-
! quests all sufferers from the great dis
aster TO send to 1t accounts of their
| personal experiences. 1t is also re-
| quested that all the many fraternai orl
! ganizations and secret societies and
! neighborhood committees that did much
to relieve the immediate distress of the
! suffering people shall send to the COM
mittee not only complete stories of the
/ work done by them and the amount of
relief they afforded, but also copies of
all their original documents, their cor
respondence, their proclamations, their
! orders, their acquisitions in blank form
and all other documentary matter.
/ The work undertaken by the commit
tee on history is so vast in its scope
and the committee is so anxious to OBJ
/ tain authentic records of everything
/ that all data, no matter how insignia
cant 1t may appear, will be eagerly ac-
cepted by them. Much assistance has
been given the committee by Major
General Greedy, Brigadier General
| Funston, Governor Pardee.s Mayor
Schmitz and other officials of the city
/ and State Assistance has also been
| rendered by the ladies and gentlemen
| in charge of the relief work at Oak
land, Alameda. San Jose, Santa Rosa
/ and other towns.
Files of all the newspapers published
not only in San Francisco but through
out the State and the Pacific Slope and
| files of the leading newspapers of the
! East will be obtained. to the end that
no matter of interest will be over
! looked The assistance of the school
children and the public school teach
| ers has also been asked.
Professor Stephens is the custodian
of a fund of $50 sent him by James
Ford Rhodes, the historian, of Boston
| which money will be distributed in
| prizes of FIVE and ten dollars to the
| school children of San Francisco who
send to the committee on history the
best accounts of their personal exper-
| fences during and subsequent to the
| great disaster. Some account of this
! fund and the manner of it's distribu-
tien was given by Professor Stephens
during his address at the graduating
exercises of the school children al
Golden Gate Park recently.
After all the data and document ts
collected by the committee on histor,
have been carefully examined for the
purpose of compiling them in the com
/ mittees publication, the documents
| themselves will be preserved in bound
1 volumes and placed for the benefit oil
/ future students and historians in the
public archives. All communication.
intended for the committee on histor,
may be addressed to Edward r. Moran
secretary of the committee on history
Hamilton Grammar School, Gear,
street near Scott, San Francisco