Middletown transcript., 1918-11-30

Inc sum totals S2U,-
10000 of the greatest contributions ever
made by big-hearted public to a stricken city.
What has been done, or is being done, with this
vast sum? Many people who opened their hearts
and their purses to Halifax would like to know.
and this article is designed to supply the infor-
nation.
The figures given above tell in part what was
done for Halifax, but what Halifax has done for
itself is far longer story. Although the victim
Of disaster which at once ranked her among
the great tragedy cities Of the wOrld-POmpeii,
Martinique, Galveston and San TranciscO-Hali-
fax staggered to her feet few seconds after the
titanic blast had laid waste her streets, de-
stroyed her homes and Uttered the snow with her
dead, and went to work to fetch order out of
chaos.
"From a spectacular and heroic point of view,"
declared George Macdonald of the Canadian
Press this continent has never produced such a
daring set of civilian heroes as sprang up at the
call of duty in those bleak December days in Hal
flax History teens with horrors-recent his
tory particuarly-but parallel exists for the
sequence Of affection with which Halifax was
deluged. Swift and appalling death from the
whitening explosion, mad panic at the fear Of a
worse disaster from magazine disruption. horror
from the fires which greedily devOured the ruins,
torture from the rapidly changing weather cOndi-
tons which went from blizzard to rain and from
rain 10 conditions in the three days succeed
ceased its assaults only when it had exhausted
its repertoire of calamitfes.
"Set against this appalling challenge the
unknown and untried courage Of Halifaxs citi-
zens. How they battled through the combination
of anguish and misery, almost alone for week.
is one of the most inspiring dramas of history"
So much for what Halifax started to do, from
the pen of zone who watched this Homeris bat
tle' as a press correspondent Chief among the
,,1o;n h,,cin of mold yyoc
NIacIreith, ex-mayor of Halifax, who had or
ganized an emergency relief station at the city
hall within an hour after the ImO had ramlned
the Mont Blanc and let loose the devastating
plosives pent up in the hold of the latter ship.
MacIlreith and his loyal associates not only got
on the job at once, but stayed there practically
without rest sleep for ten days, succoring the
wounded. housing the homeless, feeding the desti-
tute, caring for the dependents, providing fuel
and transportation, fighting fire and burying the
dead.
Every man of force and initiative and
ageria ability went to work without moments
delay The private car Of George F.. Graham Of
the Dominion Atlantic was partly wrecked by
the blast, but General Manager Graham at once
became leading spirit in the great task of or
ganizing temporary relief and his railroad gave
Invaluable assistance in the crisis
In week the emergency shelter committee, d.
rected by w. S. Davidson, chairman, housed 5000
people and large NUMBER were even cared for
the very first night. Hospitals established
and 1000 patients treated in an incredibly short
time. Two thousand bodies were handled by the
mOrtuary department.
The reconstruction committee, headed by G.
Fred Pearson, a newspaper proprietor lost no
time in organizing the work of building temporary
homes for the homeless to cover the period which
must elapse before permanent construction could
be inaugurated. Mr.. Pearson asked Col. Robert
s. Low, the man who built the environments for
the Canadian army. to give Halifax the benefit of
his experience and the colonel went to work at
once with plenty of energy, and without pay to
put roofs the heads of thousands Of Halifax
people. When he had struck his stride, the man
who built Valcartier camp for the Canadian ex-