Washington, April 23, 1906.
Appoint Committee of women to collect, sort, pack summer clothing, blankets, linen, etc., to await further orders for shipment.
CHAS. L. MAGEE, Secretary.
This was succeeded on April 24th by the following instructions:
Washington, April 24, 1906.
Sort and pack contributions of clothing. Ship to Dr. Edward T. Devine, Red Cross, San Francisco. Indicate as far as possible on outside nature and contents of each box. Wire Dr. Devine of shipment. Report Red Cross Headquarters by letter amount and character of shipment.
CHAS. L. MAGEE, Secretary.
On April 19th a request was made by the Maryland Red Cross to have a contribution of $5,000 immediately forwarded to San Francisco. As even the U. S. Treasury Department was as yet unable to get into communication with the United States Mint there was no way of transmitting these funds, and the President of the Red Cross telegraphed to General Funston to inquire if relief funds would be of use there and received word that such funds were not then required. The business portion of the city had been so largely destroyed by fire there was nothing to be purchased in the way of supplies.
Very shortly after the relief work for California began, the Western Union Telegraph Company, the Postal Telegraph Company and the Long Distance Telephone Company gave to the Red Cross the free use of their wires for all communications connected with this relief work. The railroads and express companies throughout the country were most generous in providing for the free transportation of supplies of various kinds that the Red Cross Branches received for California. A more complete acknowledgment of this will be made later when fuller data are obtained from the reports of the Branch Societies.
The response made throughout the country to the appeal for the sufferers from the great disaster was most generous and sympathetic, finding expression in the children’s pennies as well as the checks for thousands of dollars, and many interesting incidents were reported in the letters from the State Branches. A Chicago letter says: “Little girls are even bringing in dolls and dolls’ dresses for the little girls in San Francisco who have lost theirs in the fire. Some of the incidents occurring in the Armory where the ladies are receiving, packing and sending off clothing, are most touching. Yesterday a boy about eleven or twelve years of age came in, sat down on the floor and pulled off his shoes. He was asked what he meant by doing that and he said: ‘Well you see it is nearly summer time now and I can go bare-footed, so you can just take them shoes and send them to one of them boys who is getting his feet burned in them hot streets.’ It was with difficulty the little fellow could be persuaded to put on his shoes again and go away.” In many cases garments were brought in the giving away of which must have meant serious deprivation to the givers and yet there was evident joy at the opportunity of helping those even more unfortunate.