The nature of the occupations which the 894 re-visited families that were given aid proposed, with the assistance of the committee, to re-enter, or, in a few cases, to enter for the first time, has already been shown. How many of these families, at the time of the re-visit in 1908, nearly two years later, had succeeded in getting into and continuing in business? The answer to this question will go far toward showing the success or failure of the work of business rehabilitation.
Data showing the status of the grantees in 1908 are presented in [Table 57] and the [chart] which follows.
TABLE 57.—BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS AT THE TIME OF THE RE-VISIT, OF APPLICANTS RECEIVING BUSINESS REHABILITATION
| Status of applicants who received aid | CASES IN WHICH APPLICANT’S STATUS WAS AS SPECIFIED | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Per cent | ||
| In business as planned | 507 | 56.7 | |
| In other business | 36 | 4.0 | |
| Employed in line same as former business | 66 | 7.4 | |
| Employed in line different from former business | 29 | 3.2 | |
| Neither in business nor employed | 256 | [160] | 28.7 |
| Total | 894 | 100.0 | |
[160] This group includes 29 applicants who were known to have died before the time of the re-visit.
The [table] and [chart] show what the Relief Survey visitors found in 1908. They found 543, or 60.7 per cent, of the families in business; 507 in exactly the kind of business contemplated by the grant, and 36 in business of another sort. A much smaller group, 95, or 10.6 per cent of the total, were engaged in gainful occupations, but not as proprietors. Of these 95, 66 were employed in the same business, and 29 in a different line of business than before the fire. There remain 256, or 28.7 per cent of the total number, who were not in business or employed. The visitors found that of this last group 36 were housewives; eight were unsettled, their affairs being in a transition state; 33 were dependent; 31 were known to have left San Francisco; 29 were known to have died; and 119 were not to be found for a personal interview by the visitors. Of this latter number, 75 had dropped completely out of sight.
BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS AT THE TIME OF THE RE-VISIT,
OF 894 APPLICANTS RECEIVING BUSINESS REHABILITATION
Of the 351 found not to be in business at the time of the revisit, 140 are known to have started in business and then dropped out. The remaining 211, as far as the records show,—some no doubt for the best, and others for the flimsiest of reasons,—failed even to get into business.