2. BONUS RECIPIENTS
The field investigation of the bonus cases made by this Survey included visits to 572 persons, or 65 per cent of the entire number. These were selected at random and scattered over the entire burned district. In 26 instances the investigator was refused information, 44 of the houses were rented out and the addresses of owners could not be obtained, and 12 of the houses had been sold or were vacant and the whereabouts of the owners were unknown. The remaining 490 cases, 55 per cent of the total number receiving bonuses, yielded practically complete schedules. All except one of the bonus recipients studied—Notre Dame College, an institution accommodating about 75 students—represented families, or were persons who wished to establish homes. It is believed that the cases selected are in every way typical and that the results obtained would be substantially the same if the entire number had been visited. The characteristics of these 489 persons who received bonuses, and their relative condition before and after the disaster, are briefly given in the following pages.
TABLE 74.—NATIONALITY[194] OF APPLICANTS RECEIVING AID UNDER THE BONUS PLAN
| Nationality | Native born applicants whose parents were of each specified nationality | Foreign born applicants of each specified nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Irish | 19 | 185 |
| Italian | 1 | 93 |
| American | 81 | .. |
| German | 2 | 41 |
| English | 3 | 10 |
| French | 2 | 11 |
| Other nationalities | 3 | 38 |
| Total | 111 | 378 |
[194] For comparative figures as to nationality found by the first registration, see [Part I], [p. 74].
That a large proportion of those who received bonuses were foreign born was to be expected, as the regions burned were inhabited largely by the Italians north of Market Street and by the Irish, south.
The conjugal condition of the bonus recipients is shown in [Table 75].
TABLE 75.—CONJUGAL CONDITION OF FAMILIES RECEIVING AID UNDER THE BONUS PLAN
| Conjugal condition | Families of each specified conjugal condition |
|---|---|
| Married couples | 321 |
| Widows | 126 |
| Widowers | 23 |
| Orphaned children | 8 |
| Single men | 6 |
| Single women | 5 |
| Total | 489 |
In November, 1908, when the schedules were completed, 390 of the 489 families, or 80 per cent, had the same status as before the fire; 99, or 20 per cent, had suffered changes of various kinds. These changes, in the main, resulted from deaths and the natural separation of maturing children from the home. From the date of the disaster to the time of the investigation, 53, or 11 per cent, of the families suffered loss by death of one or more of their members, the total deaths being 57. One of this number had been killed by the earthquake, and many,—the exact number could not be ascertained,—died from such indirect effects of the disaster as nervous prostration, or typhoid fever contracted in camp. The deaths for the period considered, though slightly above the normal, were not excessive.