In its work of construction the committee employed 20 building contractors[212] and one plumbing contractor. The average cost of the 543 dwellings erected was $544.92 for the construction work alone. Five hundred and eleven of these houses were equipped with plumbing at an additional cost averaging $146.15 per house.
[212] The contractors engaged were those accustomed to handle a small amount of building, the larger and more responsible contractors being unwilling to undertake to handle such small lots of building.
To obtain the material presented in this study, visits were made to 1,157 of the families who had received grants or grants and loans from the housing committee. From 896, or 77 per cent of the families visited, schedules were obtained for tabulation. No trace of 172 of the remaining 261 could be found. They had received aid to build their own houses, and had undoubtedly done so in most cases. As they had come as strangers into their various new neighborhoods, only to move shortly, the people in the immediate vicinity knew nothing of them. Of the remaining 89 families, 33 had rented and 35 had sold their houses, and had disappeared. Only eight persons were found who had received aid but had not built; 13 who had built refused to give any information.
4. FAMILIES MAKING USE OF THE GRANTS AND LOANS
Data with regard to who and what the 896 families visited were, are given in the following pages. The 28 different nationalities represented is a greater number than for those who received the bonus, a smaller number than for the camp cottagers.
TABLE 84.—NATIONALITY OF APPLICANTS RECEIVING AID UNDER THE GRANT AND LOAN PLAN
| Nationality | Native born applicants whose parents were of each specified nationality | Foreign born applicants of each specified nationality |
|---|---|---|
| American | 397 | .. |
| Irish | 19 | 115 |
| German | 12 | 108 |
| English | 3 | 43 |
| Italian | 3 | 33 |
| Swedish | .. | 24 |
| Scotch | 3 | 18 |
| French | 1 | 18 |
| Austrian | .. | 12 |
| Danish | .. | 12 |
| Other nationalities | 7 | 68 |
| Total | 445 | 451 |
The Americans and Irish head the list, as in the camp cottage group. The large number of Americans and the small number of Italians as compared with the bonus group may be explained in part by the fact that these applicants were not compelled to build in the burned section, which, it may be recalled, included the portions of the city that had been most thickly settled by the Irish and Italians.
The status of the families that had received the grant and loan was more normal than that of either of the other groups. This is shown by the figures given in [Table 85].
TABLE 85.—CONJUGAL CONDITION OF FAMILIES RECEIVING AID UNDER THE GRANT AND LOAN PLAN