There is no information to show that any one of these sub-stations had been established by the committee on relief of the hungry. As may be borne in mind, the number of stations in use on April 26 was reported by the committee on relief of the hungry to be 128; three days later, on taking charge, the army reported 177; early in May the number dropped, as is shown by [Table 5], to 112.
TABLE 5.—RELIEF STATIONS IN THE SEVEN CIVIL SECTIONS ON MAY 3 AND ON JUNE 3, 1906
| CIVIL SECTION | Food stations on May 3 | Food stations on June 3 | Hot meal kitchens on June 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Num- ber | Headquarters | |||
| I | Presidio entrance | 19 | .. | 4 |
| II | Oak St. near Stanyan | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| III | 3055 Van Ness Ave. | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| IV | Hamilton School, Geary and Scott Sts. | 35 | 10 | 4 |
| V | Buena Vista School, 18th and York Sts. | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| VI | 24th St. and Potrero Ave. | 21 | 5 | 2 |
| VII | 25th and Guerrero Sts. | 15 | 8 | .. |
| Total | 112 | 33 | 20 | |
Dr. Devine as representative of the American National Red Cross had appointed a civil chairman to be responsible for the receiving and investigation of applications. After May 1, the responsibility for the distribution of supplies was divided at each section between the military officer and the civil chairman. The civil chairman determined who should receive relief and the military officer made the necessary requisition on the Bureau of Consolidated Relief Stations.
The records of relief distribution are incomplete and there is no means of determining accurately from week to week the number of persons who received food, clothing, and other supplies, medical care and shelter. The most complete records[50] are furnished by the official camps. Colonel Febiger in his July report, already [quoted], says that “313,145 persons were on May 2 estimated to be receiving rations, though this number should probably be reduced to 300,000 to make allowance for repeaters.” General Greely made estimate that the number of cases of fraudulent repeating was not more than 3 per cent of the whole.
[50] For report sheet forms see [Appendix II], [pp. 430] and [431].
TABLE 6.—DAILY ISSUES OF RATIONS FROM APRIL 19 TO MAY 12, 1906
| Date | Number of persons (estimated) | Date | Number of persons (actual) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 | 1906 | ||||
| April | 19 | 100,000 | May | 1 | 313,117 |
| 20 | 150,000 | 2 | 313,117 | ||
| 21 | 200,000 | 3 | 279,631 | ||
| 22 | 225,000 | 4 | 230,207 | ||
| 23 | 250,000 | 5 | 264,570 | ||
| 24 | 270,000 | 6 | 262,027 | ||
| 25 | 290,000 | 7 | 233,989 | ||
| 26 | 306,000 | 8 | 223,915 | ||
| 27 | 310,000 | 9 | 222,313 | ||
| 28 | 315,000 | 10 | 204,637 | ||
| 29 | 315,000 | 11 | 186,960 | ||
| 30 | 315,000 | 12 | 147,232 | ||
| Daily average | 253,833 | Daily average | 240,143 | ||
Care has been taken to verify the estimate of the issues, which has called for some reduction of the totals as given in earlier reports. This accounts for the slight discrepancy between Colonel Febiger’s figure for May 2 and that given in the table.
The reason for the large increase in numbers in the bread line in the days immediately after the disaster is that householders had by then exhausted their private stock and could not make purchases, as most of the goods in retail stores had been confiscated; nor could food be prepared in private houses until chimneys had on inspection been found safe. From a week to two or three months, according to the location and the activity of the inspection, the fire prohibition held. In towns across the bay people with money in bank had difficulty in securing food because the banks were temporarily closed and the retail stores could not determine when they would be able to replenish their stock.