TABLE 16.—DESTINATION OF PERSONS SENT FROM SAN FRANCISCO IN SECOND AND THIRD PERIODS
| Destination | PERSONS SENT TO DESTINATIONS SPECIFIED | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 to May 10, inclusive | May 11 to June 30, inclusive | |||||
| Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | |||
| California points | 1,042 | 38 | .8 | 212 | 20 | .9 |
| Other Pacific Coast states | 579 | 21 | .6 | 193 | 19 | .0 |
| East | 1,063 | 39 | .6 | 609 | 60 | .0 |
| Various foreign points | .. | .. | 1 | .1 | ||
| Total | 2,684 | 100 | 1,015 | 100 | ||
TABLE 17.—VALUE AT REDUCED RATES OF TRANSPORTATION FURNISHED THROUGH THE COMMITTEE
| Terms of transportation | VALUE OF TRANSPORTATION FURNISHED | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 to June 30, 1906 | July 1, 1906, to June 2, 1908 | Total | |
| Paid by applicant | $4,987.27 | $585.47 | $5,572.74 |
| Paid by Committee | 10,878.32 | 30,921.70 | 41,800.02 |
| Estimate of contribution by railroads | 42,369.40 | 5,015.70 | 47,385.10 |
| Total | $58,234.99 | $36,522.87 | $94,757.86 |
5. PROVIDING SHELTER
In April in San Francisco, the weather being temperate and dry, shelter for the homeless may properly be considered an easy third in order of importance in the supplying of relief. The first night after the earthquake the people who had been driven from their homes by fire or by fear of another shock, sought rest in the public squares and parks, in vacant lots and in military reservations. Bedding was the necessity carried from their homes by many refugees who expected to return to them after the danger was past. Each family took possession of the first spot available. The more fortunate separated themselves from other families by means of trunks or boxes, or by a sheet or blanket thrown over a pole that rested on two stakes driven into the ground. As the hours passed a few real tents were secured, and shacks were made out of loose boards, tin cans, and sheet iron. Soon, tents from the army stores and from private sources were provided in increasing numbers and were set up with varying degrees of order.
Two hundred thousand persons came out from the burned district homeless, of whom possibly 75,000 left the city. These latter are included in the number of refugees that sought transportation, as shown in the preceding section. Shelter was found in some parts of the city for a large number through the hospitality of friends or strangers, through payment for lodging in cash or credit, or through the use of unoccupied houses. Two thousand persons found shelter in vacant houses through the efforts of the police. The capacity to house the needy was swelled by the use of basements, attics, and barns. The number of the homeless was increased to some extent by the general rise in rentals, which was great in certain parts of the city and which forced a small number of people into the ranks of applicants for shelter. During the first two weeks perhaps a thousand persons had no shelter but what they could find in the burned district amid the ruins or on wharves.
Tents were provided in the first days by voluntary agencies, by the sub-committee on housing the homeless, by the army, and by the American National Red Cross. The first named committee, which was one of those hastily appointed by the Citizens’ Committee immediately after the disaster, also built barracks. It set to work with great energy, but with complete independence of any other committee, especially of the Finance Committee and of the committees on relief of the hungry and on transportation, whose work it therefore overlapped. It appointed another sub-committee, on roofing the homeless, which canvassed the city for vacant houses and rooms and then induced but few persons to make use of its finds. It formulated plans for the construction of two permanent camps and made recommendations to the army to place all the homeless in Golden Gate Park, to which park it had as early as April 20, assisted by an army officer, hauled lumber for the building of barracks, for the flooring of tents, and for latrines.
An administration headquarters