During July and August the tents in the permanent camps were floored. Buildings were put up in each camp containing latrines and wash and bath-houses with hot and cold running water.
The unofficial camps, whose moral and sanitary condition was very unsatisfactory, harbored a large number of refugees. As late as September 1, 1906, their estimated population was from 10,000 to 15,000. The Finance Committee had tried to have the campers move into the official camps, but had failed because the police department, which was the only authority that could eject, was unwilling to remove any large number of persons. The police, of course, reflected the attitude of the general public, which seems to have classed as official, though it was not recognized as such by the Finance Committee, a large independent camp, which was a private business venture, renting land to refugees on which they might erect their own tents. General Greely, as has been described,[76] had tried to induce removal to the official camps. The importance of having all camp life under military discipline can be readily appreciated when one considers how difficult under any auspices it would be to give sanitary and moral protection to a large body of persons living under abnormal conditions.
The three essentials for camp tenants laid down as rules by General Greely were decency, order, and cleanliness. The camp commanders tried to get rid of the disorderly element as far as they could without causing hardship to others. When a person was ejected from one camp all other camps were notified and he was not allowed to enter any of them.
The following statement of the number of ejectments from May, 1906, to January, 1908, shows that there was constant attention to this problem. The dashes which appear in the columns representing ejectments, opposite June, 1906, and February and March, 1907, indicate that no ejectments were reported for these months, though it is probable that ejectments which were not reported occurred in the months mentioned and in the months between January, 1908, and the close of the relief work.
TABLE 23.—EJECTMENTS FROM CAMPS DURING THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF THE RELIEF WORK, BY MONTHS
| Month and year | Eject- ments | |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | May | 18 |
| June | .. | |
| July | 5 | |
| August | 108 | |
| September | 75 | |
| October | 43 | |
| November | 60 | |
| December | 35 | |
| 1907 | January | 15 |
| February | .. | |
| March | .. | |
| April | 1 | |
| May | 26 | |
| June | 11 | |
| July | 27 | |
| August | 23 | |
| September | 10 | |
| October | 10 | |
| November | 5 | |
| December | 4 | |
| 1908 | January | 12 |
| Total ejectments for period | 488 | |
Reasons for ejectments, as stated by the camp commanders, and the number of ejectments for each reason or group of reasons, are shown in [Table 24].
TABLE 24.—REASONS FOR EJECTMENTS FROM CAMPS DURING THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF THE RELIEF WORK
| Reason for ejectment | Eject- ments |
|---|---|
| Drunkenness | 148 |
| Drunken and disorderly conduct | 133 |
| Disturbance of the peace and disorderly conduct | 74 |
| Immorality | 14 |
| Refusal to pay rent | 12 |
| Refusal to work in camp | 10 |
| Vagrancy | 9 |
| Assault | 5 |
| Stealing and burglary | 4 |
| Miscellaneous reasons | 48 |
| Reason not stated | 31 |
| Total | 488 |