Relief Sent from All Parts of the World as Soon as the True Situation of
Affairs was Made Known--Millions of Dollars Subscribed and Thousands of
Carloads of Supplies Forwarded to the Desolated City.
Mayor Jones, of Galveston, issued his appeal to the United States for help
on the 11th inst., and the response was prompt and liberal.
The Mayor was not afraid the people of the United States and the world
would call him sensational, for no one was better qualified to judge of
the situation than he.
He had spent almost every hour after the flood in working for the good of
the city and had accomplished wonders.
He organized the citizens, giving of his own money, induced others--more
unwilling than he--to open their hearts and pocketbooks, and, in fact,
took no rest for days after the calamity.
As he had been around the city several times before the appeal was issued,
he knew the condition of things thoroughly.
Therefore, the general public had confidence in what he said:
The same day the General Relief Committee of Galveston issued the
following:
"Galveston, Tex., Sept. 11.--To the Public of America:
"A conservative estimate of the loss of life is that it will reach
3,000; at least 5,000 families are shelterless and wholly destitute.
The entire remainder of the population is suffering in greater or
less degree.
"Not a single church, school or charitable institution, of which
Galveston had so many, is left intact. Not a building escaped damage
and half the whole number were entirely obliterated.
"There is immediate need for food, clothing and household goods of
all kinds. If near by cities will open asylums for women and children
the situation will be greatly relieved.
"Coast cities should send us water as well as provisions, including
kerosene oil, gasoline and candles.
"W. C. JONES,
"Mayor.
"M. LASKER,
"President Island City Savings Bank.
"J. D. SKINNER,
"President Cotton Exchange.
"C. H. McMASTER,
"For Chamber of Commerce.
"R. G. LOWE,
"Manager Galveston News.
"CLARENCE OWSLEY,
"Manager Galveston Tribune.
"Members of the Galveston Local Relief Committee."
The Secretary of the Treasury at Washington received a joint telegram from
Postmaster Griffen and Special Deputy Collector Rosenthal, at Galveston.
This described the destruction caused by the storm and said:
"Thousands homeless and destitute. Five hundred sheltered in custom house,
which is practically roofless. Old custom house roofless and windows blown
out. Need tents and 30,000 rations. Citizens' relief committee doing all
in their power, but stock of undamaged provisions exhausted. With all the
people housed, need extra force six men to keep building in sanitary
condition. Relief urgently requested."
The Secretary sent the government revenue cutter Onondaga from Norfolk to
Mobile, Ala., to carry supplies to Galveston.
The day the appeal was made Acting Secretary of War Meiklejohn at
Washington authorized the chartering of a special train from St. Louis to
carry Quartermasters' and commissary supplies to the relief of the
destitute at Galveston.
Orders were also issued by the War Department for the immediate shipment
to Galveston of 855 tents and 50,000 rations. These stores and supplies
were divided between St. Louis and San Antonio.
September 12 Governor Sayers issued the following statement:
"Austin, Tex., Sept. 12.--Conditions at Galveston are fully as bad as
reported. Communication, however, has been re-established between the
island and the mainland, and hereafter transportation of supplies
will be less difficult.
"The work of clearing the city is progressing fairly well, and
Adjutant-General Scurry, under direction of the mayor, is patrolling
the city for the purpose of preventing depredations.
"The most conservative estimate as to the number of deaths places
them at 2,000.
"Contributions from citizens of this state, and also from other
states, are coming in rapidly and liberally, and it is confidently
expected that within the next ten days the work of restoration by the
people of Galveston will have begun in good earnest and with energy
and success.
"Of course, the destruction of property has been very great, not less
than $10,000,000, but it is hoped and believed that even this great
loss will be overcome through the energy and self-reliance of the
people.
"JOSEPH D. SAYERS, Governor."
On the same day the Galveston General Relief Committee sent out this
statement of the condition of affairs:
"We are receiving numerous telegrams of condolence and offers of
assistance. Near-by cities are supplying and will supply sufficient
food, clothing, etc., for immediate needs. Cities farther away can
serve us best by sending money. Checks should be made payable to John
Sealy, Chairman of the Finance Committee. All supplies should come to
W. A. McVitie, Chairman Relief Committee.
"We have 25,000 people to clothe and feed for many weeks and to
furnish with household goods. Most of these are homeless, and the
others will require money to make their wrecked residences habitable.
From this the world may understand how much money we will need. This
committee will from time to time report our needs with more
particularity. We refer to dispatch of this date of Major R. G. Lowe,
which the committee fully endorses. All communicants will please
accept this answer in lieu of direct response and be assured of the
heartfelt gratitude of the entire population.
"W. C. JONES, Mayor.
"M. LASKER,
"J. D. SKINNER,
"C. H. McMASTER,
"R. G. LOWE,
"CLARENCE OWSLEY."
Colonel Amos. S. Kimball, Assistant Quartermaster General, stationed at
New York, was informed by army contractors on Tuesday, the day the appeal
was sent out, that Miss Helen Gould had purchased 50,000 army rations for
the Galveston sufferers. The rations were started from the Pennsylvania
railroad station in Jersey City at 3 p. m. the same day. Miss Gould went
directly to the contractors who supply the army with provisions and
ordered rations identical with those furnished for soldiers, consisting of
bacon, canned meats, beans, hard bread, and coffee.
Chicago sent $25,000 to the Governor of Texas; Andrew Carnegie gave
$20,000 in cash; Sir Thomas Lipton cabled from London to his manager at
New York to send $1,000 at once, which was done; Davenport, Ia., sent
$1,600 immediately; Philadelphia wired Governor Sayers $5,000 without
delay; the American Steel Hoop Company, American Tin Plate Company and
American Sheet Steel Company gave $10,000 each, and the Southern Pacific
Railway Company, $5,000; Chicago started a trainload of supplies
southward, as also did the State of California; the railroads hauling the
cars free of charge; several newspapers in Chicago, New York and Kansas
City either gave money or started relief trains with doctors, nurses and
medical supplies, with orders to beat the best record time to Galveston;
Cincinnati began with $1,000 and subscribed that amount daily for many
days; Cleveland, O., telegraphed $2,500, and then made it $15,000; 30,000
rations and 900 United States army tents were sent from St. Louis from the
office of the United States Quartermaster; the mayor of Colorado Springs,
Colo., was told by the citizens to send $2,000 at once and he did so;
nearly all the theatres of the United States gave benefits; the State of
Kansas, having $500 left in its Indian Famine Relief Fund, sent that;
people of the State of Texas sent $15,000 to the Governor at Austin;
Houston, Tex., raised $2,000 in cash; the Governors of nearly all the
States issued proclamations calling upon their people to subscribe to the
relief fund, the mayors of most of the cities doing the same--the
consequence being that Governor Sayers had about $250,000 in hand in cash
that very (Tuesday) night, with several hundreds of thousands more in
sight and within call.
By Thursday he had $900,000 in hand and on Saturday had $1,500,000, in
addition to which were several thousand cars loaded with supplies of all
sorts--provisions, medicines, disinfectants, fruits, clothing, wines for
the sick, tents, bandages, stoves, oil--everything that could possibly be
needed.
It was estimated that fully $2,500,000 would be necessary to carry the
sufferers through the fall and winter and into the following spring, for
thousands of them were ill and unable to provide in any way for
themselves. There were fully 50,000 men, women and children in Galveston
and Central and Southern Texas who were dependent upon charity.
On Friday night Governor Sayers decided upon two important plans of
action. The first was that he would allow all food and clothing shipped
from the east and west to be concentrated in Galveston for the use of that
city and that he would also grant that city the use of 30,000 laborers for
a period of thirty days, the same to be paid $1.50 per man per day for
that time out of the relief fund. In addition thereto all requests for
money from the Galveston Relief Committee were to be granted.
His second decision was that he personally would look after the needs of
the 30,000 destitute along the gulf coast on the mainland, provide them
with flour and bacon and keep them going until they get on their feet
again. Chairman Sealy of the Galveston committee was to keep track of the
Galveston situation while the Governor looked out for the outside points.
That night a local committee from Galveston was sent to Houston and
Virginia Point to take charge of the receiving and distribution of
supplies that arrived there for the Galveston people. A serious matter
confronting the authorities not only at the coast points, but in the
cities near Galveston, was the rapid gathering of toughs, gamblers and
rough characters generally, which after the flood were forced to leave
Galveston island as they would not work. Others drifted into the mainland
opposite Galveston and on to the neighboring towns by the hundreds in the
hope of pickpocketing and the like among the crowds.
All this gathering of disorderly characters made the peace officers rather
uneasy as to the future. The police and troops in Galveston and the
special officers on the mainland were constantly on the alert to keep down
trouble and prevent all possible thieving and they did not get the upper
hand of this element until they had shot a score or more. These fellows
would steal the provisions and supplies sent by the generous people from
the outside, and whenever caught were shot without delay.
The following was sent out from Galveston on Saturday, Sept. 15, which
showed how serious the situation was:
"Galveston, Texas, Sept. 14.--Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, Governor: After
the fullest possible investigation here we feel justified in saying
to you and through you to the American people that no such disaster
has ever overtaken any community or section in the history of our
country. The loss of life is appalling and can never be accurately
determined. It is estimated at 5,000 to 8,000 people.
"There is not a home in Galveston that has not been injured, while
thousands have been destroyed. The property loss represents
accumulations of sixty years and more millions than can be safely
stated. Under these conditions, with ten thousand people homeless and
destitute, with the entire population under a stress and strain
difficult to realize, we appeal directly in the hour of our great
emergency to the sympathy and aid of mankind.
"WALTER JONES,
"Mayor.
"R. B. HAWLEY,
Congressman.
"McKIBBIN,
"Commander Department of Texas."
General McKibbin, when he looked over the city three days before, had
wired the War Department at Washington that perhaps 1,000 people had
perished. He was a conservative man, as army officers usually are, and
when he signed a statement saying probably 8,000 persons had lost their
lives his signature carried weight with it.
Not only did the people of the United States sympathize deeply with the
Texas sufferers, but those of other nations as well. President Loubet, of
France, sent the following kind message to President McKinley at
Washington:
"Rambouillet Presidence, Sept. 12.--To His Excellency, the President
of the United States of America:
"The news of the disaster which has just devastated the State of
Texas has deeply moved me. The sentiments of traditional friendship
which unite the two republics can leave no doubt in your mind
concerning the very sincere share that the President, the government
of the republic, and the whole nation take in the calamity that has
proved such a cruel ordeal for so many families in the United States.
"It is natural that France should participate in the sadness, as well
as in the joy, of the American people. I take it to heart to tender
to your excellency our most heartfelt condolences, and to send to the
families of the victims the expression of our afflicted sympathy.
"EMILE LOUBET."
President McKinley sent this answer the next day:
"Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., Sept. 13.--His Excellency,
Emile Loubet, President of the French Republic, Rambouillet, France:
"I hasten to express, in the name of the thousands who have suffered
by the disaster in Texas, as well as in behalf of the whole American
people, heartfelt thanks for your touching message of sympathy and
condolence.
"WILLIAM McKINLEY."
SCHOOL CHILDREN GAVE THEIR PENNIES.
Even the school children of the country helped the sufferers with their
pennies. Miss Ethel Donelson, a pupil at the Grant School, Chicago, wrote
a letter to a Chicago daily paper suggesting that the school children give
some of their pennies to the victims of the great hurricane. The idea was
carried out and several thousand dollars was raised in this way in
Chicago. The plan was adopted also in several other cities.
When the suggestion was first made United States Postoffice Inspector
Walter S. Mayor wrote as follows:
"I was reared in Galveston; lived there from my infancy until
appointed to the government service nineteen years ago, and my mother
and brother still live there.
"When Chicago had its great fire in 1871 the people of Galveston sent
a generous subscription, and with it was one made up by the boys of
the school I attended. Our teacher, E. E. Crawford, gave us a holiday
for the purpose, and the fifty-odd boys organized themselves into a
number of soliciting committees. I was on the committee with Charles
Fowler, now one of Galveston's leading business men, and we two
succeeded in collecting $8. In all, for our day's work we got
together $200, which was turned into the general fund raised by the
Citizens' Committee.
"In the twenty-nine years that have followed since then Chicago has
pulled itself out of the ashes and risen to a high place among the
world cities. Many forces have been brought to bear to accomplish
this great end, but possibly the most potent one was the helping hand
of the neighbor when help was needed. Among those who helped with
their little mite may the school children of Galveston now be
remembered.
"I most heartily second Miss Donelson's suggestion that the school
children of Chicago be given an opportunity to aid their little
brothers and sisters in Galveston, many of whom are naked and
orphaned by the terrible disaster that has come to them.
"WALTER S. MAYER,
"Postoffice Inspector."
On Thursday, Sept. 13, American residents and visitors in Paris, France,
together with Frenchmen whose sympathies were aroused by the storm
disaster in Texas, contributed 50,000 francs in twenty minutes for the
relief of the sufferers. The Americans held a meeting in the Chamber of
Commerce, which was largely attended. United States Ambassador Porter was
a leader among those who proposed to organize for the work of aiding in
the relief. The Americans perfected an organization and elected General
Porter President, George Munroe, the banker, Treasurer, and Francis
Kimball Secretary. The subscription list was then opened and the 50,000
francs raised. The Mayor of Galveston was informed by cable of the result.
The same day P. P. W. Houston, Member of Parliament for the West Toxteth
division of Liverpool, England, and head of the Houston Line of steamers,
cabled L1,000 to Galveston for the relief of the sufferers.
Members of the American colony in Berlin, Germany, held a meeting Sunday,
September 16, at the United States Embassy and raised $5,000.
Americans in London subscribed $10,000 and many London theatres gave
benefits.
The Marquis of Salisbury, Premier of England, the Emperor William of
Germany, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Italy, the Czar of Russia--in
fact, nearly all the heads of state in the world cabled condolences, and
the legislative bodies of foreign nations then in session passed
resolutions of sympathy.
By Saturday New York had raised $174,000; Chicago, $91,000, together with
many carloads of supplies which were sent as special trains, and the
following cities had contributed the amounts named:
St. Louis $61,300
Boston 32,140
Philadelphia 29,358
New Orleans 26,000
Cincinnati 7,314
Cleveland 9,358
Colorado Springs 7,100
Minneapolis 13,430
Denver 12,180
Pittsburg 26,123
Kansas City 15,321
Portland, Oregon 1,000
Peoria, Ill. 1,800
Memphis 8,426
San Francisco 16,000
Louisville 12,585
Baltimore 12,138
Milwaukee 13,431
Springfield, Ill. 2,314
St. Paul 6,904
Topeka, Kan. 5,110
Charleston, S. C. 6,008
Los Angeles 5,400
Detroit 4,936
Indianapolis 3,800
Helena, Mont. 3,400
Johnstown, Pa. 3,000
As stated before, the total for the four and a half days ensuing from the
time the appeal was issued--$1,500,000 was contributed, while an
additional $1,000,000 was not long in following. Both Chicago and New York
increased their subscriptions largely.
In no case did the railroads charge for carrying the cars over their
lines.
THEIR PENALTIES WERE REMITTED.
Navigation and other laws were set at naught by the United States
authorities in order to help the Galveston and other flood sufferers. On
Friday, September 14, the following telegram was referred to General
Spaulding by President McKinley:
"Galveston, Tex., Sept. 12, 1900.--To President of the United States:
In consequence of calamity and fear of sickness numerous people wish
to leave the city. All our rail communication is cut off. The revenue
cutter of this district is disabled and no American steamer
immediately available. We therefore respectfully request you to
instruct the proper authorities to allow British steamers Caledonia
and Whitehall and any other foreign vessels now here, but compelled
to proceed to New Orleans for cargo, to carry passengers from
Galveston to New Orleans.
"W. C. JONES, Mayor,
"CLARENCE OUSLEY,
"J. D. SKINNER,
"C. H. McMASTER,
"R. G. LOWE,
"Committee."
General Spaulding at once sent the following telegram:
"W. C. Jones, Mayor, Galveston, Tex.: Replying to your telegram of
the 12th inst. addressed to President: If British steamships
Caledonia, Whitehall, or other foreign vessels now in your port carry
passengers in distress from Galveston to New Orleans or other
American ports during present conditions this department will
consider favorably applications for remission of penalties which may
be incurred under the law. Advise masters.
"O. L. SPAULDING, Acting Secretary."
On Friday night Governor Sayers stated that the work of relieving the
flood sufferers was making excellent progress. He said:
"Most generous contributions are coming in from all parts of the country
sufficiently large to relieve the immediate wants as to food and clothing,
and in the meantime the people of Galveston are recovering themselves, and
I have no hesitancy in expressing the firm conviction that a strong
reaction from an almost mortal blow to the city has already set in, and
that in a short while the city will be in a condition to resume its normal
and progressive position in commercial life. After a full conference
to-day with an authorized committee from Galveston, I am more than
convinced that the people there will be able, with the assistance already
given, to handle the situation successfully."
HOW GALVESTON'S BUSINESS MEN WERE HELPED ALONG.
As a rule there is no sentiment in business, but the retail merchants of
Galveston whose business and fortunes were swept away were not forgotten
in the hour of need by the wholesale houses of Chicago, which announced
just after the disaster that stocks of goods would be shipped promptly and
willingly, any time and terms being accorded to the business of the gulf
city. The regular way of determining credits was ignored, as was the
credit man also. His cold judgment was not asked for, but instead sympathy
and compassion for the unfortunate position of the merchants of the
stricken city determined largely the stand the wholesalers announced they
would take.
In doing this the houses of Chicago had the precedent established by the
outside world in its treatment of them in the days following the great
Chicago fire. Chicago men said they will do as they were done by, and the
Galveston merchant had but to ask for the help he needed. Many Chicago
houses wrote their Galveston customers at once advising them that they
could have credit, time, and terms to suit themselves. This favor was also
given to all business men who had lost all but names and prestige, whether
they had been customers or not.
Firms that never had had any business with Galveston or Texas firms stated
that they stood ready to ship goods on the same terms. No business man in
the damaged district, they said, whose misfortunes were due to the
catastrophe could come to Chicago for supplies and go away without them
even if he had not a dollar's worth of assets in the world, as long as he
could show a former good business standing and repute.
"We will take any and all risks," said one after another of the
representatives of Chicago wholesale houses. "In the present emergency
credits cannot be measured by the regular business standards. Humanity
must dictate the terms on which the merchants of Galveston who have bought
from us, or who may want to buy from us, are to have goods and supplies."
Firm after firm of the wholesale district, whether or not they now have
trade in the afflicted territory, made the same statement.
"We already have written to 200 former customers who are scattered along
the coast, asking them how they came out of the disaster and offering them
any terms of settlement their losses may warrant," said the credit man of
one of the largest houses in the West, on the Friday following the flood.
"We will view the facts in their cases not from a business but from a
sympathetic standpoint."
"We are making our former customers time, terms and credits of their own
asking," said the Vice-President of a great wholesale dry goods house. "We
will make the same terms to new customers who have been good business
men."
"We have advised former customers that their orders will be filled
promptly for complete stocks," said the manager of a music and musical
instrument house. "We have told them to make their own time and terms. We
charge no interest."
"We are looking at the men of Galveston and not at their present assets,"
said the managing partner of a wholesale clothing house having a large
Texas trade.
"We have sent word to fifty of our customers in Galveston to draw on us
for new stocks without asking them if they have saved a penny from the
catastrophe," said the President of one of the largest cigar and tobacco
concerns in the city.
"The conditions are so distressing as to shame a Chicagoan asking what any
Galveston business man has to-day," said the manager of a grocery house.
"We have never reached into Texas after trade, but shall do so
immediately. Any business man wanting our goods can have them on his own
terms."
"Our customers in Galveston can send in their orders for new stocks and
have them filled as quickly as if they forwarded double prices," said a
furnishing goods wholesaler. "We are not asking them what their assets
are."