The city of Philadelphia with characteristic generosity began the work
of raising a relief fund on the day following the disaster, the Mayor's
office and Drexel's banking house being the chief centres of receipt.
Within four days six hundred thousand dollars was in hand. A most
thorough organization and canvass of all trades and branches of business
was made under the following committees:
Machinery and Iron--George Burnham, Daniel A. Waters, William
Sellers, W. B. Bement, Hamilton Disston, Walter Wood, J. Lowber
Welsh, W. C. Allison, Charles Gilpin, Jr., E. Y. Townsend,
Dawson Hoopes, Alvin S. Patterson, Charles H. Cramp, and John H.
Brill.
Attorneys--Mayer Sulzberger, George S. Graham, George W.
Biddle, Lewis C. Cassidy, William F. Johnson, Joseph Parrish,
Hampton L. Carson, John C. Bullitt, John R. Read, and Samuel B.
Huey.
Physicians--William Pepper, Horatio C. Wood, Thomas G. Morton,
W. H. Pancoast, D. Hayes Agnew, and William W. Keen.
Insurance--R. Dale Benson, C. J. Madeira, E. J. Durban, and
John Taylor. Chemicals--William Weightman, H. B. Rosengarten,
and John Wyeth.
City Officers--John Bardsley, Henry Clay, Robert P. Dechert,
S. Davis Page, and Judge R. N. Willson.
Paper--A. G. Elliott, Whitney Paper Company, W. E. & E. D.
Lockwood, Alexander Balfour, and the Nescochague Paper
Manufacturing Company.
Coal--Charles F. Berwind, Austin Corbin, Charles E.
Barrington, and George B. Newton.
Wool Dealers--W. W. Justice, David Scull, Coates Brothers,
Lewis S. Fish & Co., and Theodore C. Search.
Commercial Exchange--Walter F. Hagar and William Brice.
Board of Trade--Frederick Fraley, T. Morris Perot, John H.
Michener, and Joel Cook.
Book Trade, Printing, and Newspapers--Charles Emory Smith,
Walter Lippincott, A. K. McClure, Charles E. Warburton, Thomas
MacKellar, William M. Singerly, Charles Heber Clark, and William
V. McKean.
Furniture--Charles B. Adamson, Hale, Kilburn & Co., John H.
Sanderson, and Amos Hillborn & Co.
Bakers and Confectioners--Godfrey Keebler, Carl Edelheim,
Croft & Allen, and H. O. Wilbur & Sons.
China, etc.--R. J. Allen, and Tyndale, Mitchell & Co.
Lumber--Thomas P. C. Stokes, William M. Lloyd Company, Henry
Bayard & Co., Geissel & Richardson, and D. A. Woelpper.
Cloth and Tailors' Trimmings--Edmund Lewis, Henry N. Steel,
Joseph R. Keim, John Alburger, and Samuel Goodman.
Notions, etc.--Joel J. Baily, John Field, Samuel Clarkson,
John C. Sullivan, William Super, John C. File, and W. B.
Hackenberg.
Clothing--H. B. Blumenthal, William Allen, Leo Loeb, William
H. Wanamaker, Alan H. Reed, Morris Newberger, Nathan Snellenburg,
Samuel Goodman, and John Alburger. Dry Goods
Manufacturers--Lincoln Godfrey, Lemuel Coffin, N. Parker
Shortridge, and W.H. Folwell.
Wholesale Dry Goods--Samuel B. Brown, John M. Howett, Henry H.
Ellison, and Edward T. Steel.
Retail Dry Goods--Joseph G. Darlington, Isaac H. Clothier,
Granville B. Haines, and Henry W. Sharpless.
Jewelers--Mr. Bailey, of Bailey, Banks & Biddle; James E.
Caldwell, and Simon Muhr.
Straw Goods, Hats, and Millinery--John Adler, C. H. Garden &
Co., and Henry Tilge.
City Railways--Alexander M. Fox, William H. Kemble, E. B.
Edwards, John F. Sullivan, and Charles E. Ellis.
Photography--F. Gutekunst, A. K. P. Trask, and H. C. Phillips.
Pianos and Musical--W. D. Dutton, Schomacker Piano Company,
and C. J. Heppe.
Plumbers--William Harkness, Jr., J. Futhey Smith, C. A.
Blessing, and Henry B. Tatham.
Liquors and Brewers--Joseph F. Sinnott, Bergner & Engel, John
Gardiner, and John F. Belz.
Hotels--E. F. Kingsley, Thomas Green, L. U. Maltby, C. H.
Reisser, and H. J. Crump.
Butchers--Frank Bower and Shuster Boraef.
Woolen Manufacturers--William Wood, George Campbell, Joseph P.
Truitt, and John C. Watt.
Retail Grocers--George B. Woodman, George A. Fletcher, Robert
Ralston, H. B. Summers, and E. J. Howlett.
Boots and Shoes--John Mundell, John G. Croxton, Henry Z.
Ziegler, and A. A. Shumway.
Theatrical--J. Fred. Zimmerman, Israel Fleishman, and T. F.
Kelly.
Tobacco Trade--M. J. Dohan, L. Bamberger, E. H. Frishmuth,
Jr., Walter Garrett, M. E. McDowell, J. H. Baltz, Henry Weiner,
and George W. Bremer.
Hosiery Manufactures--J. B. Allen and James B. Doak, Jr. Real
Estate--Adam Everly, John M. Gummey, and Lewis H. Redner.
Cordage--E. H. Fitler, John T. Bailey, and Charles Lawrence.
Patent Pavement--Dr. L. S. Filbert and James Stewart, Jr.
Bankers and Brokers--Winthrop Smith, Robert H. Glendenning,
George H. Thomas, William G. Warden, Lindley Smyth, Thomas
Cochran, J. L. Erringer, Charles H. Banes, Wharton Barker, and
Jacob Naylor.
Wholesale Grocers and Sugar Refiners--Francis B. Reeves,
Edward C. Knight, Adolph Spreckels, William Janney, and Charles
C. Harrison.
Shirt Manufacturers and Dealers--Samuel Sternberger and Jacob
Miller.
Carpets--James Dobson, Robert Dornan, Hugh McCallum, John F.
Orne, John R. White, and Thomas Potter, Jr.
Saddlery Hardware, etc.--William T. Lloyd, of Lloyd & Supplee;
Conrad B. Day, George DeB. Keim, Charles Thackara, John C.
Cornelius, William Elkins, Jr., and James Peters.
By Tuesday the tide of relief was flowing strongly. On that day between
eight and nine thousand packages of goods were sent to the freight depot
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to be forwarded to the sufferers. Wagons
came in an apparently endless stream and the quantity of goods received
far exceeded that of any previous day. Eight freight cars, tightly
packed, were shipped to Johnstown, while five car-loads of provisions
were sent to Williamsport, and one of provisions to Lewistown.
The largest consignment of goods from an individual was sent to
Williamsport by W. M. McCormick. He was formerly a resident of
Williamsport, and when he heard that the people of that city were
suffering for want of provisions, he immediately went out and ordered a
car-load of flour (one hundred and twenty-five barrels) and a car-load
of groceries and provisions, consisting of dried and smoked meats,
sugar, crackers, and a large assortment of other necessaries. Mr.
McCormick said he thought that several of his friends would go in with
him when they knew of the venture, but if they did not he would foot all
the bills himself.
The saddest incident of the day was the visit of a handsome young lady,
about twenty-three years of age. She was accompanied by an older lady,
and brought three packages of clothing. It was Miss Clydia Blackford,
whose home was in Johnstown. She said sobbingly that every one of her
relatives and friends had been lost in the floods, and her home entirely
wiped out. The gift of the packages to the sufferers of her old home
seemed to give her a sort of sad pleasure. She departed with tears in
her eyes.
When the convicts in the Eastern Penitentiary learned of the disaster
through the weekly papers which arrived on Wednesday and Thursday--the
only papers they are allowed to receive--a thing that will seem
incongruous to the outside world happened. The criminal, alone in his
cell, was touched with the same sympathy and desire to help fellow-men
in sore distress as the good people who have been filling relief depots
with supplies and coffers with money. Each as he read the story of the
flood would knock on his wicket and tell the keeper he wanted to give
some of his money.
The convicts, by working over and above their daily task, are allowed
small pay for the extra time. Half the money so earned goes to the
county from which the convict comes and half to the convict himself. The
maximum amount a Cherry Hill inmate can make in a week for himself is
one dollar.
The keepers told Warden Cassidy of the desire expressed all along that
the authorities receive their contributions. The convicts can do what
they please with their over-time money, by sending it to their friends,
and several had already sent small sums out of the Penitentiary to be
given to the Johnstown sufferers. The warden very promptly acceded to
the general desire and gave the keepers instructions. There are about
one thousand one hundred and ten men imprisoned in the institution, and
of this number one hundred and forty-six persons gave five hundred and
forty-two dollars and ninety-six cents. It would take one convict
working all his extra time ten years to earn that sum.
There was one old man, a cripple, who had fifteen dollars to his credit.
He said to the keeper: "I've been doing crooked work nearly all my life,
and I want to do something square this time. I want to give all the
money coming to me for these fellers out there." The warden, however,
had made a rule prohibiting any individual from contributing more than
five dollars. The old man was told this, but he was determined. "Look
here," said he; "I'll send the rest of my money out to my folks and tell
them to send it."
Chief of Police Mayer, in denying reports that there was an influx of
professional thieves into the flooded regions to rob the dead, said:
"The thieves wouldn't do anything like that; there is too much of the
gentleman in them." But here were thieves and criminals going into their
own purses out of that same "gentlemanly" part of them.
Up to Saturday, June 8th, the cash contributions in Philadelphia,
amounted to $687,872.68. Meantime countless gifts and expressions of
sympathy came from all over the world. The Lord Mayor of Dublin,
Ireland, raised a fund of $5,000. Archbishop Walsh gave $500.
Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Minister at Washington, called on the
President on June 7th, in company with Secretary Blaine, and delivered
a message from Queen Victoria expressing her deep sympathy for the
sufferers by the recent floods in Pennsylvania. The President said in
reply:
"Mr. Minister: This message of sympathy from Her Majesty the Queen will
be accepted by our people as another expression of her own generous
character, as well as of the friendliness and good-will of her people.
The disasters which have fallen upon several communities in the State of
Pennsylvania, while extreme and full of the most tragic and horrifying
incidents, have fortunately been limited in territorial extent. The
generosity of our own citizens will promptly lessen to these stricken
people every loss that is not wholly irretrievable; and these the
sympathy of the Queen and the English people will help to assuage. Will
you, Mr. Minister, be pleased to convey to the Queen the sincere thanks
of the American people."
[Illustration: WRECK OF THE LUMBER YARDS AT WILLAMSPORT, PA.]
A newspaper correspondent called upon the illustrious Miss Florence
Nightingale, at her home in London, and asked her to send a message to
America regarding the floods. In response, she wrote:
"I am afraid that I cannot write such a message as I would wish to
just at this moment. I am so overdone. I have the deepest
sympathy with the poor sufferers by the floods, and with Miss Clara
Barton, of the Red Cross Societies, and the good women who are
hastening to their help. I am so overworked and ill that I can feel
all the more but write all the less for the crying necessity.
(Signed) "FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE."
Though Miss Nightingale is sixty-nine years old, and an invalid, this
note was written in a hand indicating all the strength and vigor of a
schoolgirl. She is seldom able to go out now, though when she can she
dearly loves to visit the Nightingale Home for Training Nurses, which
constitutes such an enduring monument and noble record of her life. But,
though in feeble health, Miss Nightingale manages to do a great deal of
work yet. From all parts of the world letters pour in upon her, asking
advice and suggestions on matters of hospital management, of health and
of education, all of which she seldom fails to answer.
Last, but not least, let it be recorded that the members of the club
that owned the fatal lake sent promptly a thousand blankets and many
thousands of dollars to the sufferers from the floods, which had been
caused by their own lack of proper supervision of the dam.