The Great Galveston Disaster: Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of De — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Great Galveston Disaster: Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of De
John Stuart Mill · en
“The telegraph and telephone companies and railroads have been
exceedingly generous since the great calamity. They have not only given
money, but everything has been transported to that city free of charge,
while those desiring to get away from the harrowing scenes of Galveston
have been transported free. The people of Texas will long remember with
grateful hearts the kindness of these companies. It is now an assured
fact that trains will be running into Galveston this week, and, with
uninterrupted communication with the outside world, Galveston should
soon assume her normal condition.”
DISTRIBUTING $40,000 A DAY.
Twenty thousand people are being fed and cared for daily in Galveston
with the supplies which are pouring in from all parts of the country.
This will be cut at least one-half in ten days, is the statement of W.
A. McVitie, chairman of the central relief committee.
The estimated cost of the aid which is now being extended is $40,000 a
day. The great bulk of the aid is going to the 4,000 men who are at work
cleaning up the wreckage, digging for bodies and cleaning the streets.
Through them it goes to their families. No able-bodied laboring man is
allowed to escape the work, whether he needs aid or not, though most of
them do. The business men who are in position to resume are allowed to
attend to their stores, and their clerical forces are not interfered
with.
The debris-hunting and street-cleaning work will be put upon a cash
basis, the wages being $1.50. Time has been kept from the beginning,
though the records are not complete, and it is the expectation, if the
money which comes in from outside is adequate, that the men will be paid
for the full time they have worked. This will apply to those who had to
be made to work at the point of the bayonet, as well as those who
volunteered their services. This will not be given in cash, but in the
form of orders for tools for mechanics, lumber for those who have homes
they wish to repair, etc.
Heretofore practically every able-bodied man has been made to work, and
unless he worked he got no supplies. The first few days’ wages consisted
entirely of rations, which were given according to the number and needs
of the laborer’s family, regardless of the amount of work he
accomplished. Since other supplies have begun coming in they have been
added.