|
|
|
|
Charity Done Right: How San Francisco Recovered From the 1906 Earthquake and Fire |
| Section: MODERN THOUGHT / ESSAYS |
| Author: Daniel T. Oliver |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/2001 |
| Size: 3,908 Words, 24,680 Characters |
|
When the fires were finally extinguished, as many as 3,000 San Franciscans had lost their lives, nearly half the city's 450,000 residents were left homeless, thousands had lost their means of livelihood, and 490 blocks with more than 28,000 buildings valued at $400 million ($7.2 billion in today's currency) had been destroyed. The fires burned an area one-fourth larger than the Chicago fire's destruction in 1871. Every major hotel, store, and warehouse was destroyed. In monetary terms, the San Francisco earthquake and fire was the greatest disaster to befall any U.S. city.
For days there were no utilities--no electricity, no natural gas, and no working telephones or telegraphs. There was little running water, and all the city's food warehouses had burned the first day. How were these realities dealt with, and how did San Francisco eventually recover?
While the government played some role in the recovery, private initiative did most of the work. The story of the relief effort offers valuable lessons about the power of voluntarism and how to effectively help the needy.
THE GOVERNMENT'S MARGINAL ROLE
The government's role immediately following the quake included keeping law and order. While martial law was not officially declared, Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz issued a proclamation ordering the police, military, and citizen patrols to kill any persons found looting. (Nine were shot, some accidentally and some intentionally. Americans today would likely look upon the mayor's action as morally wrong.) Schmitz also imposed a curfew and closed the saloons. The first day of the fires, the Navy delivered by barge 50,000 gallons of fresh water. The Board of Public Works filled carts normally used for sprinkling the streets to distribute water to refugees.
During the first few weeks following the disaster, the military played a vital role in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and caring for the sick. During the fires, the Army played an important role in efforts, largely unsuccessful, to stop the conflagration by dynamiting buildings in the path of the fires. Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston summoned troops from the Presidio and San Francisco's Forts Mason and Miley, while a large garrison from Monterey and another from Vancouver Barracks were dispatched. The quartermaster at the Presidio issued 3,000 tents, 58,000 pairs of shoes, 24,000 shirts, blankets, and other items to refugees. The Army also provided 900...
Read Full Article
...riffith, Food Bank of Delaware, quoted in "Feeding a Growing Need," Chronicle of Philanthropy, 7 Aug. 1997, 27--28.
FOOTNOTE: 10.James Bovard, "The FEMA Snow Job," Cato Institute op-ed, 19 Feb. 1997; J. Taylor Buckly, "Aid and Insurance Help, but the Victims Pay a Lot," USA Today, 6 Sep. 1997; and Barbara Saffir, "FEMA Sets Criteria for Disaster Relief," Washington Times, 2 Apr. 1999.
(2,498 of 24,680 characters)
|
|
|
Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
|
The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
