The Citizens' Committee adopted and pronounced the following policy : There should be a clear understanding by all that the relief was to meet actual need, to secure the necessaries of living, and was not merely a reimburse ment against losses by the fire. Persons in need were expected to try every resource available before applying for it. It might be in the form of a gift or loan, in order to start needy persons anew in occupations by which they could probably earn a living. Secondly, in so far as the fire sufferers might be persons who had already been aided by existing charities, they should be referred for further aid to those charities ; the charities being reim bursed if necessary. As some of the suffering would fall upon persons who had never been aided, as some who would suffer most would be the last to make their needs known, the methods of administering relief should be such, as far as possible, as to avoid publicity. The hope of the committee was that, unless unusual measures were found to be absolutely necessary, its work of relief could be left to responsible charities. It believed that any unusual machinery if created would only cause confusion, duplicate agencies, and increase applications for aid. The churches and other bodies were expected to do much of themselves. The committee believed that many persons in need could best be cared for by those who knew well their language and ways of living— Hebrews by Hebrews, Italians by Italians, Germans by Germans.
In accordance with these principles, the executive committee was instructed to use the well-known, well organized charities as agencies for the committee, the charities being reimbursed, in so far as they might ask it, for material relief given or extra services rendered because of the fire, in the approval of the executive com mittee. That committee was empowered also, if it deemed such action best, to deal directly, by gift or loan, with any cases of need. It took into its employ, there fore, three persons — a clerk and bookkeeper, who should also act as visitor, if needed, another man to give all his time to visiting, and a stenographer. This remained, practically, the full office force.
From the beginning, there was hope that men who had been accustomed to laboring might be placed at work in cleaning up the burnt district, work on a business basis, under the proper city officials. But the opportunity for such work for a considerable number of men never came. As a matter of fact, there are always a number of labor ing men out of work in winter, and many of those who were seeking work were much more needy than most of those who had just lost work by the fire. The State Free Employment Bureau, located in Baltimore, seemed a proper agency to which persons asking merely for employ ment might be sent. Its use was urged upon employers, also.
The executive committee had to see at once that the leading charities, which it wished to use for most appli cants, were prepared to deal with them, to relieve needs promptly, adequately, and without publicity. On Sun
day the 14th, the chairman addressed a large meeting of members of the Hebrew Benevolent Society. It had been for years the one large general agency for relieving Jews, but one or two smaller bodies had undertaken work in the eastern part of the city. All were now urged to work together under one representative committee with which the Citizens' Relief Committee could promptly deal. They were urged, also, to receive applications in writing, so that persons who hesitated to apply need not come to any public place, and to have inquiries made in the homes of the needy. These requests were met with enthusiasm. The next day a representative committee came to the City Hall stating that they were prepared to deal in future with all Jewish applicants, according to particular needs, in the ways indicated. The society had, since the fire, been relieving and caring for a considerable number of burned-out families, and for all such unusual expenses, over and above its receipts for fire sufferers from citizens, it was promptly reimbursed. A number of Ital ian families had already gone to the Italian Consul, ask ing for aid, and he and several leading Italians were planning to form a relief committee when the represen tative of the mayor's committee called upon them in turn that Sunday afternoon. The next day, also, they reported at the City Hall the formation of such a relief committee whose members were willing to give much time and thought to dealing with fire sufferers of their own people. They were told to go ahead at once, to relieve in the same way as the Hebrew society, with promise of reim bursement for necessary outlay. On the same Sunday night a special meeting of the St. Vincent de Paul Society was held, and its workers in the twenty and more con ferences throughout the city promised to give prompt attention to fire sufferers. The German society agreed to cooperate also. Thus the committee was soon able to publish in all the leading papers the following adver tisement together with the names and addresses of the leading charities, headed by the two large general ones — the Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor and the Charity Organization Society, working together as the Federated Charities, which maintain a general application bureau in a central location, eight dis trict offices, and fourteen agents in the field : — " The Executive Committee of the Mayor's Advisory Committee as to the relief of need owing to the fire, wishes to announce to the public, on behalf of the leading charitable agencies to which it is referring persons for relief, that persons in need because of the fire, who have never had to ask charitable aid, are not required to make applications at any public office, but may state their needs in writing through the mail to those charities, and inquiries which may then be made will be made by visitors of the charities, in the homes, without publicity.