At a public meeting held Tuesday, June 4, the whole conduct of affairs had been placed in the hands of Mr. Scott, and the responsibility remained upon him for a period of eight days —June 4 to 12 —until the Pitts burg Committee was relieved ; and at the same meeting, committees had been appointed, in many instances the appointments being identical with those made in the town• meeting three days before. During the administration of Mr. Scott large sums of money were expended from the funds sent to the Pittsburg Relief Committee (over $200,000), not only in the purchase of food and clothing, but in establishing communication between the different parts of the city, in the search for and burial of the dead, in the cremation of the large number of bodies of domestic animals scattered through the valley, and in other meas ures of relief.' From 6000 to 7000 persons were employed at this time, and 30,000 persons were receiving relief.
It was found that the only constitutional method by which the assistance of the state, as such, could be given, was through the state board of health. There was ample warrant for action by, this body, as the conditions were a serious menace to the health, not only of the immediate, but of the surrounding, communities, constituting a public nuisance, with which the local authorities were, of course, wholly unable to cope, and which was not formally de clared by the state board of health to be abated until 1 Report of secretary of Flood Relief Commission, p. 20.
October 12. The clearing of the waterways, and the removal of debris from the streets were, therefore, in trusted to the state board of health, which body, how ever, was represented, after the retirement of Mr. Scott from active direction on June 12, by Adjutant-General Hastings, who, both as the representative of the military affairs of the state, and as the representative of the gov ernor in carrying out the plan and purpose of the state board of health, assumed full control and formal charge of all local operations. General Hastings also assumed charge of the relief work of the Flood Commission, sum moning to his assistance for this purpose commissary officers of the National Guard. Under General Hastings the administration department of the Quartermaster-Gen eral assumed charge of the work connected with transpor tation, the erection of buildings, including storage houses, the purchase of coffins, and other similar duties. The department of public safety was intrusted with the pres ervation of order, and the protection of property ; the medical department, with the care of the sick and injured, and the proper burial of the dead ; the bureau of informa tion, with the securing of a record of the dead, with means for their identification, and with answering the inquiries from all parts of the world ; the department of valuables, with the care of property which was found, and its restora tion to the rightful owner. The officers in charge of these departments, being on military duty, received their regu lar pay from the state, but expenditures for the wages of employees and for supplies were made by the commission.
The commission was represented at Johnstown by General Hastings until July 2, when Judge H. H. Cummin, a member of the commission, went to Johnstown as its executive officer. After a very brief service, however, he became ill, and died on August 11, after which time the commission was represented only by its secretary.
In the first days of June, after the temporary appoint ment of the local Johnstown committee, as many as possi ble of the able-bodied survivors were set at work, clearing away debris, under the pledges made by representatives of the Cambria Company and the Johnson Company, that they would be paid for their labor. Stores were also ordered forward by the chairman of the temporary com mittee. The survivors, who in the midst of their per sonal afflictions and physical sufferings, undertook to do what they could for themselves, were entirely ignorant of what was being done in their behalf elsewhere, as all tele graphic and railway communication had been destroyed. Even the municipalities had for the time being disap peared. There was no recognized municipal authority, and no suitable place in which a council meeting could have been held. For a time the only authority in most of the nine shattered boroughs affected by the flood was the Police Committee appointed at the town-meeting, and those who had been commissioned to act as police officers. When the sheriff reached Johnstown he was induced to deputize the men who had just been appointed on police duty, thus legalizing their position, although there had been little disposition to dispute their word' Among the committees appointed by Mr. Scott immedi ately after his arrival was a Finance Committee, the necessity for which, at that time, arose from the fact that money had already begun to arrive in considerable sums, consigned to various citizens who happened to be known to the donors. Even before railroad connections had been established, money, as well as food and clothing, was brought by private messengers. Such funds were, for the most part, turned over to the Finance Committee, as were other like contributions received later by citizens of stand ing. The Finance Committee proved to be of great im portance in the relief work at Johnstown. It was originally constituted of six citizens, the president of the National Bank, the solicitor of the Cambria Company, the editor of a daily paper, the cashier of the Savings Bank, and two other gentlemen connected with banking insti 1 For information concerning what occurred in Johnstown prior to the beginning of the operations of the Flood Commission, and concerning the part taken by the Finance Committee, the author is indebted chiefly to Cyrus Elder, solicitor of the Cambria Iron Company, a survivor of the flood, and a gentleman who, from a long residence in Johnstown, before and after the disaster, was able to give valuable personal testimony, not only upon the events of the flood itself, but upon the subsequent effect of the relief measures adopted. Mr. Elder was secretary of the Finance Committee.