In all there were twelve families in which, as a result of the disaster, orphan children were left. Seven of these were families of widows or deserted wives, and have therefore already been accounted for under that The children left orphans in these twelve families twenty-seven ; in six cases there was only one child left, in two cases two, in one case each three and four, and in two cases five. Fifteen of the twenty-seven were under fifteen years of age ; and two others, although of adult years, were defectives, and for that reason dependent. The other ten orphans were over fifteen years of age, and in most cases self-supporting. With one or two exceptions, the children who were made orphans by the disaster were found to be with relatives who were in position to give them suitable care. Two children were placed in institutions temporarily for special reasons, with a grant of money from the committee, and it was not deemed advisable or necessary to accept any of the numerous generous offers of foster homes which were received by the committee.
Of the 437 families there were twenty-six in which physical injuries or money losses only were sustained, but in which there were no deaths.
The above analysis accounts for 420 of the families aided by the committee. Of the remainder, twelve were men or women living alone, and with no one immediately depend ent upon them, and five were families in which collateral relatives had been lost, and little help was required aside from the payment of funeral bills.
The committee buried 705 persons belonging to 388 different families, at an expense of $81,279.99. The aver age cost of each funeral was $115.29 — the minimum $16, and the maximum $331.50. Medical attendance and supplies were furnished to 38 families at an expense of $1,264.17. Temporary aid was given to 133 families to the amount of $2,042.58. Transportation was provided for two persons costing $125, one of whom was sent to take a position in Chicago and the other to his father's home in Russia. Fourteen persons were reimbursed for the loss of clothing, musical instruments, etc., at an outlay of $571.65, and a tugboat injured in rescue work was re paired at a cost of $60.48. To care for dependent chil dren and adults in 39 families appropriations of $18,281 were required, and $3520 was expended to assist 28 ad ditional families in necessary readjustment after the loss of a wage-earner or because of illness or loss of work consequent on the disaster. There was expended for the Cooper Union Memorial Mass Meeting the sum of $275, and the operating expenses were $1062.
The total contributions to the relief fund, as shown in the report of the treasurer, were $124,205.80. The board of aldermen had indicated its willingness to appropriate $50,000 for relief; but on June 27 the executive com mittee, after full deliberation, announced to the public press that further contributions would not be required, and at the same time officially notified the board of alder men that the appropriation would not be needed. As
early as June 21, when the contributions amounted to over $60,000, Jacob H. Schiff, the treasurer, had expressed the opinion in a letter to the chairman that the amount received should suffice for the purpose for which the committee had been called into existence ; but the resolution closing the subscription fund was deferred six days longer in order not to lay the committee open to the charge of premature action.
There are those who have felt considerable apprehension over the possible effect of the collection and disbursement of so large a relief fund for the benefit of families not in really destitute circumstances. The committee did not con sider that it was at liberty to expend this money otherwise than for the direct pecuniary benefit of those for whom it had been subscribed. There were, of course, the possible al ternatives of returning a portion of it to the donors, or of diverting it, after communicating with the donors, to some other allied purpose. Neither of these courses appeared to the committee feasible under all the circumstances, and it therefore remained to expend it for such of the bona fide sufferers from the disaster as were willing to accept aid, and to do this in such a manner as to run the least risk of injury to the character of those who received it, and to insure the nearest approach to equity among all concerned.
Because it was felt that liberal aid in meeting the extraor dinary burdens caused directly by the disaster would be much less likely to prove harmful, the committee had less hesitation in meeting the full expenses for burial, even when there was left to the survivors a moderate life insur ance, or a modest savings-bank account. With a view to this permanent effect upon character, the committee has attempted to give with just discrimination although at the same time with the liberality which donors to the fund have expected ; and for this reason finally the committee has deemed it wise at the earliest practical moment to close its active work, leaving to other and more permanent bodies any responsibility for subsequent relief.
[Norm —A unique incident in connection with this disaster was the formal organization of the dissatisfied element among the survivors, with the avowed purpose of forcing the distribution of the funds according to their own ideas of their " rights," and, later, of securing from the federal treasury an allowance for each life lost. While this organization did not on any point influence the decisions of the committee, still it was an ele ment to be reckoned with, for it had a perceptible effect on the group of families affected by the disaster. Many were stirred up to apply for aid who had little or no need for it and others who in spite of a just claim on the fund had at first sturdily declined all offers of assistance, were per suaded to accept it. This incident serves to emphasize the necessity of dealing with claimants individually and directly rather than through irre sponsible representatives.]