had been given cooking utensils, there was a diminished call for prepared food; it was therefore recommended by the committee from abroad that the provisions sent to these be henceforth uncooked. The misery throughout the city was greatly alleviated by a limited water supply pumped from the river in small quantities by the fire engines and other engines loaned for the purpose. In some streets the water was carried through mains laid on the surface of the ground. With this scant water supply, which could not be forced above the basement and lowest stories, continued watchfulness was necessary lest there be another outbreak of fire. Conditions were further improved by the fact that homes for some of the families were now ready for occupancy on the outskirts of the town. An order had been given on Monday for the construction of houses,-very simple and small they were—and on Wednesday it was reported that thirty were finished, and two hundred more under way.

A feeling of security and of order restored was prevalent in the city when the announcement was made on Tuesday, October 10, that the headquarters of the mayor and health department had been established at the corner of Ann and Washington streets, that police headquarters were located at Union and Madison streets and that the military and police power would combine to preserve order. Here was indeed a sturdy and cheerful people who could turn from so overwhelming a catastrophe to the establishment of new foundations and the continuance of former institutions.

PROGRESS OF RELIEF WORK

The relief work during the first few days had been conducted by volunteer workers, self-organized in the urgency of the moment, who had assumed the name of General Relief Committee. Into their hands were given all sums of money sent to the city for the sufferers, as well as the carloads of supplies which came during the period of their management. During the existence of this committee Mr. Orrin E. Moore acted as chairman; the duties of treasurer were undertaken by Mr. C. C. P. Holden until, at a meeting of the organization on Wednesday, he resigned as treasurer, and moved the appointment of David A. Gage, the city treasurer, to the position. This motion was carried, and contributions were then receipted by Mr. Gage. Upon the request of a number of members of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, it was decided by the mayor to transfer the entire work of relief over into their hands, as being an incorporated institution of long standing. Accordingly on Friday, October 13, the contributions were transferred to the Society by proclamation of the mayor, and accepted by it two days later. To cope with the immense work, a general plan was prepared by Wirt Dexter, chairman of the executive committee, and adopted by the Society. In accordance with this plan, many were added to the force of the Society, its system was enlarged and extended, and to secure efficiency committees were appointed to receive and handle the supplies; to provide shelter in tents and barracks to the homeless; to find employment for able bodied applicants; to manage transportation, the distribution of passes and freight accommodations for supplies; to receive visitors and acknowledge telegrams and letters; to distribute food, clothing and fuel; to have charge of sick, sanitary and hospital measures; to administer the large affairs of the Society.13

13 Report of Chicago Relief and Aid Society, p. 137.

Immediately after the fire the Health Department began gathering together the sick and injured who could not find shelter in private families, and sheltering them in the churches and schoolhouses, where they were cared for by physicians and volunteer helpers. A few days later, under the management of the Relief and Aid Society, the city was divided into districts, a medical superintendent with a number of visiting physicians appointed for each district, dispensaries established, and hospital accommodations provided for. With the care that was exercised during the months following the fire, the death rate was diminished.

The employment committee, with Mr. N. K. Fairbank as its chairman, was a sort of labor exchange to which both employers and workmen applied. In the large plans for rebuilding, there was at once a great demand for unskilled labor, which was easily met. The next need was for mechanics, many of whom were unable to work, having lost their tools in the fire. In hundreds of cases, by furnishing a skilled workman with from ten to twenty dollars' worth of tools, he was given the means to find immediate work and support himself and his family. For the benefit of unemployed women special relief societies were organized. Abundant work was found for seamstresses, and sewing machines were provided for those to whom they were necessary as the means of support.

CARE OF THE HOMELESS

At once the most difficult and imperative of all the questions which must be considered by the Relief Society was that of sheltering the thousands of people who were camped in the door yards and empty lots of the city, and on the prairie west of the city. These people were literally on the ground, with no covering to protect them from rain or cold. Many of the homes on the West and South Sides were already sheltering friends or strangers; the suburbs of Chicago were at that time so few and so distant that but a small number had found refuge there; the winter was imminent. The easiest solution of the difficulty lay in the plan to build barracks, but this plan was recognized as a bad one, its fulfillment leading to disease and discomfort and vice; at best it would be but a temporary expedient. It was therefore decided to house in barracks only those who could not otherwise be provided for, and to provide for the rest small but comfortable cottages. So well organized and efficient was the work of the committee on shelter that their labors were more successful than the most hopeful of them had expected.

The houses that were given to applicants were of two sizes; one, 20x16 feet for families of more than three persons; the other, 12x16 feet for families of three. The floor joists were of 2x6 inches timber, covered with a flooring of planed and matched boards; the studding was of 2x4 inches, covered with inch. boards and battened on the outside or with planed and matched flooring; the inside walls were lined with thick felt paper; and each house had a double iron chimney, two four-panelled doors, three windows, and a partition to be put up where the occupant pleased. Many of the houses were afterward shingled, painted and plastered. The establishment was completed in a simple way that was sufficient for comfortable living by the addition of a cooking stove and utensils, several chairs, a table, bedstead, bedding, and sufficient crockery for the use of the

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family; the total cost of the house when thus furnished was one hundred and twenty-five dollars; exclusive of furniture, the cost was about one hundred dollars.

The majority of those who received the prepared material for these houses were mechanics enough to put them together for themselves, or had the means to hire builders; but for the large class of widows, infirm, or otherwise helpless persons, the house was built and put in complete readiness by the committee. Between October 18, 1871, and May 1, 1873, the Shelter Committee built 7,983 houses, thus providing, at the estimate of five to a family, good homes for more than thirty-nine thousand people. Of the number of houses built, 5,226 were constructed within a month from the time the committee commenced work. It was estimated that the rental of these houses might be valued at ten dollars a month; in no case, however, was rent taken from the occupants, the houses and furniture being given outright to those found worthy. By wise forethought the committee secured the lumber for these houses at a price which anticipated the rise in the price of timber due to the great amount of it burned in Chicago lumber yards and in the forest fires of the regions supplying the city.

Besides these houses there were four barracks in different parts of the city, each one accommodating twelve hundred and fifty persons. Each family in these barracks had two rooms furnished in the same way as were the isolated houses. Each community was under the careful and constant supervision of medical and police superintendents, and as most of the dwellers in these barracks had before the fire been occupants of tenement houses, their moral and sanitary condition now was unquestionably better than formerly.

THE WORLD'S CHARITY

A report of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society was printed in a bulky volume in 1874, from which we quote the list of contributions in money received for the relief of the sufferers by the Chicago fire. The report referred to also gives a list of supplies contributed for the same purposes, the printed list of which occupies forty-six pages of the volume.