78 EDWARD T. DEVINE 



congestion of population, and the race problem, are all to be 

 considered as exceptional causes of distress, with which we 

 shall one day know how to deal effectively. They are unlike 

 sickness, accident, and death of the bread winner, unlike mere 

 industrial inefficiency and moral defects, in that all of the latter 

 can be remedied only by changes in human nature, or by the 

 slow, if steady, advance of science; and yet all of these are but 

 phases of the general problem of relief. Those who are to 

 shape national and local policies must come to look upon them 

 as parts of a general problem, to solve which clear and definite 

 views are essential. From these we may distinguish, as less 

 complex and baffling than many of the others, the task of 

 dealing with exceptional emergencies — such as are caused by 

 fire, flood, and famine. In the presence of such disasters as 

 those at Heppner, Oregon, Armourdale, Kansas, and Marti- 

 nique, there can be no doubt of the need for quick and effective 

 assistance, and there can be no doubt of the wisdom of con- 

 sidering the lessons to be gained from the study of such dis- 

 asters, after they are passed. 



The first lesson which is written large in the experience 

 of those who have been called upon to deal with such disasters 

 is the folly and wastefulness of relying upon inexperienced, 

 untrained, or incompetent agents for the distribution of relief 

 and for the constructive work without which relief distribution 

 may easily be productive of more harm than good. There are 

 always at such times novel problems to be solved, but the 

 experience of other communities under similar or analogous 

 conditions will aid in their solution if it can be brought to bear. 

 It may be, as at Chicago after the great fire, that the problem 

 is primarily one of relief pending the resumption of trade and 

 industry. It may be, as at Johnstown and at Heppner, that 

 the problem of sanitation and public safety is equally impor- 

 tant; or, as at Martinique, that the destruction of life is so 

 complete that little relief is required except for the transpor- 

 tation of the few survivors for whom no means of hvelihood 

 remain. It may be that, as in Paterson after the fire and flood 

 of March, 1902, and the tornado of 1903, the community as a 

 whole remains self supporting, even though one portion is 

 severely taxed to supply the necessities of other portions that 



