TWENTY THOUSAND ARE DESTITUTE

The following statement was issued last night by Mr. Justice Harris, Chairman of the Citizens Finance Committee:

The committee of the citizens of Halifax was appointed to make a public statement on the damage to the City of Halifax and the Town of Dartmouth and after as careful a survey as possible of the damaged area the Committee reported that, while every building in Halifax and Dartmouth was more or less damaged, the devastated area is found near the scene of the explosion and embraces chiefly districts occupied by workers and the poorer classes. Between three and four thousand of such dwellings have been completely destroyed by the explosion or by fire. The number of those affected is estimated at 25,000 and while, of course, the circumstances of all or even the most of them cannot be ascertained, until each one’s case is investigated, yet it is feared that the destitute poor in the area will number upwards of 20,000 and their actual loss and the estimated cost of their temporary maintenance will reach between twenty-five and thirty million dollars. It is to be clearly understood that in this estimate only the persons rendered destitute are considered and this is the portion of the population of Halifax and Dartmouth least able to bear the loss and which must be immediately relieved by the generous assistance of their fellow citizens throughout Canada.