# LIBRARY OF rONGRESS.! I UNITED iSTATKS i)F^ 3MERICA. J / V^u5l[\\n^-Von, Jl . C, Ey.e.CK"V-Ive committee C&tca REPORT OF COLLECTIONS in WASHINGTON, D.C, IN Behalf of Sufferers , BY THE ■■ ." FIRE IN PORTLAND, ME. W3 n ^ EPORT OF m$ in Wa,t.luinit0u, ll, €•♦ IN BliHALK OK e in rortiand, iviaine, Washington, D. C, February J, 1867. Hon. Augustus E. Stevens, Mayor of Portland, Maine: ^ Sir — In transmitting to you the figures showing the result of efforts in this city to raise funds for the sufferers by the great fire in Portland on the 4th of July last, it seems proper that you should be informed of the history of our work. Very soon after the sad news of the calamity had Reached this city, measures were taken to call a public meeting of all among the transient and resident population here who desired to lend succor to the destitute and houseless in Port- land. Prominent among the movers in this was John A. Poor, Esq., and much of the efficiency of the work accom- plished is owing to the large and thorough plan he recom- mended. The first meeting was held on Tuesday evening, July 10, 1866, at the City Hall. Mayor Wallach presided. The Hon. Horatio King presented the following preamble and resolution : "Whereas the city of Portland, Maine, was visited by a destructive and calamitous fire on the night of the 4th inst., by which the largest part of the business portion of the city was destroyed and many thousands of its people reduced to want, entailing upon a whole community an amount of suffer- ing and loss heretofore unparalleled in our country : " Resolved, That the people of Washington, and of other sections of the country now sojourning in it, here assembled, express their cordial sympathy with their friends in Portland, whose beautiful city is laid waste, and their readiness to contribute, each according to his means, to relieve the neces- sities of those who have never failed to remember others in like affliction." On motion of Gen. Howard, an executive committee was appointed, composed of the following gentlemen : Hon. H. J. Anderson, A. C. Spalding, Hon. Horatio King, George A, Bailey, Isaac 0. Nesmith, L. Deane, A. Pickard, J. F. Hartley, George W. McLellan, Wm. Orme, Horatio Bridge, and Hon. E. B. French. This committee met at the City Hall on Wednesday even- ing, July 11, and among those present, in addition to the Committee, were Hon. Wm. P. Fessenden, Maj. Gen. 0. 0. Howard, Senator Howe, of Wisconsin, Secretary McCulloch, Hon. Horatio King, Hon. John H. Rice, Hon. S. Perham, Ex-Gov. H. J. Anderson, Hon. E. B. French, and Hon. R. Wallach. Hon. S. Perham was elected chairman, Llewellyn Deane, secretai^', and Wra. S. Huntington, treasurer. Various reports were then made of donations and collections^ which indicated the liveliest sympathy in this community in behalf of the needy and suffering among you. The reports were chiefly from Maine men who had earnestly and of their own accord set about at once doing what they could to gather means for alleviating the present great distress in your sor- rowing city. The munificent contribution of $1,000 by George A. Bailey, Esq., formerly of Portland, but for many years in business here, was also announced. This, we believe, is the largest donation by any one person in the numerous contributions made in this behalf all over the land, and the promptness and quietness with which it was done renders it all the more praiseworthy. The touching appeal published under authority of yourself and Messrs. Barnes and McLellan was also read. Generous contributions were then made by Gen. Howard, Secretary McCulloch, C. A. Pitcher^ Esq., and others. The committee proceeded to district the whole city care- fully, and appointed sub-committees for all these, as follows: President's House — Hon. Hugh McCulloch. State Department — -George E. Baker, Esq. War Department — Col. H. Clay Wood and Maj. S. Dana, Treasury Department — Messrs. J. F. Hartley and T. J. HOBBS. Interior Department — Messrs. A. C. Spaulding and L, Deane. Post Office Department — Hon. G. W. McLellan and Hon. Horatio Kin-g. Navy Department — -Messrs. H. Bridge and S. P. Brown. Quartermaster General's Office — -Thomas K. Jones and J. H. Kimball. Internal Revenue Bureau — Messrs. E. A. Rollins and Charles E. Pike. Second Auditor's Office — Hon. E. B. French. Freedmen's Bureau — Brig. Gen. Charles H. Howard and W. P. Drew. Navy Yard — Admiral Smith. Senate — Hon. Noah Smith, T. S. Perry, and A. Pickard, House of Representatives — Hon. Sidney Perham. Pay Department — I. C. Nesmith. Booksellers and Printers — Geo. A. Bailey. Bankers and Brokers — Ex-Gov. Anderson and W. S. Hun- tington. In accordance witb a vote, a committee was appointed to wait on the ministers of Washington and confer with them in relation to taking up subscriptions in their churches. The next day subscription papers were prepared, at the head of which was a copy of the "appeal ' above referred to. i send you with this letter these original papers, which may be interesting for present and future examination. A circular letter was also addressed to the pastors of the several churches, communicating the above vote, and their response is indicated by the items in the accompanying account. At a later day a second circular was issued, asking for donations of clothes. A copy of each circular is herewith enclosed. The work was pushed on with great zeal. On all hands the collectors met with the most cordial sympathy, though most of those called on for help had no social or business relations with Portland and were strangers to her citizens and our State. Every one seemed to feel the urgency of the call and a generous willingness to respond. In some instances the amounts mentioned in the lists do not indicate tlie entire donation by individual signers. Many gentlemen sent sums of money privately to personal friends whose needs they had an especial interest in ministering to. Above $900 are known to the executive committee to have been sent in this way, and there was doubtless more. Members of Congress also sent individually. In this connection we note that Sykes, Chad- wick & Co., of Willards' Hotel, sent $250, and Hon. T. J. D. Fuller, .$100. As these and the above-referred-to sums in no sense passed through our hands, tliey do not appear in our statement. Several jiackages of clothes were also for- warded. The sums collected before the organization of the commit- tee were forwarded by the gentlemen who obtained them, but the amounts were generally returned to the committee in the list of subscriptions. The money collected under direction of the committee was deposited in the First National Bank, with the cashier, W. S. Huntington, who had kindly consented to act as our treasurer. It was supposed that you would have drawn the balances from time to time as fast as any considerable sum accrued, but there seems to have been some misunderstanding at the Bank on this point. The particulars of Mr, Huntington's receipts have been made known to you by the account sent October 18, 1866, and hence merely the aggregate is set down in our accompanying statement. Since his account was made up, several small sums have been handed in for payments of subscriptions. These were at once forwarded to you, and appear in our statement. It will be perceived from the figures we give you that full twelve thousand dollars (§12,000) have been collected here for this noble and humane purpose. We must especially thank the Glohe office for the cheerful- ness with which they gratuitously printed the numerous cir- culars, &c., the committee found it necessary from time to time to publish. This work was done in addition to generous pecuniary contributions from the proprietors and the em- ployees in their office. In the same connection we also men- tion the Chronicle and Intelligencer of the daily press of this city, while to these papers, and the Star and Republican^ we are under large obligations for valuable and free assistance in editorial and advertisement. The meetings of the executive committee were many, and their work and that of the collectors very arduous ; but all these services were rendered most cheerfully, and each seemed to vie with the other in zeal for carrying on so good a cause. We cannot close without saying that we heard with espe- cial pleasure that you were so greatly blessed in your eftbrts to provide for the wants of your afflicted and destitute townsmen. We are also rejoiced to hear that your city has, in the few months which have passed since the conflagration raged, made such rapid steps toward recovering materially from the effects of this disaster. We trust that a few years will suffice to blot out all external traces of the woe and desolation, and that the fact of the Great Fire will only live in hifrtory. So long as that record lasts^, it will be good for men to remember how cordial, fraternal, and Christian was the common response in sympathy and means for the needy and sorrowing in those dark hours of calamity which hung over your beautiful city. With respect, your obedient servant, L. DEANE, Secretary. 'Memorandum of the collections in Washington, D. C, reported to the Executive Committee in behalf of the siifferers by the Portland Fire : Dr. Commissioner of Public Jiuildiags $153 OO Navy Department , 50 00 Patent Office 200 00 C. A. Pitcher, and collections at large 477 00 Secretarj-'s Office, Interior Department 105 00 Freedmen"s Bureau 255 75 Quartermaster General's Office 232 00 George A. Bailer 1,000 00 Booksellers and Printers 507 10 Pension Office 134 50 Indian Office 45 50 State Department 212 00 House of Representatives 1,540 50 Paymaster General's Office 175 00 Post Office Department and Sixth Auditor's Office 3G7 00 Hon. Horatio King 100 00 Dr. C. H. Nichols 25 00 Second Auditor's Office 303 00 Employees in U. S. Senate 114 50 War Department 727 25 Bankers and brokers 1,125 00 Congregational Methodist Church 19 00 Secretary's Office, Treasury Department 442 00 Register's " •' •■ 274 00 Xotc Printing Bureau " •■ 242 00 Treasurer's Office, •■ •• 154 50 Second Comptroller's Office, Treasury Department 131 00 Third Auditor's " " " 119 50 Comptroller of the Currency's Office, Trca.sury Department 115 50 Fourth Auditor's " ■■ ■• 87 00 Light-House Board '' •■ •• 61 00 Solicitor's " " '• 58 00 First Auditor's '■ '• ■' 52 00 Commission of Customs •• '• 40 00 First Comptroller '• '■ ^39 50 Auditors '■ " * 32 00 Attorney General's Office 42 00 Calvary Baptist Church, (Rev. Mr. llowlett) 44 58 German Lutheran Church 50 00 Wesley Zion Church (colored) 13 20 East 'Washington M. E. Church 15 00 Trinity Church (Rev. Mr. Keeling) 04 25 Carry forward $9,945 13 Brought forward $9,945 lo Rev. J. M. Berry 8 58 First Presbyterian Church (Dr. Sunderland) 112 55 Collections by Mrs. G. W. McLellan 40 00 Hon. R. Wallach , 25 00 Cash subscriptions at First National Bank 2G8 00 Cash on Huntington's account, July 2*7, 186G 378 85 New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (Dr. Gurley) 98 98 Internal Revenue Office 205 00 $11,082 09 Or. .Sent by W. S. Huntington, per his account forwarded Oct. 18, 13GG. ...$3,483 59 George A. Bailey 1,000 00 Hon. H.King lOO 00 Patent Office (additional) 100 00 Internal Revenue Office 205 00 Second Auditor's Office 268 00 Moses Titcomb and others (Senate employees) 114 50 Hon. S. H. Hooper, of Mass 500 00 Paymaster General's Office 1*75.00 J. C. Lewis (collections at large additional) 50 00 Sixth Auditor's Office (additional) 51 00 Quartermaster General's Office (additional) 10 00 Congregational Methodist Church. 19 00 Commissioner of Public Buildings (additional) 6 00 $11,082 09 I