h philanthropic proclivities, carried their clerical forces
through on full pay, but the majority were obliged to cut them down in
various ways. In some cases the full force was retained on greatly
reduced salaries, in others salaries were reduced and part of the
force discharged, and the net result was that a great number of
unfortunates were either thrown into unemployment altogether or placed
in very straightened circumstances.

It is an interesting fact, bearing on the popular superstition that
Wall Street is peopled by unprincipled worshippers of the dollar who
are incapable of those finer qualities of character which are confined
exclusively to other walks of life, that there is no region in which a
quicker response to the call of the needy can be obtained than on the
floor of the Stock Exchange. Even though the brokers were facing an
indefinite period of starvation themselves, with expenses running on
one side and receipts cut off on the other, the moment it became clear
that severe suffering had come upon the clerical forces of the Street
a movement was at once set on foot to start measures of relief and
assistance. Perhaps the best way to convey an idea of the form which
this assistance took is to quote from a report on the subject made by
one of those who generously gave his time to the work. What follows is
in his own words.

"A phase of the extraordinary and unprecedented conditions prevailing
in the Financial District, commonly known as 'Wall Street,' was the
necessity for cutting down office expenses, and though many firms
carried their salary list intact, a considerable number laid off from
one half to two thirds of their employees, and subsequent events
developed the fact that some of them discharged practically their
entire force.

"About the middle of September, the distress said to exist among the
Wall Street employees, who had lost their positions as a result of the
war in Europe, prompted Mr. C. E. Knoblauch to suggest that some
concerted action be taken to meet this emergency, if only as a
temporary expedient. A number of informal discussions of the subject
with fellow members of the Exchange, and further evidences of the
existence of a wider field for the work than was at first realized,
culminated in a call for a meeting in the office of Tefft & Company
and immediate organization.

"Officers having been duly elected, the personnel of the Committee was
declared to be as follows:--James B. Mab