The Gary Committee ■ [ 339 ] only to those men generally known to be thrifty and honest, who would regard the loan as a "debt of honor" Unexpectedly, the loan fund generated little enthusiasm among those whom the committee depended upon for contributions. Complaining of extensive requests for aid, Andrew Carnegie refused to support the loan fund because he did not think it would succeed. "The cry of the day',' Carnegie proclaimed, "is for leave to work. To give money instead of work is not to remedy unemployment!' Perkins reluctantly agreed and the committee abandoned the plan. It now concentrated on a new program that would incorporate the suggestions, and the financial aid, of men like Carnegie. The committee itself would provide employment through a series of municipal workshops.26 By the end of January 1915, the workshops had become the center of the committee's activity. Directly giving work was an increase in responsibility that Mitchel had tried to avoid, but the committee concluded that this provided the best means of assisting the unemployed without injuring their self-respect. Since the first workshops were extensions of the Municipal Lodging Houses and provided employment only for its residents, Charities Commissioner Kingsbury hoped that it would be possible to "provide such labor before meals and lodging are supplied" to give the workers a feeling of earning their way. The number of workshops began to increase, however, as the committee collected more contributions and the shops moved away from their connections with the lodging houses.27 In February the committee started opening shops in deserted buildings under the city's control. In each case, volunteers operated the shop and ran it without any cost other than wages for the workers. Much to the gratification of the committee, the workshops never spent a dollar extra for light, heat, or maintenance. In the shops the unemployed found work rolling bandages, caning chairs, repairing shoes, toys, and furniture, chopping wood, and sewing children's clothing. The workers were satisfied with their temporary employment and raised no objections to the low wages the committee paid them. As one petition to the mayor explained: "We do not work for $.50 because we 26 Perkins to Bruere, January 9, 1915, Andrew Carnegie to Seth Low, January 25, 1915, and Perkins to Carnegie, January 26, 1915, Perkins Papers. 27 John A. Kingsbury, "Our Army of Unemployed',' 438.