the Press of 29 July 1881 had specified the basis for a (relative) freedom of the press, and Lille, the regional capital less than 40 km (25 mi) away, had at least five daily newspapers whose reporters engaged in a fierce competition for news from the mine. Photographs could not then be published in newspapers for technical reasons, but were widely distributed as postcards; on average, each French resident sent fifteen postcards during 1906. A postcard of the thirteen rescapés was available nine days after their discovery. The first public appeal for funds to help the victims and their families was established the day after the explosion by Le Réveil du Nord, a Lille daily newspaper. In the newspaper L'Humanité of the next day, socialist and pacifist politician Jean Jaurès wrote: It is a call for social justice that comes to the nation's representatives from the depths of the burning mines. It is the harsh and suffering destiny of work that, once more, manifests itself to all. And would political action be something else than the sad game of ambitions and vanities if it didn't propose to itself the liberation of the workers' people, the organisation of a better life for those who work? Such appeals became widespread, and were supplemented by the sale of special collections of postcards depicting the disaster. The different appeals were eventually subsumed by an official fund—itself established by a law enacted only four days after the explosion—and a total of 750,000 francs was raised. This at a time when the daily wage for a miner (a well-paid job compared to other manual work) was less than six francs. Over half the total was contributed by the Compagnie des mines de houille de Courrières and by the Comité central des houillières de France (Central Committee of French Coal Mines, an employers' association). On 18 March, a strike was publicized and quickly extended itself to the entire region. Minister of Interior Georges Clemenceau visited the region twice, but "no promises were kept", according to L'Humanité. Clemenceau's first visit was filled with optimism and ex-president Jean Casimir-Perier stated that "I have the strongest hope that our discussion... will lead to an understanding which is desirable for all." However, the following day the strikers rejected the concessions offered by the mining companies and the number of strikers reached 46,000. See also Kameradschaft, a 1931 dramatic film by G.