The Asheville citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1885-1889, 1886-11-18
The MISSION HOSPITAL.

we puO11SA0u y6SL6Iuhy mOAn1hE
the report of this institution for the
last quarter. We did so with much
pleasure, and also a certain degree
of modification pleasure, that such
an institution has become a permat
nent reality modification, that its
means of support are huctuating
and dependent So much upon prir
vate effort and generosity.
The time had come when the es.
tablishment OF such an institution,
for strangers as well as for our own
people, of the city and of the coun-
try alike, had become a necessity.
Among the inducements to the COM
ing of the first is its healthfulness,
and its restorative forces. Many an
invalid is drawn hither with the
hope of finding in his battle with
the destroyer that sovereign hahn
of climate which viii restore health
and Yig1F, % at least aAael; crate sufs
fering. Some come with friends, or
families and able to cOmBaaad all
the comforts and 1uxnries that
wealth can command. But there
are others less happy who come
alone on their melancholy pilgrims
age with means enough barely to
sustain themselves in modest COM
fort, but are powerless to meet the
demands of often growing Illness,
unable to procure the care or tender
nursing their situation calls for.
Scenes of painful interest often were
presented when the poverty stricken
stranger lay upon his lonely couch,
no tender hand to soothe his suffer.
ings, no ministering angel to supply
his wants.
The reproach-for such it was
was removed when the Mission Hos.
pital was organized by ladies of
Asheville and nobly seconded by
the medical faculty. The founda-
tion was laid upon broad, unselfsh
christian charity; the structure was
erected by voluntary contribution
and unpaid services. We will not
say unrewarded services, because, to
such minds and hearts, the con-
sciousness of such contribution to
the cause of humanity :s.is ampler
mpecsa!ion than money can give.
To our own people the institution
has been of conspicuous benefit.
The sick of the town and of the
county are sought after and taken
in charge, tenderly watched and
nursed, and visited daily by physi-
clans eminent for their skill and
honorable for their charities; for
their services, rendered daily and at
stated periods, ARE gratuitous.
We stated fsT days ago in a
communication o31 the subject how
noble had been the response of the
people: how the tradesmen had re-
duced their prices ; how generous
had been the druggists in their
charges for medicine how self-sae-
individuals had been in
their tender of personal service !;
and also how liberal the communi>
ty had been in their pecuniarY con-
tributions. It is mostly upon these
that the perpetuity of the Hospital
depends.
Yet the Hospital must now be re-
garded as a permanent Institution.
With the revelation of its usefulness
comes the sense of its necessity.
This community could no more suf-
fer the cessation of its work than
could the general public consent to
dispense with the railroad, the tele-
graph, the electric light, or any of
those adjuncts of business and CONS
fort that mark the spirit of the age.
The Hospital is one of the marks of
advanced humanity. Illustrating
its usefulness, we cannot now deny
its blessings or ignore its influence.
It must be sustained. But its res
sources must be made more assured.
It must cease to depend so largely
upon the precarious condition of
individual contribution.
The receipts for the past quarter
were $504.22, of which the county
contributed $105.O0, and individu~
ais $399.22.
We have no complaint to make
of the contribution by the county.
Indeed, we thank the authorities
for certain degree of boldness in
recognizing the Hospital as the sub
iect Of public interest, whose action
has challenged some very illiberal
criticism. But the commissioners
we're men of enlarged views and had
proper comprehension Of their du-
ties and powers. They knew that
very many cases occurred in which
the benefits of the Hospital enured
to the country as well as 10 the
town: cases that embraced people,
not paupers, but whose relief neces-
sarily became a public charge. And
if they were driven to justification
they might say that the suffering
sick of Asheville were part of the
people of Bnncombe, and that the
larger part ofthe tax of the county
was paid by them. They do not
need to use such argument. Public
opinion sustains them in what they
have done. 1t will sustain them in
larger appropriations. For the peo>
pie will always respond to the ap-
peals of humanity, and will tighten
the burden that is now made to
press on individual shoulders.