Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-14
AN OPEN LETTER.

Mr.. Potts Says Something to the City
Council.
To the Honorable the City Council and Board
of Supervisors of Los Angeles, County and
City:
GENTLEMEN: / have, and have had for
some time past, petition before your
honorable bodies to sell the city and
county piece of land for smallpox
hospital. l also have petition before
you, signed by over 200 of our largest
firms and taxpayers, composed Of repre-
sentative business men from all parts of
the city, urging your honorable body to
procure suitable, isolated place, easy
of access, for this purpose, showing to
your honorable body that those who pay
the taxes are anxious to incur the neces-
sary expense for this important purpose.
1t is not necessary to call your atten-
tion to the fact that the city and county
are in danger of having this dreadful
disease scattered all over them at any
time, if only one case is in the present
pest house, as large numbers of school
children pass its doors daily going to and
from the public school house, located
near it. Besides this, all the brickyards
are near it, and the work hands and
those haul ng brick have to pass near
the doors of the death trap. 1t is also
situated on the only practicable road to
Elysian park. This is not question
that only affects one section, but every
man, woman andschild in the city and
county is interested in it, as you can
see by consulting pamphlet written by
DIR. H. S. Orme and others Of the board
of health at the close of the epidemic OF
1887 SS. In it appears the following
fact The first case was reported to the
health officer on the 10th of February,
1888, at AZ Vine street, and on the same
day case at 200 South Main street; on
the 18th case on the corner OF Main
and Seventh streets, a case at Seventh
and Spring, case at 2S South Spring
and a case in Pasadena; on the 18th a
case at CASTELAR, and Bellevue avenue, a
case in st. Vincent's hospital and case
at the Missouri house, near the South
ern Pacific depot-nine cases in three
days reported, scattered from Pasadena
to Seventh street in this city. All these
cases were trailed to theate1 where
these parties were in the habit OF visit.
ing. On the 9th of February three
cases were reported at the Lugo ranch,
three miles this side of Downey post.
office, and one death on the San Jacinto
plains and in two months there had
been fifty-six cases reported from vari-
Gus parts OF the county, and 120 from
the city, in all 176 cases. 1t was sup.
posed that there were many cases
! that were kept secret from feal
| OF being sent to the pest house
which they consider almost equivalent
| to death sentence, whereas ii there
had been lot OF cottages isolated from
each other where suspected cases could
have been sent in place OF crowdine
them in with all the bad cases, the epi
demic could have been stopped much
sooner, thus saving many lives, and al
one half the expense which was in three
months campaign against this disease
$50, 900, costing the city $lS,O and the
county $4,000. During the epidemic
there were several cases of measles sent
to the pest house, some of which con
tracted the genuine smallpox One
case OF this kind is liable to cost the city
or county double the amount OF money
that | ask for the 40 acres. If the coun-
Gil can get better and cheaper place
than l offer, they ought to do so /; ii moi
they ought to secure this place while
they have an opertunity, as such places
are not often offered for such purposes
j. w. PoTrs.