The evening world., 1892-01-08
TOO few SURGEONS;
New Police Medical Districts
Cause Great Discomfort.
More Than Work for Eighteen
Divided Among Fifteen.
No Hope of Relief, They Say, TIL u
Pet Is Cared For.

There Is a good deal OF indignation In the
Board OF Police surgeons to-day over the new
apportionlnent OF districts. made necessary
by the Board Of Estimate and AppOrlion-
mGnt's action In cutting cut the salaries
Of three surgeons from the police estimates
for 1892.
The fifteen surgeons lett In the Board are
now compelled to do the work Of eighteen.
some OF the surgeons are very much dissatiS-
fed with the enlarged districts to which they
were assigned at yesterdays preliminary
meeting OF the Police Board, and as result
the new order VIII not br made public until
the Board Of iIealths mcclins Monday.
None OF the surgeons are willing to talk
for publication on the ground that It might
be- construed into insubOrdnatiOn. one OF
them, however, stated the position OF the
dissatisfied members OF the Board. His name
Is not used, for obvious reasons.
at looks" he said, " as though we were to
be made to suffer because n pet scheme OF the
Mayor has miscarried. All last year we en-
pected that our labOrs would be lightencd by
additions to the force, the Board OF Apror-
tionmenJ having made an appropriation for
an increase to nineteen members
"For some reason, generally understood to
be because certain physician, pet candi-
date OF the Mayor, could not reach the head
OF the eligible list, no appointment was made.
"Last June DR.. steinert died, and the work
OF the remaining seventeen surgeons was In
creased by the addition OF his district. In
July DR.. Matthews died, and then there were
two extra districts to be taken care OF.
Another was added by the death of DR.. Da-
mainvil.e In December last.
1.-THE work OF the surgeons Is always
largely increased in the Winter, and when n
requisition was made last month on the civil
Service Board for the names Of candidates
eligible to MI three vacancies we all expected
that we would soon be relieved OF some OF the
extra work.
1.-THE action of the Mayor in having the
examinations postponed was therefore a
great disappointment: but none OF us eX-
pected that the delay was more than tenn
porary, or that the appropriation would be
cnt down so that the force would be made
permanently fifteen instead OF the nineteen
surgeons allowed by the law.
"Since 1888, when there were 9 1906 patrol
men on the police force, there have been
eighteen surgeons to attend to them until
/
has increased to more than 5000 patrolmen,
the Board OF Police surgeons has been re-
duced to fifteen.
"The result IS that each surgeon has had
his work increased about % per cent. Take
my own district for example. have on my
sick list to-day twenty-five policemen. II It
were not that some OF them were able to come
to my onlce 1t would be physically impossible
to attend them.
| "Their residences are scattered all over the
city from beyond the Harlem clear down to
the Battery and from the extreme east to the
west side. 1t would be impossible to lay out
n route by which they could all be visited in n
day, and yet 1t is possible FOR all OF them to
require visits at their homes.
| "Many OF the other surgeons are similarly
situat ed, and now we have three more dist ric 8
divided up among us.
1.-The only relief we can hope for Is that
the Mayors friend will secure one OF the ap-
pointments he Is after, and that then, this
bone OF contention being taken out OF the
field, the Mayor Will consent to examinations
being held and u SUFFICIENT amount will be
transferred from some other fund to pay for
at least the three surgeons whose services we
have been deprived Of through death"
The Indignation OF the police surgeons Is
nothing, however, compared with that Of the
hundred or more candidates for appointment,
who were notified by Chief Clvil-Service Elk.
aminer Lee Phillips TO appear for examination
and were then informed OF the postponement
OF the examination ut Mayor Grants request.
They see In the reduction OF the appropria-
tion to pay but flftcen surgeons only a clever
scheme to evade holding the examinations
called for by the Ciyil-Service Board, and
some OF them declare that Mayor Grant has
decided that no appointments shall be made
until his friend has been provided for.
There are to-day 200 policemen on the sick
list.