The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-10
THAT PESTHOUSE.
Officials Poke Up Another
Hornets Nest.
WILD TALK OF DYNAMITE.
Citizens Rise in indignation at the
Prospect of g Sanitarium" on the
Hospital Grounds.

Residents and propertyowners for blocks
in the ueghbOrhood of the City and County
Hospital airly bristled with Indignation
yesterday.
They had read of the action of the Board
Of Health in recommending the location of
the Pes;hOuse, under the polite name of
sanitarum, on the grounds of the City and
County Hospital.
The knowledge fairly paralyzed them at
first, and then there was a wild hoWl
against it.
Protest Is no word to express their oppo-
sitiOn 10 such course. The expression IS
too mild to express the anger and wrath OF
tile property-owners against the members of
the Board of Health and such Supervisors
as are understood to favor the new move
ment.
Forthwith it was determined to call
mass-neeting, which was held Yesterday
afternoon in hail on the corner of Twenty
fourth street aud Potrero avenue.
Although there had heen no time to adver-
Use and no circulars had been issued yet
the hall was crowded with Droperty-owners
who had gathered 10 protest against the
establishment in their midst of a hospital
for the treatment of infectious diseases.
i. d. Koran called the meeting TO order
and was loudly applauded when he stated
that the Mission and the PotTero were to
man opposed to the location of the Pest
County Hospital
After he had stated The purposes for
which the meeting had assembled l.. j.
DwyeT was selected secretary for the meet
ing.
Patrick Harrington first claimed the at
tertiOn of the chair. He stated that he had
resided in the district for twenty-five years
and more, and had managed To build uD
home. He remem beTed when the City and
County Hospital site was bought by the
city from George Street for S92 600, the
understanding at the time being that ii was
to be a public park. 1t was originally de-
termincd to locate the hospital where Gar
field Park now is, but when DR.. Beverly
Cole entered the Board Of Health 1t was
determined to build county hospital on
the Street site.
He promised us a grand magnlfcent
hospital, said Mr. harrington. ~ on see
the large fine building he gave u, said the
speaker sarcastlcally, ''and yet we have
put mp with it for twenty years"
Mr. Harrington continued and said that
in 1868, during a smallpox epidemic, the
city had purchased a site for peSthOuSe
On the Almshouse tract, but in removing
several patients during very severe winter
two of them died and the proposition was
abandoned. The speaker then went into
the recent history OF the endeayors to es-
tablish a permanent PesthOuse, and said
that after the Supervisors had failed with
the Shag Rock and AlmshOuse tract prOpo-
sItion they were now endeavOTing to place
the Pesthouse right in the midst Of thickly
populated community and right on the same
grounds with the city and cOunty's INDECENT
sick.
He spoke Of tho life struggle that many
Of tine residents had gone through TO estab-
ljsh their little homes. and asked how much
some Of them could now get for their hard
earned property if the Pesthouse was
located in the County Hospital grounds.
On tie conclusion of his remarks Mr..
Harrington became very excited, and made
several dire predictions il the PesthOuSe
was established as proposed.
4 tell you, gentlemen" be said, there
is not man in the neighborhOod but has
the courage to blow up with a dynamite
bomb any Pesthouse that may be built on
the hospital grounds"
This remark was vigorously applauded.
He said he would not be afraid to tell the
Mayor to his face THAT as sure as the sun
rises and they built on the corner of that
lot II will either be blown up or Turned
down"
Edward Mcnamara followed and said it
WAS FOLLY TO talk so f0Olishly and the audi
euce seemed to agree with him. He coun-
seed wisdom and moderation. He severely
scored The members Of the Board of Health
for the position they had taken. and said
tie best course to pursue, instead of talking
wIidy,was to ADOPT ways and means to pre-
vent the cOnsummatiOu Of the scheme.
Secretary Dryer agreed with him and
both favored the drawing mp OF a monster
petition protesting against the proposed
location. Dwyer was ID favor of employing
able counsel to represent the property-Own-
ers, while Mcnamara thought the citizens
speaking before the Board of Health in their
own interest would have more effect.
j. 2. Slavin said he did not own any prop
eGty IN the district but hoped 10. still he
was a resident and was interested as far as
the health of himself and family went. To
him this was no small interest But. lie
said, leaving aside all meTcenary interests
and the depreciation OF property, was it not
a culd-blOOded proposition to establish
pesthOuse right in the midst of the eity's
INDECENT sick?
He secuted the idea that there was no
danger from smallpox patients, and said
that the best physicians admitted that there
was, DO matter what precautions were
taken. He said they weIe afraid to locate
the Pesthouse on the Almshouse Tract, be-
cause the winds would blow the dangerous
germs IN the faces Of pleasure-seekers out
driving. "Why not" he asked, 'loc ate the
Pesthouse on the top of California-street
hill, where the location is high and where
the winds would blow all the germs over
the bay and above the houses"
George Wallenrod spoke very energeti-
cally in favor OF taking wise, conservative
measures. He said the best thing TO do was
TO draw no a petition to be presented TO the
Board Of Supervisors on Monday night
asking them TO postpone action in the
matter for two weeks. After this was
done grand mass-meeting could be held,
counsel employed. and the board Properly
notified Of the intensity of the opposition Of
the people to the proposed measure.
James =. Slayin called attention to the
fact that Iwenty-fourth street and Potrero
avenue, Just block away fIom the pro-
p0sei pesthOnse, were the junction of the
Omnibus Cable and the South San Fran
cisco cars, where thousands of passengers
are transferred daily. He said If there
were any dangerous germs 10 the air it
would effect all these people.
SO the discussion continued, the most
intense opposition being made to the pro-
posed location.
James Hughes moved that committee
be appointed to wait on the Supervisors on
Monday night, and present a petition ask
ing for a postponement of action on the
measure for two weeks in order to enable
the prOperiy-oWners 10 prepare their side
Of the case.
The motion was carried, and the follow
ing appointed by the chair: j. L. Dwyer.
Patrick Harrington, James Hughes, Edward
Mcnamara, George Wallenrud, NJ. J. Uur-
lev. George Reynolds. ]. z. SiaYin and n.
Olandt They we're given full power to
act, and to arrange for recalling Of mass
meeting some time during the week.
Assemblyman Hurley was in the audi
ence, and was requested to say a few words
He said he had listened to some of the
speeches. and thought the meeting had
taken the right course. The proper way to
defeat the measure was to create an influ-
ence that could kill it before the scheme
had passed beyond the embryonic Stage
The meeting then adjourned, with the
understanding that a large mass-meeting
should be held during the week to express
the propeTty-owners' protest, and to devise
ways and means OF defeating the proposed
measure.
Absurdities of the Modern Romance.
Frederic Harrison in the April Forum