Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-03
OUR LOCAL RULERS
Continued from First Page.)

the District OF Columbia, that no small
pox. cholera or other diseases of highly
contagious character would be treated in
the proposed hospital-the sole object be-
ing to provide suitable hospital Tor the
proper isolation and treatment of minor
diseases OF contagious character, such as
now exist in most, il not all, of the large
cities In this and European countries.
They were further advised that site
suitable for the purpose must be located
on high and well-drained ground, free from
liability to malarial influences, convenient
OF access and not remote from the ceIter
of population.
Failing to secure cite upon United
States or District property. the Commits
sioners made several attempts to purchase
private property for the purpose. After
months of unsuccessful effort to secure
site satisfactory to the owners of con-
tiguous property, 1t became apparent that,
owing to the prejudice existing in the pub
lie mind against such hospital and the
general belief in It's damaging character,
IL would be impracticable to purchase
site with the consent OF the adjacent lot
owners. Therefore the Commissioners pro-
ceeded 10 acquire title to lots u, Z, ~ and
%. block g. in Todd and Browns subdi-
vision of Mount Pleasant Plains, without
consulting the owners of the adjoining
property. These lots, aggregating 5000
square feet Of area, are situate few hun
dred feet northeast of the Garfield Hos
pital, on the elevated plateau west or
7th street extended ana about midway
between that street and Sherman avenue.
There are but few buildings-chiefiy mex
pensive frame structures-very near and
none Immediately abutting upon those lots
The site selected was believed by the
Commissioners to be erinsntly suitable to
the purpose and TO fulfill all the require
ments of the case. Not being on any thor
oughfare. Il Is as free from objection as
IL would be possible to find. 1T had been
suggested by officials of the Garfield Hos
pital and of the Freedmens Hospital that
the ground belonging to those Institutions
afforded suitable and desirable sites for a
contagious hospital; the advantages. aside
from the convenience OF location In either
case. being that one corps of physicians
could attend the patients In the two hos
pitfalls. This proposition was favored by
the medical stan of both of those hospitals,
but owing to the opposition of Howard
University and to some of the trustees of
the Garfield Hospital these sites were
abandoned and the present one selected
for. among other reasons. its convenience
to those hospitals. The reasonable price at
which the ground could be purchased
n 1-2 cents per foot-considerins the small
amount OF the appropriation, vas an nd-
ditional factor in favor of this site.
Opposition of Residents and Property
Holders.
As soon as IL became known that 1t was
proposed to locate a contagious hospital on
these lots the residents and property hold
ers In the vicinity and along the entire
northern boundary line of the city between
7th and 10th streets and extending as far
north as Brghtwood, became very much
excited over II. and forcibly indicated by
resolutions passed at a public meeting and
by numerous letters in the newspapers
their opposition to erecting a hospital any
where In that region. The protestants
numbered among them many OF our most
prominent and influential citizens, who are
deeply impressed with the idea that the
hospital Is to be a pest house, and that its
erection there will endanger the lives of
the residents in that locality and perma-
nently impair the value Of all property
within the limits mentioned. The deep
seated prejudice of these people and the
character of the opposition to the erection
of a hospital upon these lots leave no
doubt in the minds of the Commissioners
that the protestants however unreasonable
and chimerical their fright may be, are
sincere and earnest In their opposition, and
that they believe that their lives and prop
erty would be put in jeopardy by it's erec-
ton there. How hospital on these lots.
In which such diseases as scarlet fever
and diphtheria only would be treated. could
endanger the lives of the residents of
Mount Pleasant and Brightwood, from one
to three miles away or impair the value of
property in those suburbs, Is beyond the
power of the Commissioners to comprehend.
They do not desire, however, to force upon
the people of this any other section of
the District an institution so unpopular as
this hospital has proved to be. and they
are reluctantly driven to the conclusion
that the people do not want IL anywhere.
Its necessity Ia recognized by almost every
one; but when site Is propoSed-no mat
ter where-it raises a storm Of opposition.
No Other Suitable Site Can BE Selected
No other suitable site can be selected to
which all of the objections raised to this
one will not apply with equal force. II
the consent of the owners of abutting prop
erty be condition of choosing a site. we
must give up the hospital, a result. which,
In, ha Int of ri ~ nd ifxy
should not be permitted. The danger is
largely imaginary, however. These hospi-
tails are common to other cities and hey
excite no opposition. Indianapolis, Phila-
ielphia and Chicago have such hospitals
centrally located. Commissioner of Health
Reynolds of Chicago, writing upon the sub
ject July 81, 1888, says: with regard to
the spreading of contagious diseases, eX-
ceptfng smallpox, / see no reason why,
with proper sanitary surroundings and
antiseptic precautions. contagion should
escape from the building where 1t exists.
or indeed escape from the room. Our
county hospital. where contagious wards
have been built. Is in a thickiy settled por-
ton of the city
DR. j. B. Murphy president of the medi-
cal department, Cook County Hospital,
writes July II, 1S93 of the contagious
ward: 1T is situated not more than iifty
feet from the medical ward Of the hospi-
tai. AS we consider the patients In the
medical ward. fifty feet away. are not
tagious diseases. of course, the neighbors
would not be in danger"
DIR. George T. Sircle, health officer of
Cleveland. under date of July "a. 1898,
says: lone of our hospitals is quite iso-
lated: the other Is in the thickly settled
part OF the city, and there has been 70
complaint from either"
DIR. b. w. Richardson of London, who Is
an expert in these matters, is Of opinion
that hospitals for the treatment OF con-
tagious and infectious diseases should be
centrally located and that when such hos
pitfalls are properly conducted there Is no
danger of communicating disease TO the
neighborhood.
Additional Ground Needed.
If this hospital be erected on the site
already purchased additional ground
should be acQuii ed so as to isolate 1T from
any building which may hereafter be put
upon the adjoining lots. This 1t would
be perfectly practicable to do, as there Is
a large amount of vacant property In the
same square. which could be purchased
at from % to 80 cents per foot. The Com
missioner5 would also suggest that should
Congress deem II wise to provide for the
erection of a hospital this site pro-
viso be added to the appropriation pro-
hitting the treatment therein of any dis
eases more contagious than scarlet fever.
measles and diphtheria. The ground
would be useful for many other public