St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-16

VICTIMS DIE WITHOUT AID?
WHO, THEN, is RESPONSIBLE.
Contradictory Claims Made by
Officials in the Gardner and
BartOs Cases.

Why cannot the attendance of the
city physicians be promptly secured
in cases Of grave emergency? Why
was Mrs. Rosa Gardner, who took
poison Sunday at the Hampton
house, allowed to de without medical
attendance two hours and a half
after the authorities had been noti-
lied that she was very i'll, and two
hours after the police had been tiId
that she had evidently taken poison?
Why was Martin BartoS, who shot
himself on West Seventh street few
weeks ago, neglected in a similar
manner for an hour and a half? That
any of the city officials are deliber-
ately negligent is altogether improb-
able. That culpable carelessness or
inefficiency exists cannot be doubted.
The ordinary suicide is not, as
rule, one Of the community's valua-
bic citizens. But however diseased
mentally, however prevented NOR
ally, a suicide is still a human being,
and, in a civilized country, he is
still entitled to medical relief at the
earliest possible moment. 1t is well
known that the majority of these
unfortunateS attempt their own lives
in crisis of excitement or despair.
Scarcely is the mad act committed
than the fatal wish is recalled. To
leave such poor creatures to slowly
perish so long as the slightest hope
remains of frustrating their unuat-
ural and insane intentions is nothing
less than brutal. It appears to be
the highly Christian sentiment of
some persons that a would-be sui
eide is better dead than alive. Hes
only suicide"-"only a pauper
whom nobody owns
In the case of Martin Bartos, it
afterwards appeared that his wound
was of such a nature that he would
have lived but a short time, had he
received immediate surgical attention.
But this fact was not known by the
ponce until the arrival of the first
physician, who was secured through
the efforts of a private citizen, one
hour and twenty minutes after the
shot was fired. No one representing
the city officials appeared until the
coroner arrived. Bartos had then
been dead fifteen minutes Officer Joe
Davis was present almost Immediately
after the deed was done He claims
that he telephoned the police depart
ment that a man was shot, requesting
that the patrol wagon be sent. Ten
minutes later he looked in on the dy-
ing man, and believed, or was told.
that the latter was already dead
Then he telephoned the central sta
ton this belief, asking that the coro-
ner be informed. But Lieut.. Murphy
states that the first message he re-
ce1ved from Davis was that a. man
had killed himself.
Mrs. Gardner was discovered m
conscious and evidently very i'll in bed
at her room at the Hampton house Just
before 10 O'Clock Sunday morning. Mr..
Gair, tn proprietor of the hotel, at
once sought out Officer John Goven,
and took the latter to the room of the
suffering woman. AT 1910 Goven tele-
phoned the central station that there
was very sick woman at the Hampton
house. Operator TubbeSing repeated
the message to Assistant Physician
Hanley. The latter was found at his
home. He replied that he would at
tend to the call at once. About 1925
the niece of Mr.. Gair came running to
him with the news that she and her
aunt, in examining the furniture in
Mrs. Gardner's room, had discovered
box of powders marked poison
some of which the sick woman had evil
IDENTIFY swallowed. Gair states that he
lost not a moment in conveying this
additional information to Officer Goven.
entreating the patrolman, at the same
time, to let the central station know
the situation, so that a physician might
be hurried down. Goven claims that
he not only telephoned the second time,
at 1890, but advised the central station
that woman had taken a powder sup
posed to be poison. Operator Tube
sing insists that the officer made no
reference whatever to poison, but SIM
ply asked that the doctor be notified
again.
The operator called up DR.. Hanley's
house, and was told that the latter had
just left, presumably to attend to the
Hampton house call. Meanwhile, as
the doctor explains, he had received,