The San Francisco call., 1899-08-01
HEALTH BOARD GUILTY
OF A PUBLIC OUTRAGE
Emergency Hospitals Closed to Aid
a Shameful Raid.
Political Doctors Prey Upon the Fears Of Citizens to
Force the Board Of Supervisors to Provide
for Political RaSCalS

Preside. Riley was taken from Ab-
bott's saloon on Grant avenue, a popular
resort for thieves of both sexes and one
of the most disreputable places in san
Francisco or anywhere else. Riley had
been skylarking with one of the women
of the place and thrust his hand
through a glass door. The wrist was
frightfully lacerated and blood issued
in spurts from an artery. The patrol
wagon was hastily summonded and,
serving as an ambulance, sped IN all
haste with Riley and Officer MCGEE to
the Receiving Hospital at the City Hall.
When the wounded soldier arrived
there Dr. Morrison insolently refused to
attend him. The physician declared
that the Receiving Hospital had been
closed officially at midnight and no pa
tients, emergency or otherwise, would
be received. The Board of Health is
taking desperate measures to force
open the doors of the treasury.
The soldiers wrist was still bleeding
profusely He was becoming weak
from loss of blood. but DR.. Morrison
stood haughtily on his officialtsm and
declined to render aid. Efforts were
made to secure by telephone permission
from some member of the Board of
Health to allow the soldier to be treat
ed. Nothing, however, could be done.
The hospital was officially closed and
the soldier might die on the step. This
climax of outrage indicates to what
length the Board of Health is deter
mined to go in its efforts to obey the
commands of its political master
There is absolutely no sincerity in
the action of the board in dismissing
the employees and paralyZing the ser
vice. This was shown clearly by the
fact that the Chief Food Inspector and
his assistants have determined TO serve
without pay until the question is deter
mined in the courts. This means that
the Chief Food Inspector and his as
sistants wish to add little buncombe
to the busters of their superiOrs. AS
announced in The Call on Sunday, the
board met yesterday in secret session
and adopted the following resolutions:
whereas The Board of Supervisors have
failed to appropriate an AMOUNT sufficient
to the proper conduct of the Health Depart
ment Of the city and county of San Fran
pay the officers especially designated by the
statutes; be It hereby
Resolved. That on and after the first day
of August 1899, the following positions un-
der the control of this board be declared
vacant: Assistant police surgeons Morrison,
Thompson, Hopper, Dorr and Robinson;
Sullivan Erkson. Thomas Lahaney and
Ryan: health inspectors Grove and Smith;
hacteriologist, William F. Barbat; vaCCtn-
ator, George E. McPherson chemist. A. c.
Bottle; assistant chemist. r. A. Gould;
statistican f b Carroll; clerk of vital
statistics, c Boeekman; bakery in
1.
geon. / w. O'Rourke; plumbing inspectors,
Nolan. Kelly and Connolly; garbage in
sPscso Gregg anes and CqneG GfrF na2e q Inn
spector Hoilngsworth: ambulance drivers.
Kelly, Pendergast Kaplan and Lilly; JAM jani-
SWEET. Wynne and Eddy; captain of launch,
P. MCGOWAN; engineer, Cousins: deckhand.
Johnson. and messenger, John wilkins be
Resolved. That the public be hereby notl-
fed that and after the first day OF
August 1899 the free vaccination office
the City Hall will be closed until further
notice; also that the Harbor and Park Re-
ceiving Hospitals will be closed until fur
ther notice; that chemical or bacteri-
illogical examinations will be made until
While this board regrets exceedingly to
be obliged to close to the public these very
will necessarily leave the community with
out proper sanitary protection, and possibly
Jeopardze the lives of its citizens by clos
ing the Receiving Hospitals. cannot ask
our employees TO serve without compensa-
tion.
The outrageous action of the Board
of Health in closing the Receiving Hos
pital practically paralyzed last night
the work of the Police Department.
Emergency cases that would not be ac
cepted at the Receiving Hospital had
TO be taken to the City and County
Hospital on POtrero avenue and Twen
ty-second street. If the honorable mem
bers of the Board of Health could so
their profession and permit people to
die under their very eyes. the police
could not They therefore used their
patrol wagons to hurry sufferers out to
the City and County Hospital. This as
a matter of course clogged the admin
istration of the Police Department in
other directions. Offenders were held
at patrol boxes sometimes for an hour
at q time waiting for a conveyance to
the central or branch prisons. This led
to the additional outrage of leaving the
city unprotected and at the mercy OF
whatever malefactors cared to operate.
/ The Board of Health has begun a des-
perate and a dangerous campaign to
raid the city treasury.