The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-17
ALL But BROKEN HEARTS
The Northern Pacific Hospital
Cures Everything Else.
RAIL WAY BOYS CARED FOR
The Record of the Western Division
Hospital at Missoula for the Year.
Some Bits OF It's History
in the Past.


sity City is the general hospital of the
Northern Pacific Beneficial association
All Missoulans are familiar with the
comfortable buildi lg. surrounded by
its handsome grounds, in which flow
ers and shrubbery grow in the NEST
velvety grass pc ssible. 1t is in many
respects a model institution and there
are thousands of railway me.l who will
swear to that fact. From all over the
Western division Of the road, which in
cludes the Montana, Rocky Mountain, |
Idaho and Pacific divisions, with their |
branches, the railway m en- come to this |
hospital for treatment Whenever they
are seriously i'll or injured There are
many of them who gladly tell of their
satisfaction and thankfu!ness for the
he spital and it's treatment and there is
many fellow, with no home but
room in lodging house, who has found
here the care and attention that have
saved his life when sickness overlook
him.
The organization of the Northern Pa
cific Beneficial association is an excel
lent one. It insures to every employe
upon the Northern Pacific's system
when sickness or injury overtakes him
| Its expense is slight to each man, but
! the benefits that he reaps are manifold.
| From the Pacific coast to the division
| that has headquarters at Livingston, in
! Montana, the men come to this hospital.
| There is an eastern hospital at Brain
| erd, Mimi, that takes care of the men
! on the other parts of the system. The
| records of the Missoula hospital for the
year that ended June 80, 1899. show that
| there were during that year LIZA cases
| treated at the hospital. These were d.
vided as follows: Indoor surgical cases.
| 2S9; indoor medical cases, 295; outdoor
surgical cases, 10: outdoor medical
cases, A; office surgical cases, 297; Of
flee medical cases, 7S9 Out of all this
number but IA deaths occurred and
| three of these took place within few
hours Of the arrival of the patients at
| the hospital, the cause being severe
an excellent showing and it is no Won
! der that the railway men are proud of
| their hospital.
The Western division hospital was es-
| tablished at Missoula in 1854. The first
building stood where the present hospi-
tai has since been built and was big.
| frame. barnlike structure. The wards
We're heated by big sheetiron stoves and
| the plumbing was so defective that
during the winter months it was the
nightly task of the attendants to keep
the pipes thawed out. In 1890, extensive
repairs We're made to the old building,
in the hope that 1t could be made serV-
ieeable for a few years longer. On the
afternoon of the day that the painters
put the finishing touches to this repair
work, while high wind was blowing,
| a defective flue caused a blaze that de-
stroyed the entire building. The new
hospital was at once begun and was
| cOrDnletp in 1892 when it was at once
occupied.
Murray Miles, who is now in Alaska,
was on the Northern Pacific then, and
he still enj0ys-or he did when he was
last here-telling of an incident that
occurred while the flames were licking
UP the old hospital building. He, with
others, was removing a piano from the
second story of the building. The flames
were almost at their heels and the work
was necessarily somewhat hurried. In
turning a corner of the staircase the
piano dug into the plastering and made
a big hole. DR.. Buckley was nearby and
saw this. He had just had that STAIR
case repaired and painted and it an
gered him to see that carelessness and
utter disregard of his new walls. He
burst out with For heavens sake!
Can't you fellows move a piano with
out spelling all of the walls in the
house?" In half an hour that wall was
in ashes.
DR.. ]. J. Buckley the chief surgeon
came to take charge of the hospital In
1887. DR.. ]. L. Hillmantel, whose sad
death last month was mourned by
many Missoulans who knew him, was
I | assistant surgeon for several years He
was succeeded by DIR. Sippe, who is now
prominent physician in Milwaukee
Dr. Sippe was succeeded by DIR. E. w
| Spottswood, who now fills that position
with much credit to himself and thu
institution. The late David Blackie wa
for eight years the hospital steward
: Here he made many of the acquaint
ances that ripeued into the deep friend
ships that endeared him to the entir
community Edwin Abbott, the heat
nurse, has been at the hospital sine
1894 George Wall, the present stew
| ard, has been in the service for fou
years. william Sweeney. who is nov
| major domo Of the institution, has he'll
down his office for nearly 10 years. A
. | Jim, the head cook of the hospital, ha
. prepared its meals since 1886, two r7or
after it was established. Others
| employees have had long terms Of
ice and this freedom from change
a measure responsible for the smooth
ness with which things run at the hos
pital.
The increasing business of the railwa
has made greater demands upon tn
hospital and it is hoped that there wi
q
modern operating room and additions
ward room, built in the spring. TIL
plans have been made and it is eXpecte
that they will be carried out early j
the season.
Dr. Buckley was asked the other nigh
for some "reminiscences of his earl
years at the hospital He was ques
toned as to the truth of the story tha
has been quoted from Murray Miles
and he laughingly admitted that 1t
true. Continuing. he said:
'There is really not much Of interes
to tell Of those early years of h0spits
service when the Northern Pacific wa
young. There was plenty of work
the time and the facilities We're not a
good Is they are now. There was abou
the present proportion Of accidents an
injuries and the new. ess of things ha
not been worn off, so we had no spal
q time on our hands. There were the
only two or three buildings on the mort
side of the railway tracks, except tt
II >