The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-19
STARVATION IN
PROSPECT FOR
INDECENT SICK
County Hospital Bills
Are Unpaid.
CONTRACTORS GIVE NOTICE
FLOUR AND FUEL MEN WANT
THEIR MONEY.
CONTRACTORS GIVE NOTICE
Say They Will Furnish No More
Provisions Until Funds Are
Available for Goods Al
ready Delivered.

Twelve hundred patients at the City
and County Hospital will in few days
be confronted with the prospect of death
| by starvation unless the Board of Super
visors can find some way to pay the city
| bills Not only does the grim specter OF
| famine threaten the unfortunates within
the walls of the barnlike structure where
| are confined the INDECENT sick, but their
! emaciated and pain-racked bodies Will be
| exposed to the chill Of the Wlnd ana log
! that sweeps in from the ocean through
the gap In Twin Peaks unless the coal
contractor can find way to the city s
strong box.
Many of the merchants who have con-
! tracts to furnish the City and County
| Hospital with fuel and provisions nave
received no pay from the city since rep
ruary and there is little prospect OF bet
| ter fortune during the balance or the
! present fiscal year. In consequence or
| this the Del Monte Milling Company,
which holds the contract for supplying
| the hospital with flour, meal and similar
| food products, served notice yesterday
that il would decline to furnish any more
goods to the institution until pay is
| Forthcoming for goods delivered during
March and April. The same action has
| been taken by Thomas j. Morton, who
holds the contract for supplying the hos
pital with coal Other contractors nave
| signitied their intention of adopting the
same course for the reason, they say
stitution with goods gratis, and past eX-
perience has taught them that there is
little prospect of remuneration when the
fund for the maintenance of the hospital
is in the condition in which they now
find it,
Until yesterday there was some pros
pect that there would be sufficient money
in the hospital fund to pay the outstand-
ing bills for last month, but that nope
was killed when Auditor Wells was
advised by his attorney that the action
faly Nv ha n
Monday was illegal The action referred
to was the transferring to the fund pro-
vided by the last tax levy Tor the MAN a8dd6
which is still to the credit of the tund
provided for repairs to the hospital. Cen
eral Dickinson yesterday ADVISED AUDITOR
Wells that this transfer could not be leg
ally made and that the only fund which
can be drawn upon for the maintenance
Of the institution is that provided by the
last tax levy. Acting on this advice, the
Auditor has refused to audit demands
that would otherwise have been drawn
from this additional sum of $4,000
There now remains in the hands of the
Auditor unsatisfied March demands to the
total amount of about $4,000. There is al
ready in sight demands for money due
on account of provisions furnished dur
ing the present month more than sutfi-
cent to exhaust the April apportionment
after the April salary demands have been
paid. Before these April demands can be
paid the unpaid March demands must
be satisfied. 1t can readily be seen that
the prospect ahead for the contractors is
not encouraging.
The present condition of things at the
hospital is due to extravaganza on the
part of the officials in charge of that in
stitution and of the Supervisors who are
responsible for the authorization of their
acquisitions. 1t is the opinion of the off,
Gals at the. City Hall that remedy must
be found for the present condition of
things, and that soon on account of the
helpless and unfortunate condition of
those who will be the sufferers if the sup
ply of provisions and fuel is cut off.