Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-17
THE DISTRICT BLf
APPROPRIATION MEASURE SENT
BACK TO CONFERENCE.
House Refuses to Agree on Municipal
Hospital Site and Secta-
rfan Items.

| The District appropriation bill was sent
| back to conference yesterday afternoon by
| the House. After a discussion the House
| refused to agree to the amendment put on
| By the Senate appropriating $100N0 for
| the purchase of site for a municipal hos
| pital The House also refused to accept
| the Senate amendments appropriating $1s0o
| for ST. Johns Orphanage and s1.S00 for St
| Jcseph's Orphan Asylum
| Mr. Payne of New York raised a ques
ton against the appropriation for the hos
| rital site.
| Hospital Site Debate.
while 1t is true there is no exclusively
| municipal hospital for the city of Washing
ton, said Mr.. Payne, lit Is equally true
that no city in the country is SO we'll sup
piled with hospitals the city Of Wash
| ington. We have the Freedmen's Hospital,
which is wholly supported by the govern
ment. and in this bill $4,000 is appropriated
for Its maintenance. Then have the
Columbia Hospital for Women totally sup
ported by the government. and the appro-
priation in this bill for that institution is
81 600
Il suppose 1t is true that some of these
| hospitals are full filled with hundreds of
people from the neighboring states of Vir-
ginia and Maryland Not filled, of course,
from people who belong to the District of
Columbia, because the bare statement OF
| the amount appropriated for these different
hospitals would show the House that there
| cannot be such condition of Ill health, ac-
| cidents and everything of the kind to fill
up these hospitals if any kind of economy
was exercised. These hospitals are. as l
know. and l have considerable information
on the subject, well conducted, economically
conducted, and they are amply adequate
| now for all cases that would come to them
| from the District of Columbia. but they
receive them from Maryland l stated.
and Virginia. by the hundred. and hence
pa la no haf f3.1
Proportions Made.
II have in my hand proposition from
the Providence Hospital that sent
! to each of the members of the House-,at
| least. 1 got one-directed To the Honor
| able Members of the House of Repre-
| sentatives the Sd day of January of
| this year. They say they have plenty of
| land for the purpose. and they ask Con-
eress for an appropriation, not of S1Oo,'HN,
but of $4,000 to build building or ward
| on the ground which they have, which
every gentleman knows is cligibly still
ated is in a good, healthy place, is con-
venent, and all of that. 1t is to build
ward in that hospital. to take care of the
poor people of this city, for the very pur-
| pose for which they have started in this
bill. 1t seems to me that it would be bet
| ter judgment and more economical to al
| low this s5o,oOo for this institution. which
| the gentleman says is so we'll managed,
| to allow it $r0WD to erect building On
that land which they own. The hospital
now is contributed to in the District bill
| every year for the support of patients. pa
tents of the city. Why not continue in the
same direction?
Then l understand that Garfield Hos
pital is ready to do the same thing. and
| l.; anxious to have Il building erected for
wards for the poor people of the city
where, for small expenditure of money
less than required TO equip a separate
municipal hospital for the District OF Co
lumba in every annual appropriation-they
can take care Of the poor people of the
city.
Mr.. CIRCUITS Reply.
Mr.. Circuit, replying to Mr.. Payne, said:
IF we put hospital buildings on private
grounds we shall always be at the mercy
of those hospitals. Let US be respectable
among the cities of the world. This is a
great city There are many sick here. We
should be able to take of them. The
conferees acted in good faith in this mat
ter. never dreamed any one would object
to it,
He said the existing hospitals cannot meet
the demands made upon them Referring to
Freedmens Hospital he said:
only last night l was visited by a gen.
tleman who lmplored me to secure an ap-
preparation for the repair of the buildings
there. He assured me that it was neces-
sary to tie them down from the top to the
ground to keep the wind from blowing
them away. Those buildings are the cheap
est kind of temporary arrangement. The
gentleman from New York NAV think that
is something that the capital city should
be proud Of. l don't l think it is a dis
grace
Mr.. Payne's Position Attacked.
Mr.. Alien of Mississippi attacked Mr.
Payne's position:
Now. If the gentleman from New York.
said Mr.. Allen, were a habitual economist
Qaughter), if he were constantly standing
by the people, 1 could tolerate this thing
a good deal better: but he is a man who
just jumps in occasionally with his objec-
lions to small. items. but is one of the men
who is constantly engaged in squandering
millions. The proposition is to buy some
land for municipal hospital. / remember
very distinctly that soon after I came here
| there was talk of building new public
library. and it was said, You have a Ii
brary already. And yet no man who was
In the Congress that Helped to spend the
money to buy the ground and build this
magnificent library will ever cease to be
proud Of the fact that he one of the
men that helped to do this thing Gap
plause.) And yet the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Payne) could we'll have secured
a little applause at that time by saying
Why, We have library already; what is
the use of spending the peoples money?
Now, the question presented to the
House Is whether we shall have a munich
pal hospital belonging to the government
in the District of Columbia, under govern
mental control. or Snail we go on spending
the peoples money, of which the gentleman
from New York IS jealous, in erecting
buildings on other peoples or associations
grounds not under governmental control
have visited many of the hospitals here
and think very well indeed of them. and if
the House desires to go on with the patch
work of improving those hospitals rather
than have one of its own, l have no OBJ
lection.
But in this beautiful city. the capital of
this great country, / for one think We
should have municipal hospital befttng
| the needs of the city especially when it is
believed that could sell the Columbia
Hospital grounds for a much higher price
than we would have to pay for site much
cheaper and more suitable. But l have new
| er seen anything done here yet in the inter-
| est of the city of the capital that did
| not have its DIRECTORS, such the gentle
man from New York.
Sectarian Appropriations.
At this point there followed a discussion
upon the subject of sectarian appropria-
| lions in connection with St. Johns (Episco-
| paD and st. Joseph's (Catholic) orphan asy-
| lums Mr.. Glynn and Mr.. Fitzgerald made
| appeals for retaining these appropriations
| in the bill.
| After the action above mentioned was
I NJ