The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-20
MAY HAVE A NEW HOSPITAL.
COUNCIL APPOINTS A COMMITTEE
TO CONSIDER THE MATTER.

/
Considered at Length, Was to 3.
4 Lengthy Petition Presented to
Council for the Establishment OF
General Public Hospital.
The City Council has accepted the prop
! osition of the hospitals that the Mayor
and health officer shall become members
| of their boards of mana gers. The accep-
| lance is only for six month, however, and
the same resolution provides that the ap
preparation TO the hospitals shall be con-
| tinued until July l. 1900.
! Shortly after this resolution Council
| adopted another resolution by Alderman
| Graham, providing for a committee of five
to be appointed by the Mayor TO look into
| the feasibility and cost of conducting a
public hospital and to report to Council
! upon the same.
The facts that the hospital proposition is
accepted for only limited time, that the
| continuance of the appropriation is also
| limited, and the adoption of the second res
| olution providing for a committee to look
| into the matter of establishing and con
Quoting public hospital, are very signif-
cant and show plainly the trend of mind
! upOAl the part VI TIE dlQtIu6Dt VI at tcdSl
| of a majority.
These resolutions were adopted in open
| Council yesterday afternoon after the mat
ter has been discussed for an hour and a
half in Committee of the Whole. During
the first half hour of this time the County
! Commissioners were present. The COM
missioners did not take very active part
in the discussion, however. They stated
! that they had not as yet given the mater
| any consideration and were present simply
for the purpose of gaining Information.
After hearing the views of The aldermen
| the commissioners retired without stating
| what conclusion they had reached, if any.
The Committee of the Whole debated the
| matter at considerable length and very
| earnestly. The entire discussion was good
| natured, however. The hospital people did
| did not develop the strength they had ex-
| pected, as some of those who were relied
| upon to vote with them were found to be
| with the other side The majority did not
consider the hospital proposition as an
| swering the citys demands and there was
| evidently a desire to look into the ques-
ton of the cost of providing and conduct
ing a city hospital A suggestion to con-
tinue the hospital appropriations indef-
nitely while the feasibility of establish
ing a city hospital was being looked into
seemed to meet with the approval of the
majority, when Alderman Thomas moved
that the hospital proposition be accepted
| for six months and that or until July /,
| 1900 and that the appropria ton be con-
tinued until that date Alderman Thomas
held that it would be unfair to the nos
| pitfalls 20 leave them in suspense as to
the length of time which the city appro-
pria would remain in force, as they
would be unable TO determine their finan-
cial resources otherwise. This was agreed
to and was adopted with three dissenting
votes, some of those who were not unfaV-
orable to the hospital proposition 'conclud-
ing that this would be sufficiently fair to
the hospitals.
Aldermen Mills, Doyle and farrell are
understood to be the three who voted
against the resolution. The eight other
aldermen present were Aldermen Tiede-
man, Williams Dixon, Wells, Graham
Bacon, Haas and Thomas. A point was
made by Alderman Dixon against Alder
man Mills right 10 vote, he being president
of The Savannah Hospital board. The
point was not sustained however.
1t was nearly o'clock when the doors
were thrown open and the regular Coun-
ell meeting convened The first business
taken up was the report of the Commit
tee Of the Whole upon the hospital propo-
sition. which was to the effect that the
proposition to name the Mayor and health
officer as members of the several hospital
boards be accepted, and that the appro-
priatiOns of $500 a month to each OF the
three hospitals be continued until July l,
1900 When the vote was put Alderman
Doyle was the only one who was heard
TO vote in the negative, though others may
have done so. There was no discussion.
A lengthy petition, setting forth the va
rious reasons why the city should own and
conduct lis own hospital, and numerously
signed was read by caption and referred
to the Committee of the Whole, having
doubtless been already considered by that
body.
After several other matters of business
had been disposed of a resolution was Of
fered by Alderman Graham that COM
mittee of five be appointed by the Mayor
to consider and report upon the feasibility
of establishing a city hospital
and the cost of the same. The
resolution was adopted without opposition.
The Mayor appointed Alderman Graham
Williams. Haas, Tiedeman and Wells as
the committee.
Mayor Myers and several of the alder
men who were seen after the meeting
were not disposed 10 discuss the proceed
ings in the Committee of the Whole. May
or Myers was asked to explain the OBJ
ject of Council in accepting the hospital
proposition and continuing the appropria-
tons for six months, but said that no ex-
PLANTATION was necessary.
The hospitals are assured of their APP
preparations Until July l." he said land
|
into the question and decide what it will
do in the matter of a public hospital. The
acceptance is temporary, and may be re-
garded in the nature of an experiment"
Alderman Thomas, who has been count
ed among those who would vote for ac-
ceptance of the proposition, said that he
did not consider that the hospitals had
offered the city what it had asked for
AT the same time" said Alderman Thorn
as, Il think 1t would be unwise for the
city TO cripple the institutions which al
ready exist, and which are supported by
our own people by Withdrawing its an
| propriations. l am not prepared to saw
whether city hospital would be good
thing or not, but l should prefer to see
some satisfactory arrangement with the
present hospitals"
The petition in favor of a pubic bos-
pital' presented to Council yesterday. goes
over the ground which has already been
thoroughly covered on this subject as to