New-York tribune., 1903-01-25
THE BOX HOSPITAL"
Where Broken Down Packing Cases Are
Made as Good as New.

It NAV be properly called a box hospital II q
heaped with hundreds of packing cases which in
their travels have at last broken down under the
strain and have for the time become tired OF
knocking abort Most Of them. however, do not
need rest so much as operation
Such boz hospitals are be found in the great
downtown wholesale district of this city. to the
west of Broadway. There are, perhaps, dozen or
more. and the present time. because OF the large
and increasing volume of trade, they are crowded
as never before with patients waiting for treat
ment.
The ordinary packing box that sees piled in
heaps the sidewalk In front OF store or travel
ling slowly on truck through the congested traffic
Of West-st. has travelled far more than many a
man who styles himself a globe trotter- Such
box however though by means new. may not
be so young it looks. Since it first started out
in the world it may have been operated on so often
at box hospital. have had so many new nails and
new Stats put into it that. like grandpapa's knife.
it possesses little if any Of its original SELF but the
packing box is the same box.
box hospital consists of rear yard, which
might be called the outdoor department: a shed
which might be similarly styled the operating
room and several broad tables in the middle or
which whirI brzzsaws which are strikingly Ike
operating tables Amputatiol and trepannins are
the favorite methods of treatment The surgeons
are kept busy.
Thus truck drives up which may be regarded
as an ambulance. which is loaded down with
ratieuts ranging from the big and once diguifed
drygoods box down to the understood and stunted
whiskey case. The load is dumped with less care
than that OF the ordinary ambulance. and heaped
up with others In the outdoor department Tns
boxes have come from department store N
Sixth-aye.
Ii 5 a cosmopolitan crowd. that backyard heap
There is for example. the lace box that has come
from Dublin the Scotch tweed drygoods box troih
Glasgow the fur box from London. the millinery
box from Paris. the drug box which still SHoWS
from it's discoloring that it once held chemicals
which came from Hamburg; the hosiery box rom
Chemnitz. the toy box from Genoa. and manF
another broken down foreigner Mingled with
these and in far greater numbers. are boxes from
the different factory cities OF the United States
Here are a half dozen from Providence. that once
held jeweiry. others from FAN River. that COT
tanned caHcos. and here the wire boxes OF Nor-
cester Mass. the silk boxes of Paterson. ana lh'
cotton boxes of Georgia. and other Southern mus
which are slowly but surely usurping the indus
tries of old New-EpgIaud factories, are well rep
resented.
I'VE get fewer and fewer boxes from the Oi'
Country" said the proprietor or chief surgeon
Our own factories are making more and more
boxes every year. More boxes come from tHe
South than 1 ever used to see, and have been j"
this business a score OF years No, Or. L~orenz
is able to perform cures 50 quickly and abSoiutsN
complete as does the everyday surgeon OF a ooN
hospital He takes a crippled drygoOds box ahort
four feet long and four feet wide knocks oui
few loose boards. picks up some loose Stats near
the buzzsaw cuts then of % ut. nails them into
the placs where they are needed pounds in the
other nails that have started. and in 3 few min
utes the box is whole and sound. and good as
again.
Another box is too far gone 20 be repaired. 50
haro{, measures are resorted TO- Its stats
knocked out. and the nails pulled out. the broken
parts are sawed of. and the amrutated boards arS
then nailed into stout but smaller pacAIAs
the ordinary globe trotter. said the proprietor -
another ambulance full OF crtpples drove IN
marked a board in big drygoOGs box one TINE.
with my name. and the request that every one WnO
box from that time stamp his ndlii.ss
and address below Well here the places !.
lad been when iJ came back to me shoe oeN
from Bristol three atterward. NeW-NotS-
Chicago. Orleans. London. Glasgow. Balt-
more PhfauefpEiu Paris.