The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-01-30

Tn the way of comment upon the above statement, your committee call attention to the following facts:
 sG) The number of patients treated Again this surpasses the record of any previous year. Every years report shows an increase of business. The daily average tells the same story, and the largest number on any one day. Yet this year there has been no cpl denic, or other circumstance, making, special demands upon us. The growth, therefore, must be regarded as normal.
 @ As to the classification of patients. Again the increase is largely in self paying patients. # The number of self paying in wards is greater by 65; the number of private room patients is less by 16-lnaking the net increase 49. Moreover, while of private room pa- tients there were fewer in number, their period of residence was longer by 102 5-7 weeks. Of marine patients we had F more; of state soldier patients 8 less; of town patients more; of charity patients 47 less; and of free bed patients 19 more. The falling off in the number of charity patients is due to the fact that a previous over draft upon the English fund constrain- ed us to disuse it for eight months, and the increasing cost of maintenance Him. its our use of the, others. We have been obliged. to decline many cases brought to our notice, of the less urg- ent sort, and even then, the number of weeks residence of patients chargeable Inn },xrY Yoi7aa This has been occasioned by the very slight changes in the list Of patients upon the Clifford Fund for Incurables. The number of patients of this class has been less by 13, and the number of weeks residence less by ii, yet the charge upon the fund has been greater by S729.2S.
 (3) As to the increase in our cur- rent receipts. It is less than the in- creased number of patients would lead LIS to expect, because of the exception ally large amount in arrears in our &C., counts with towns. Of course this amount may be expected in the future, but payments have been unusually delayed. The increase of receipts from self-paying patients is $1,S66S4. The increase Ill CuTTeul ECCGIplS lFOIli dil sources is $362.35.
 (4) As to the increase in our current expenses. This the statement shows to be s4I61741. Comparing the quarterly statements for the year, we find that the increase in the deficit in the first quarter as. compared with the corre- spending quarter of 1901, was $29925; that the decrease in the deficit in the second quarter, as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1901, was $1,- 565.51: that the increase in the deficit In the fourth quarter of 1901 was $5,- i49.61. This comparison would seem to Indicate that the whole of the increase of the deficit was in the last quarter of the year: and when it is added that the cost of fuel in the last quarter of 1902 was $4,296.13, while in the corre- spending quarter of 1901 it was nearly s3 900 less, the great increase in the current expenses of the year would seem to be almost wholly due to the coal situation. But more careful anal ysis of the years accounts points i'll another direction, and while the cost of coal has subjected us to very heavy charges in the last quarter Of l9o2, ana especially the last two months of 1902, the more important item in the deficit g the increased cost of food and medI-