New-York tribune., 1905-08-13
Heaf's Needless
HQrUeSf

SHAFT. In the main room the occupants eat cook
ana WASH and here soi-e Of them sleep The
iooih' not enough under any circumstances, is
maze more uncomfortable by the stove with the
etefhai pot OF tea simmering on H. and a bathtub
TOT me children is an unknown hygienic luxury
All through the day the women drink cup after
cup OF black tea, and when the man of the family
- al nome the can Of beer takes its place on the
taDie Beer is cheap-an enormous amount is put
INTO TIN pail for 10 cents-it is cool and can al
ways be had at a minutes notice Milk is neither
50 cool nor so cheap, and few tenement apartments
are provided with refrigeraors in which 10 keep IT,
80 the whole family drinks the beer and is thank
enteritis and wilt within forty-eight hours
~ men me mother IS finally aroused TO the seri-
BUSINESS OF the situation she carries her child 10
the The hospital dispensary. Bellevue and the POST
1IaaOate are both situated in the heart of the
setat St .ehenent dstrct lying east of 3d-aye and
between l4th and 54th SITS, but most OF these
Bellevue. the big municipal institution The ba bies
S s OF ne the PesisGraduaie with their nifty eight
cppies are perhaps the best equippedfin in the city
but their greatest value lies in their connection
with the school. Of which the hospital is only
ihetcesssry adjunct Medicine is now taught in the
laboratory, so TO speak-not by theoretical lectures
and the children carried TO the dispensary are
@ Win OF chaIlty among the poor and partly as
means OF conveying instruction TO the physicians
10 these practical demonstrations Of treatment of
childrens illnesses. which. 81 this season OF the
ily PHYSICIANS practice, the wards also thrown
them to see the actual proFress m OF tbe sSsn
The hospitals of New York however cannot he
gin 10 take OF all the suffering children OF the
tenements In the search for a breath OF afr and
SONG relief from the sitting atmosphere OF the
crowded living room the roofs and Are escapes are
called into play and il is hardly an exaggeration
OF New-Nork's poorer quarters sleeping out Of
doors So intense is the suffering caused nv
sultTy night that the commOnest precautions for
safety neglected. Recently a mother took her
young child out the fire escape and there the
two fell asleep, careless of the rules of the Fire
Department, which explicit in their insistence
that. the escapes shall AT all times be kept clear
In the course Of the night the child slipped from
the mothers arms. rolled through the bars of the
iron landing and fell TO the ground three stories
below In some remarkable way. instead of being
thigh.
Many reluctant TO take advantage OF the medi-
cal freely offered all sides there is also
a class OF professional shrkers against whom
physicians have TO be continually on their guard
mild and after all very natural form OF this
imposition is a reluctance to take a conValescent
child out Of the hospital. Not infrequenly the
parents reach tho conclusion that the baby IS well
on whore lie is and pay attention TO the notice
thst ne is recovered and ready 10 return home
While n hospital Is the best place for those seri-
ous,y m II is not a good place FOR conValescent
children. OF late years a number OF institutions
haH homes and half hospitals. have been estah-
lshed In the vicinity 81 NeW-YOrk and these
country places utilized TO their full capacity In
tho summer. ~ Sea cln Long Island. for
eNample. overlooking Hennstead Harhor and the
SOurd there - conEal=sceut home FOR chltdren
j. cor tains thirty five beds. tHCnty OF which are
filled by convalescents f.fun the East Side who
have been treated at the Post-Graduate Hospital