The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-07-21
CAMP KITCHENS
IN DISTRIBUTE.
Physician at Harbor
View Complains
of Desmond.
Writes TO fhe Red Cross

More complaints OF the Desmond
kitchens have been made. This time
1t Is not only the refugees themselves
who allege they have been misused. A
camp commander comes out in strong
letter to the Red Cross and asserts
that the food is bad.
DR.. R Bine, commander of the Har-
Dor View camp. after fruitless attempts
to improve the kitchens, has passed 1t
up to the Red Cross, and recommends
that Desmond not only be made to fur
nish a better meal, but that he be
compelled to clean his kitchens and
keep them in a sanitary condition.
Shortly after DR.. Bine's letter had
been mailed Allan Pollok and Rudolph
Spreckels of the finance committee ar
rived at the camp. Mr.. Spreckels is
credited with saying, after he had In
spected the kitchens, that he would rec
ommend they be closed if they cannot
be kept clean.
Although a thousand extra people
have been moved into the camp no adj
dition has been made to the kitchens.
except two small tents which accommo-
date thirty people each. Men, women
and children are obliged to stand in
line from an hour to an hour and a half
and then have to sit down TO filthy
table and eat from dishes that are
poorly washed and still dripping with
greasy water. The food, the refugees
complain, is just as sloppy, and the
mattresses, who are few in number, are
overworked and consequently irritable.
The second table yesterday morning
was served with cold corn meal mush
and coffee without either milk or SUI
gar, those commodities, which the con-
tract calls for, having been exhausted
before the first table was served. 1t
was at the second table that an elderly
woman asked If she could not have a
little warm mush and was informed by
the waitress, You can eat that or
nothing. and l don't give a d-n which
you do" 1t is said that was a fair
sample Of the courtesy exercised by the
persons who serve the food.
Some time before the removal of the
Preside camps to Harbor View Dr.
Bine registered a complaint about the
kitchens with one of the Desmond
bosses and was astounded by the reply
that the contractor could not feed that
camp any better, they were only
making $50 a day clear profit out OF it.
This, the boss said, was a much smaller
profit than was made in any other
camp and he was afraid he would lose
his job If he could not make more
money for his employer. If the profit
was $50 then, with only few people in
camp and the food comparatively good
the doctor is now wondering what the
profit is with a thousand extra people
in camp and the quantity and quality
Of food reduced so per cent
Several hundred refugees who re-
Gently moved from the Preside re-
turned to the reservation yesterday and
begged for food. Colonel Morris, com
mander of the post, sent an officer to
investigate the conditions at Harbor
View, and. after an unfavorable report
ordered that the kitchens be reopened
and meals given to all refugees who
applied. w. Worthington, who has
had charge of the camp No. kitchens
was placed in charge, and last night
several hundred people were fed in the
kitchens previously used by the refu-
gees at camp No. 1.