The San Francisco call., 1908-03-22
CITIZENS IN ARMS
OVER PESTHOUSF
Scheme of Supervisors to Re-
habiIitatel Old AlmshOuse
Rouses Mission
Site Once Picked at Bay View
Urged as Proper Place
for Hospital

The residents of the Mission dis
trict and particularly those living in
the nejghborhood OF Twenty-sixtb
street and San Bruno avenue are up
in arms against the proposed rehahil-
itation of the old pesthouse, for which
work the finance committees OF the su-
pervisors has recommended an appro-
priation of $4,000. fhe Mission pec-
pie have been fighting for the last 20
years against the maintenance of the
pesthouse and leper hospital in their
locality and the news that their battle
has been apparently in vain has
aroused their Indignation. They will
take steps Immediately TO protest
against the hoard accepting the recon-
incubation of the finance committee and
every effort viii be put forth by them
to have the pesthoese established on
the isolated site at Bay View which
wa s purchased by the city several
Years ago. ne
BOUGHT a SITE
The Mission residents thought some
Years ago that their Victory was COM
plete when the supervisors bought
tract of land in an isolated section Of
Bay View and announced their inten-
.tion to destroy the pesthouse at Twen-
tY-sixth street below San huno ave.
ME and erect a hospital for the treat
ment of infectious diseases at the new.
location In addition TO purchasing
the land. the city went TO an out
lay of several Thousand dollars build
ing a road to. the hospital site. Then
it was announced that there was not
sufficient funds to erect Building and
the promise was giItp that an appro-
priation WOULD be provided In the next
budget. The sum of s2o,oSo was finally
set aside for the new .pesthouse, but
the work did not go ahead. When a.
hospital for the proper Treatment or
infectious patients became an impera-
tive need several months ago the suz
pervisors ordered that stlie $4,000 orig
inally set aside be spent on hos
pital to be erected on the almshouse
tract Residents in the neighborhood
Of the alnlshouse Immediately called
mass meeting and formulated such
,lgorous protest that tee supervisors
abandoned the idea OF building a hos
pfta1 in that locality The next step
in the matter was taken Friday, when
the finance committee agreed to recon-
mend that the money be spent in re-
habiiitating the old pesthoIse.
DAY EXPLAINS ACTION
In arriving at this cinclusion they
were assisted by Commissioner Day of
the board of public works, who stated
that no one could complain against
the rebuilding OF the pesthouse on the
old Twenty-sixth street site.
Day evidently did not consult the
residents of the Mission district be-
fore making his statement. They are
thoroughly aroused, and when they ap-
pear before the supervisors they win
protest against the pesthouse in no.
uncertain terms. The property in the
neigh borhood has heeni built up since
the fire and is thickly populated. The
residents say that there is every sani-
tary reason to- be urgea against the
rehablitation OF the old pesthouse and
no sufficient reason for abandoning tha
Bay View site.
President Casey OF the works board.
who was one of those who selected the
Bay View site and directed the work
Of building the road to it. said yester-
day that he was in sympathy with
the Mission residents.
THE pesthouse should be located in
the isolated spot we selected said he,