Bisbee daily review., 1908-02-04
TREATED MUCH LIKE FELLOWS, SAYS WOMAN
Dentists Wife Says Pest House Is Not Fit Place to House
 Dumb BruteS.

house, after being detained there through an attack of the small pox. has addressed an open letter to the members of the board or health in which she says that the patients in Ithe pest house are treated worse than convicted fel3ns and that it l is mot fit place to house animals. | Affairs in the office of City Physician Carnes will again be given an official probing as a result of Mrs. Wilson's caustic letter. She says in part:
 T arrived at the pest house about 6 o'clock D. m. The room into which l was to have been put was so filled vita formaldehide gas that it was | impossible to put me in there This room, which had been prepared es- lpecially CD for women, is about ten | by twelve feet square, of crudest adobe and dirt roof. On one side was a few rough blanks ton which was to have been put my bed), the remainder being dirt floor. In one lcorner is small sheet iron suoye. Against the wall one grocery box was nailed; a stack Of old bedding | lay on the floor; old underwear hung on the walls. and there was one chair.
 When my mother decided it would be impossible to sleep in this room that night, l was taken into the room which had been occupied by four men patients, only one of whom was there, | as three had been released that day. gIn this room which is about twice ltha size of the first room, at one Iend were a few blanks which par italy covered the floor for about six fleet On these blanks were three single cots of the cheapest kind, and old, part of them being reinforced with bailing wire, and which when occupied sagged to the limit of the
 wire springs. In corner OF the dirt l floor was a fourth cot. In about the
 center Of the room was a sheet iron heater, in. front of which were two more blanks. A dirty kitchen table, an old washstand, two broken and one rush bottom kitchen chairs some goods boxes and much trash complet,
 ed the furniture of this room.
 The one man patient and the Mex ican attendant put their cots in the
 kitchen. Daylight revealed that this
 room was about the same size of the
 second, entirely dirt floor. In the center of the room was a smallest
 size cook stove, propped up with
 adobe bricks Tor front legs. On one side of the wall a plank was nailed
 for a shelf, also an apple box for a lcupboard. Several boxes piled here and there answered for receptacles, groceries, etc, tin coffee and tea ,pots, frying pans (tin), and two or three grani,a pie pans, tin stew pans,
 a few cups ,Td saucers, some small yellow eartht bowls, steel knives
 and forks, one small China pitcher.
 sundry small things and very dirty
 kitchen table furnished the equip lment for the kitchen.
 There being another woman brought out the same night was, we
 continued to occupy the room we slept in the first night, the Mexican
 assisting us in cleaning it up the best we could.
 "On the third day my mother re- turned home, as 1 was then able to land I cooked all our own meals,
 washing our own dishes, dish towets 1 (which I took out with me, hand towels and cared for our room). | "The Mexican, who was very kind land willing to help, made our fires.
 brought in our wood, water, etc. The water that was furnished was kept in whiskey barrels anl tasted so strongly of whiskey it was sickening. After about week We succeeded in getting drinking water brought to us
 in jugs.
 During a cloudy spell the Mexican attendant became very much wor- ried for fear we should have rain, and requested some canvas to be put up over the beds in case of rain,
 as the roof leaked very badly. How ever, neither canvas nor the rain materialized. But when the wind tblew the dust that sifted from the dirt roog and fioated in the amos phere was suffocating.
 When we first went Se foub1 the fresh meat setting open and dried on the shelf, the bread in basket with la rag thrown over it, food setting Iaround openh etc, etc. However, the food furnished was abundant and of Ia good grade
 ''On Friday, before the Wednesday that I was released. the Mexican was dismissed and nurse brought out. From that time brought in my Town wood and water, made my fires, land, in fact, assisted the nurse some. las she was suffering greatly from Ivaccinated arm Git being her duty to lcook for the them four men patients).
 Now, what l would like to know is, why should the city physician mis- represent the condition of the pest ihouse to people and persuade and lcompel them to go there, and then ,try to charge them i've dollars per lday for such accommodations as ithese?
 If there is the slightest doubt in
 the mind of any member of the board las to the accuracy Of any of my lstatements. request the board to lmaks an immediate personal inspec- ltion of the pest house in which was imprisoned by the city of AlbuQuer- lque. It is not creditable to our city
 that persons afflicted with a conta- Igious disease through no fault of ] theirs, should be treated worse than Iconyicted felons, nor is it creditabIe