The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-04-20
PATIENTS KEPT AMID
FILTH INDfSCRIBABLE|
County Commissioners
Blamed and Damage
Suits are Threatened
Special to Daily Leader.

Special to Daily Leader.
Oklahoma city. Okla, April 2O--It
half OF the reports published and cir
culated BY newspapers and citizens
concerning conditions at the pest.
house be true the county and city
are doomed to trouble III the way OF
damage suits. Not since the time the
commissioner OF charities made The
"trip here and so severely arrmgned
the authorities has there been any
thing Ike the present excitement over
alleged conditions A local evening
newspaper, under glaring headlines,
tells this awful story OF conditions;
Suits against the county commits
sioners are probable because of their
failure 10 make good promises Of at
least clean. water-tight house for
smallpox patients
Conditions at the pesthouse, where
the commissioners have failed to
drive a nail since first told OF the
nauseating conditions two months ago
hare been made worse than ever by
the recent heavy rains
Water has sifted through old tents
and soaked the bedding so that pa
tients had to sleep in a soggy mass Of
matter stained rags, day after day
The wind has driven the rain under
the doors OF the cfackerbox rooms of
the house until the floor has become
water soaked.
"Ths is the worst hell hole ! ever
saw and it is disgrace to the city,
county and state said A. Thomas.
Inc West Second street, an employe
OF the Kerr dry goods store, who has
bcen at the pest house since Tuesday.
Barn a Palace.
Il get so mad when I think Of the
unredeemed promises OF the commits
sioners that ! could fight a barn
would be a palace compared TO this
place. There are twenty patients here
and we ave crowded three and four
into smsT ooms. where the filth IS
lindescrhat y
Every patient out here ought to
sue the county and make the commits
lsioners pay we'll for their neglect OF
| the peoples interest, Grass is grow
ling through the floors We get
Ienough to eat and that Is ALL
There is no way on earth TO make
this hole any worse than Il IS now,
said w o. Winfrey, Sc, travelling
man who has a wife and two children
in Dallas and who expects to be at
the pesthouse for another ten days.
Strong iisn in Tears.
Il am a man with some will power
but rll tell you just had TO cry
when / was brought out here Thurs
lday The place is SO filthy that
vomited several times the first day
was here and l cried as | haveni
done since | was a boy. Other men
gave way to burning tears. | guess
lit was from sheer anger at the thought
that such a place is allowed 10 exisl
In a civilized community.
ITS an outrage on the patients
THAT are enriced into coming here bs
la smooth-tongued doctus who allures
lsmanpox patients with a story of how
lmuoh Ike a hospital it is. It's a dis
grace 10 the fair name OF Oklahomi
lCity and IL Is a constant source o.
torture TO twenty people who woulC
lsuffer enough from the rayages of te'
ldisease II everything was right"
Il know that the pesthouse is m
iinhuman place and ! can't take the
fright sort of care of the patients,
lsaid Uncle Jimmy Mccarthy who ha
charge of the pesthouse. ''lf the com
missioners would give me a good
clean. roomy house, ! could care 10
the patients as humans should b.
cared for.'