The Topeka state journal., 1911-04-18
DO NOT WANT IT.
Western Towns Shy OF State
tuberculosis Hospital.
No Applications Have Yet Been
Filed.
SEEK THE OTHER ONE.
EEK THE OTHER ONE.
Eleven Places in Contest for In
sane Asylum.
State Board of Control Is in a
Quandary.

Are the western Kansas towns
afraid of the tuberculosis hospital? :?
The indications are that the answer
to this question is an affirmative one
as not a single town has made a for
NAL request for the hospital or even
indicated to the state officers that the
location of the hospital near any town
would be desired. There are eleven
towns that want the new insane hos
pital which the board of control ex-
poets to establish within a few weeks
and all of these towns are now MAX
ing propositions to the board of con-
troll to secure the location of the hos
pital. There promises to be red hot
fight with numerous attractive bids to
get the insane hospital. The legis-
lature appropriated one hundred
thousand dollars for the building and
maintenance of the insane hospital for
the two fiscal years.
The appropriation for the tuber-
culosis hospital is fifty thousand dol
lars. 1t is believed that about thirty
thousand dollars will be spent for the
building and grounds. This amount
would be sufficient to build a hospital
large enough to meet the present
needs but as soon as its value is estab-
lished additions will have to be made.
Some time ago it was announced
this institution and that the citizens of
that town had joined with the citizens
of Hill City on a deal to get the tuber
culosis hospital for Colby and the in
sane hospital for Hill City. Since that
news crept out nothing has been
heard about the tuberculosis hospital.
Must Be in Western Section.
Under the law the tuberculosis in
stitution must be located in the ex-
treme western part of the state. There
are many points where the climatic
conditions are excellent for this inSti
tuition and where plenty of land could
be secured and where there is good
water in abundance. The institution
is to treat tuberculosis patients and
also to train nurses and others how to
care for tuberculosis patients and to
work out experiments for the best
ways to care for patients and to pre-
vent the spread of the disease.
The institution is to be located by
commission of physicians and the gov
ernor and is then to be under the d.
rection of the board of control Of
state charitable institutions. The
board of control must also give it's
consent to the location, but the physi-
clans to be appointed by the governor
are to determine the best location for
the institution.
The bids for the location from the
various towns are to be sent to the
board of control and whenever Gov
ernor Stubbs appoints the committee
of physicians the bids will be taken
up by the board and this commission
and the different proposed sites
visited.
State officials are doing consider
able wondering as to the reason why
there isn't as much of a scramble for
this institution as there is for the in
sane hospital. Usually the Kansas
towns work overtime to get new insti-
tutions of any kind and here is one
which will become one of the largest
and most important in the state which
is going begging for a site
The only strings to the location is
that it must be in western Kansas and
have good water and climatic condi-
tions. Any town west of Hutchinson
can comply with the climatic condi-
tionS and there are at least a dozen
towns with sufficient railroad facili-
ties where good water can be obtained
in large quantities to fulfill any con-
ditions which the commission and the
board of control might require.