Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-12
NEED THOUSAND DOLLARS
Health Authorities Expect to Get
That Sum Soon.
LEPRosY CASE BROKE THEM
Would Have Been Able to Squeeze
Through, Probably, But for
This Extra Expense.

BY the most ingenious contrivance and
the most elastic stretching of the con-
tagfous disease service funds. the money
for that purpose will last about two days
more, according to the information OBJ
tainable today at the District building.
The quarantine station was closed yes
terday and five suspects sent home. STAT
ford Combs. the patient who has been
suffering with glanders. rare and excep-
tional in human beings, has been pro-
nounced cured and has gone TO his own
home. These cases in themselves help
reduce the daily cost Of the contagious
disease service.
The case of Combs is considered to be
one oe the cases on which the service de-
serves congratulation. The records show
that human beings afflicted with CLAN
ders rarely recover. The physicians or
the contagious disease service of the Dis
trict took Combs in charge and have dis
charged him as cured. He has still some
troubles with his eyes, which will re-
quire the services of specialist.
Expect Extra Thousand.
The Commissioners believe that they
are within the spirit Of the law on the
near-def1ciency matter. 1t is generally
understood now that both appropriation
committees IN Congress are willing to
adopt the views OF the Commissioners, and
that within a day or two the extra
thousand dollars will be granted to the
District of Columbia. If Congress should
grant the Commissioners request, il will
not be the appropriating of an extra and
hitherto unappropriated thousand dol,
lars. The health office has several
thousand dollars in the contagious dis
| ease fund, but it is the personal serv
ice'' end of the fund which is limited
| All the District Commissioners ask is
J that fund which has already been ap-
propriated.
! The law enacted to show all depart
| ments how deficiencies are created. what
deficiencies are and how they must be
| handled does not include the health office
| In its terms, although the Commissioners
Of the District of Columbia say that they
have been operating under the spirit of
that law.
That law demands that all funds, such
as the personal service contagious
disease funds, must be divided off in
stated periods. such as monthly periods,
at the beginning of the year. so that
the wardens of the fund will know
| just how long it will last In the
event of emergency or unusual cir
cumstance' the department heads must
submit a waiver In writing at the time
! the unusual circumstance occurs. The
health Office or the Commissioners did
not submit any writing on the subject
! Of Anacleto Palabay, the leper, when
| he became IAN unusual circumstance"
January "a, because the law on the sub
ject did not specifically include the
health office, although it operated
under the spirit of the general statute.
Cost Of Leprosy Case.
! The figures, which are open to the
inspection of the appropriations COM
mittees in Congress. show that the
leper would have cost 1896 from Janu-
| airy "a until June 80. the end of the
present fiscal year, which comes so
| close to being the thousand dollars for
which the Commissioners ask to
that they came pretty near to guessing
what the service would cost-barring
unusual circumstances. AS a matter OF
fact, the leper patient has cost to June
II just 1856. Furthermore, the figures
show that the personal service fund had
s4,O9645 to it's credit at the end of
January.
The regular fixed charges for the serv-
lice, with no lepers or other hitherto un-
known patients with strange diseases,
would have been So, 129.15 up to June 80.
| which would have left S967.3O enough to
have kept three guards watching the
leper, paying his bill at the Early cot
tage and everything else right up to the
next fiscal year. when the personal serv-
| ice fund will be $4,000, an increase OF
coo over thfs year.
The sudden appearance OF smallpox dur
| ing the last few weeks has been an ADDED
drain on the resources of the personal
service fund. 1t is figured that small
pox has cost the District S36.S2 day all
this month. There are at present nine
smallpox patients in the hospital.