New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1914-02-18
Counties Want
Joint Hospital
Tuberculosis Sanitorium Nav
Be Built For Brown, Me
ollet and Watonwan.
If Project Materi;tlizes New
Ulm Is Logical Point of
Location.

Owing to the apparent lack of in
terest on the part Of the various
Counties in availing themselves of
the right to establish and maintain
County Sanatoria for the treatment
of tuberculosis, authority for which
was granted under Chapter 500 of
the General Laws of 1913, the State
Board of Control has taken UP the
matter with a view of grouping vari-
Gus Counties for the establishment
of joint sanatoria. It is generally
conceded that the establishment of
a separate sanitorium for the smaller
counties is hardly feasible from f.
nancial standpoint or for that matter
from any other standpoint and for
that reason only small number Of
the Counties have so far awaited
themselves of the provisions of the
law passed last winter. The move
on the part of the State Board of
Control to get the Counties together
to agree on the location of a sana-
toria to be used by them jointly is
a very good one and should bring
desired results.
With view to getting several
counties contiguous to Brown County
together on this vital question of
County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, DR..
Robinson Bosforth of the State Board
of Control invited the County Com
missioners Of the Counties of Nicol-
let, Watonwan and Brown to meet
here for a conference. This meeting
was held at the Court House last
Thursday afternoon and was attend
ed by Chairman Claus A. Swanson
and Commissioner Summers of Mic
ollet County, Commissioner Caspar
Brackelsberg of Waterman County,
and Chairman Polkow, and Commits
sioners Graft, Henle and Steinke Of
Brown County. County Attorney A.
Frederlckson was also present as the
County's legal advisor. Herman Pol
kow was elected chairman and pre-
sided at the conference.
DR.. Bosworth explained the law
under which the sanatoria are be-
ing built and the plan of building
and maintaining a joint tuberculosis
sanatorium. In his remarks he sug-
gested that building large enough to
accommodate forty cases would be
ample and that this could be built at
an approximate cost Of $42,OOO.OO.
Of this amount the State would pay
one-half and the balance would be
apportioned among the Counties rep
resented at the conference. The share
Of Brown County would be 100000
and each Of the other Counties
100000, and could be expended by
the County Commissioners Of the
respective Counties without submit
ting the question to a vote, the total
expense for each County being less
than the amount that could be raised
by the levying of one mill tax on
the assessed valuation of tie County.
Patients financially able to do SO
are expected to pay for the treat
lnent received at these hospitals and
1T IS estimated that a charge of SO
per week would be ample to keep
the institution going. Any shorta ye
would be apportioned among the
Counties interested according to the
population. Charity patients are
cared for at the expense of the State
and the County from which admitted,
each paying one-half thereof.
After DR.. Bosworth had concluded.
his explanations, and the matter had
been discussed for short time, Com
missioner Brackelsberg suggested
that Blue Earth County be asked to
come in on this arrangement and
that the hospital be built at Mankato.
This he thought would meet with the
approval of the majority of the
County Commissioners of Watonwan
County. Nobody else present SEEM
ed to favor this plan and finallv
Com. }. +. Summers. offered reso-
luton to the effect that the sense
OF the meeting in favor of uniting
Brown, Watonwan and Nicollet Coun.
ties as one district If a Joint sana-
forum were to be built and that the
buildings for such hospital should no
erected in the vicinity of New Ulm.
ms motion was seconded by Com.
John Henle and was carried without
opposition.
Acting upon the suggestion that
each OF the Counties send two rep
resentatlves to be present at the
meeting Of the County Board of
Watonwan County to be held at St.
James on March IL, Chairman Pol
kow appointed Commissioners Graft
and Erickson to represent Brown
County: There seems no question
about Nicollet County's Commission
ers favoring joint sanatorium to be
located in Brown County and County
Auditor Vogel is authority for the
statement that at their December
meeting the Commissioners of Wa
,tonWan County went on record in
favor of uniting with Brown County
in the matter of building a Joint
sanatorium. If there has heen no
change Of heart since then. the mat
ter OF locating the joint hospital at
New Ulm will receive favorable con.