The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-01-16
Petition Thirty-Five
Feet In Length


tubtfCuiOSiS pdtfeuts, ana bearing
signatures that covered sheets O
paper extending to the aggregat,
length OF 35 feet, committee o.
the Blue Earth County Anti-Tuber
culosis society appeared before the
board OF county commissioners late
yesterday afternoon.
The delegation included DIR. ]
W. Andrews. Dr., c. c. Pratt. DIR. G
]. Holman. DIR. Mary II. Brandrup
DIR. Madge T. Holman. Dr. J. p
Rosenwald, Edgar Weaver, Rev. T
r. Paden, Rev. A. F. Winter, Mrs
w. L. Comstock, Mrs. w. J. More
hart and Mrs. Evan Hughes. DIR
Robinson Bosworth OF Minneapolis
secretary OF the Minnesota associa
tion for the prevention of tuber
culosis. accompanied the party.
The visitors sought to impress
on the county commissioners that
they should take advantage without
delay of the help that the state was
Offering the counties in the establish.
ment of tuberculosis hospitals. II
was pointed out that Blue Earth
county had on an average thirty five
deaths per year from tuberculosis
laid OIL the point that in tuberculosis
sanatoriums ninety out of every hun
dred patients recovered. Attention
WAS called TO the fact that there
was a case of tuberculosis i'm the
detention home. and that II would
be problem what to do with that
case whenever the room was needed
for patients afflicted with other con.
tagious and infectious diseases. The
visitors laid much emphasis OH the
fact that the county now had no
place To send tuberculosis patients
who were without the means of pro-
Nlding for themselves.
Thirty-five Foot Petition.
The petition, thirty-hve feet in
length with its signatures. was un-
rolled and spread before The board
by Drs. Andrews and Holman.
Dr. Andrews. who Is president Of
the Blue Earth County Anti-Tubercu-
losis society. declared that the AK
payers az the county were almost
unanimously in favor of the establish.
ment of county tuberculosis sana-
forum. There were in Blue Earth
county hundreds and hundreds of
graves of people cut down in the
prime OF life by this disease. The
expense OF the sanatorium would rest
very lightly on, the taxpayer. Only
4 one-mill tax was asked Thus the
man who paid taxes on $1,000 would
pay just one dollar a year towards
this sanatorium. The opportunity
should not be allowed to go by Blue
Earth county should get its share of
the state appropriation. for other
counties were rapidly taking advan-
tage of the situation. and the money
offered by the state was rapidly be-
ing taken up.
Edgar Weaver Urged Action.
Edgar Weaver also strongly urged
the county commissioners to take
action at once in levying a tax for
the establishment of the sanatorium
He said that IL three cases of con-
sumption should be reported to the
county authorities TO be taken care
of the officers would not know what
TO do with them. He declared he
had no doubt that fifty to seventy
people in the county were down
with tuberculosis right no. An
other member of the delegation re.
marked that this number was aboht
two hundred.
DIR. Bosworth said that I'm Mime
sofa there was an annual death rate
of about two thousand from tuber-
culosis alone. So little had been done
in the way OF establishing proper
places 10 take care of patients that
the death rate had not diminished.
whereas in Germany proper safe
guards had reduced Il greatly. the re-
duction In some places being as
great as 50 per cent
Rev a. =. Winter called attention
10 the fact that the county had alb
solui"ly no place to put It's two hun
dTed tuberculosis patients. They
could not be accepted at the I'm
manuel hospital The sanatorium at
Walker had capacity Of hundred
and twenty-five. II Blue Earth coun-
~ had the exclusive use Of that
sanaiorium. II would not hold all
of the county's patients. Moreover.
il was great hardship 10 send n
patient so far as Walker.
Funds Would &c Available.
In reply 10 questions by DIR. Bos-
worth. II developed that even II the
county commissioners should act at
once in making the tax levy. there
would not be funds to the county's
credit available for the sanatorium
before the year 1915. The doctor
remarked that Of the 100000 appro-
priated by the state to aid the coun-
ties in the establishment of the hos.
pitals. 100000 had already been
spoken for by various counties, leav-
ing 100000 yet to be taken up.
Long before the July meeting Of the
county commissioners. he declared
the state fund would be entirely ex-
hausted by other counties. Blue