Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-06-18
HOSPITAL ORDINANCE
Richmond, Va, June Is, 1915.

Richmond Va June Is, 1915.
The property owners near Madison and Frank
I'm Streets, who are pettioning for the passage
OF the hospital ordinance, wish to lay before you
our hrst and only statement to you in regard to
this ordinance
We felt that our home life would be seriously
lntefered with by the establishment Of an inst-
tuition which it proposed to locate near our
homes We were told by our many friends whom
consulted that our property Values would be
greatly harmed if the institution placed near
u.s. The details of our reasons for this conclusion
are related IN the paper submitted to the members
OF the Council on June g. and somewhat widely
distributed in the city.
The action of the committee and of the Com
mon Council shows that we proved to them that
the sanatorium would be terrible nuisance and
also that 1T would damage our property values
greatly. They must also have been convinced that
the establishment of the proposed sanatorium
would have done great injury to city if it
was placed on Franklin Street.
If all these things are So then the only question
Which affects the propriety of the ordinance being
passed is whether it would be fair to Dr." Tucker
TO pass It, If it is true that there ought to be
law protecting people from injuries such as this
and if such law is eventually to be passed WHAT
ever may be done with regard to Dr. fuckers
sanatorlum, which will protect people in the flu
ture from other institutions like this, then if the
passage of this law is retarded so that Dr. Tucker
may place his institution where he proposes to
place it, it is a of specifically favoring Dr.
Tucker If, on the other hand, the law
is now passed. Dr.. fuckers friends say that we
will be specially favored If the Council retards
the passage of a law which everybody admits is
proper law to pass in the future then they spe-
clally favor one citizen, and if they pass the law
now, they specially favor twenty-five citizens or
more and, in addition, save our CITY from serious
injury to it's beauty.
Passing over the maxim that the greatest good
TO the greatest number should control the action
OF the Board, it is simply question of whom
should they specially favor They must favor DR..
Tucker or they must favor ourselves and the in.
terests OF the city itself and of all of it's citizens
who, IN common with us, have pride in it's beauty
and IN the beauty of its main residential street
Their passlvity is a special favor to him; their
affirmative activity a special favor to u.s.
AS soon as we heard the rumors of the nego-
tiations of Dr. Tucker for this property, we wrote
him, letter urgently requesting him to have
ACTION We did not receive an answer to this until
after we had seen in the newspapers his state
ment that he had closed the purchase
On the 18th of May his lawyers were asked by
permit us to assume his contract and the LAWYERS
were told that if they did think this was so, an
attempt would be made Immediately to organize
syndicate of the neighbors to do so. His law
yers SAID that they authorized to state def
nitey that Dr.. Tucker would not think of doing
this and that there was no use Of our irving to
undertake it. They agreed to let us know upon
what terms Dr.; Tucker would sell the property,
and on May 18th wrote that he would consider an
offer to give up his plan if we would secure him
another equally suitable site for his institution bv
June lst, and would assume his contract, and
would reimburse him for the sale of his securities
in the present unfavorabe market in order to make
the cash payment on the property, and would pay
him a reasonable amount as compensation for his
trouble and would apologize to him in the newspa-
pers for making statements which he did not like
about his sanatorium and the cases which he treat
ed in it. This proposition was prohbitive and could
not be entertained by us for moment. We there
fore urged the passage of the ordinance as the
only way to save ourselves, and to give the Coun-
Gil the opportunity to determine whether the CITY
and it's large number of property owners or Dr.
fuckers interests should prevail
After this happened, the committee recon-
mended the ordinance for passage, and the Com
mon Council passed it. On the morning of the