Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-10-16

Augusta General hospital is no moro a
private institution tina 4 savings
bank. 4 "a wings bank is a corporation,
The Augusta General hospital is in
ccrporated. For suCh a corporation
there must he incorporators.
an this report which | hold, IS a
list Of the Augusta General hospital
incorpcrators Look them over to sec
who they a~re-busincss men on ouI
streets. our professional men, u ply
s1cians. ministers and priests Of orr
CITY. No dividends have come to them
They give. not receive. They are the
voters Mt the annual meeting and
whether the night be stormy or falr y
IS TIER duty to attend. take part II
tho meeting and elect officers.
who are the officers? let us read
them.
president George +. Macombcr
Secretary Walter NJ. Sanborn, Treas
urer Edwin G.. Dudley, Directors A. W
whitney, 6. Z. Andrews. r. f. Good
win, y. l.. Rassett. Ira Il. Randaii,
.John r. Gould. Percy V. Hill. a. W,
BROOKS. GUY =. Gannett, F.. {. Dud-
,ev. +. W. Plaisted. Charles A. Milli-
ken. Are there men there to whom
Won would intrust the management OF
a business? Would YOU he willing to
select th,m 10 guard a trust created
by Won for the benefit of your wife
ard children.
what salary do they get? Not one
cent. tn to last year the treasurer
received the munifiCent sum of 500 a
wear. Ne has much 10 do and nan
detailed bills 10 pay But this year
he State said hospitals could nc
LONGER haze a paid treasurer a mem
her of tho board OF directors. What
ala Mr.. Dudley DO" : lie had been a
director from the first as | recall Did
Ice choose tu remain as treasurer and
receive the muniticent sum Of $lcO.
Nh. He gave up the sum of 500 re-
maincl n director ard acts as treas
urer without compensation. Ttat
shows what Ms interest is in the Au-
gt.sta General hospital.
Now this institution started with a
dclt We have from time to time
TIED Is at tnat down. ASK those
whom you meet. What have been the
sources of income Of the hospital? Tel
tlem Il has been first the money that
We got fr N patients, then what we
got I'm appropriations from the State,
then from tIm" t." time gifts from pub
Id spirited people who are interested
I'M me hospital, and the splendid help
of the ladies of Augusta in the La
dies Ala Of the hospital.
But whcn il came to the annual
49,. ID. tl, ,.Cn { No nod emo
recded in making both ends meet and
We were free from n deficit We were
most thankful. Now and then we have
had an enthusiastic prayer meeting
because we were able to cut the debt
down a little.
This is n free public institution run
Just as near 70 cost as il can he run
In the hope that the people of Augusta
will he interested in it and that bye
and bye we will have a better and
stcadier source Of income than We
have had. namely a splendid endoW-
ment. We try to live and act so that
those OF YOU who are called ava will
he willing before you go to put into
thc .LqpSment fund of the Augusta
General hospital a sum of money Sc
tia; your name shall stand in all the
years IL come rs among those pub
lHc spirited people who arc interested
u. ,ne Welfare Of the city of Augusta
sud tic county of K~enncbec.
"%"W let us get n little closer to
some sharp criticism. The milk in the
CoCoanut is Just this. We have been
through a Red Cross campaign-ably
conducted and we have been doing
just exactly what these gentlemen who
have come here to manage this cam
paiEn are now doing. They saw we
have been all through this and now
are doing II over again at an expense
plus a commission of 5 per rent Of the
mount collected 10 be paid to these
gentlemen. Y is said the hospital, at
a cost Of 3 per cent, is having done
what We could have done ourselves.
When did his campaign idea start?
We had begun to discuss this question
early this year. in January and Febru-
airy. and we considered whether or
not the time had come when a new
wing was the best way of solving the
problems hat the hospital had to
meet. should 1t be done by a cam
paign as in other places?
NJ Macomber went to New York as
early as February or March. That was
before any Red Cross proposition was be-
fore US. He had a conference with the
firm to which these gentlemen belong.
and at his request and our request Mr..
Smith came to Augusta on May Is and
We went over the whole situation with
him, contract and all. On June 9 we
closed the contract.
Now why did we put it off until the
fam I am going to take with my fellow
directors a little credit for patriotism.
IL we had been selfish we would have
pressed for an immediate campaign, but
we said no-the city shall come after the
country, and the Red Cross shall come
first.
We thought that the fall, when all the
people had come back from their vaca-