Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1919-09-05
FRIDAY, SEPT. s, 1919.
WE NEED THE HOSPITAL NOW

II 'HE urgent need for better accommodations
i for the and treatment of our sick and
those requiring surgical attention is all the
while becoming more apparent and imperative.
The resident physicians of this city have equipped
and are maintaining at their own cost and expense
assisted by the people who require surgical treat
ment, small private hospital in the heart of the
city. The place is overcrowded good part of the
time is noisy and inconvenient yet it is the best
the physicians afford, and at that it means
considerable financial loss to them to maintain it.
The DOCTORS particularly the senior member of the
firm, is efficient and well equipped in point of edu-
cation and practice to handle all kinds of major
operations. Sklful graduate nurses are employed
and the patients receive closer personal attention
than they ordinarily get in the large hospitals in
the northern part of the state, but here must
stop In point of room, accommodations, equip
ment, we woefully deficient.
Small private hospitals are not lucrative any
where the large investment making the assess
ment of sufficient fees for patients to make the
business profitable, prohibatory. Therefore the
State Legislature has wisely made provision for
the establishment of public hospitals in such coun-
ties as are progressive enough to desire and pc
tition for them. Iron county is of this class,
and petitions bearing more than the required num-
Der of signatures filed in the county court
house, and the people have received the assurance
of the Commissioners that the matter will receive
IdVOTdDle DuJ apparently There is a SllSHC
misunderstanding of the provisions of the law on
the part of the Commissioners, who have been led
to believe that tax must be levied and the money
collected in this way before it can be available for
the erection of the hospital. careful perusal of
the law authorizing the establishment of county
hospitals shows that bond issue is anticipated,
and that the bonds may be sold and the hospital
erected and then the tax levied to repay the bonds
and maintain the hospital. Thus, while the law
for "a laxyxyo > thaI al
lar it can be seen that levy of one-haf mill for
10 or 20 years will yield ample funds for the pay
ment of the principal and interest required for the
establishment Of the hospital and its maintain
ance.
For the convenience of the Commissioners and
our readers generally we are quoting the proVis
ions of the Statutes this subject in full and trust
that the Commissioners at their next meeting will
see their way clear to call for special election and
get the matter under way, as the law contem-
plates:
Chapter 8, Sections 2775 and 2776, read as fol
lows:
PITS Petition. Duty of Commissioners.
Any county may establish hospital in the
following manner Whenever the Board of
County Commissioners of any county shall
be presented with petition signed by 20%o
of the resident taxpayers of said county, one
half of whom shall not be residents of the
town in which said hospital is to be located,
asking for the annual levy of tax for the
establishment and maintenance of a public
hospital at a place in the county therein
named, and shall specify in their petition the
maximum amount of money to be spent in
the establishment building or buying of such
structure as shall be used for said hospital
such Board Of County Commissioners shall
submit the question to the qualified electors of
the county at the next general election to be
held in the county, or at a special election to
be held for that purpose, giving 80 days notice
thereof in one or more newspapers published
in said county, if any be published therein,
and by posting such notices written or print