New-York tribune., 1920-02-05
'Coler Attacks
Private Charity
In Flu Fight
Alleges Lack of Co-opera-
tion of Institutions With
Public Department i'm
Battle OH the Epidemic
A,sails Attitude of Press
Declares Money Raised on
Red Cross Seals Is Spent
to Pay Big Salaries

hundred persons at the Kiwanla Club
luncheon at the McAlpin yesterday.
Among other things, Mr. Colcr told
his audience that there was constant
warfare between the private and public
charities of the city, that there was
conspiracy on the part of The news
papers to suppress news Of the worl.
of the public institutions in favor Of
the private organizations. He said
medical politics" killed more people
in year than any one cause except
war
Mr.. Coler charged lack of co
operation on the part of the private
institutions in the fight against "fiu"
He stated that moneys collected by the
National Tuberculosis Association $
Christmas seal sale had been used to
pay large salaries to officers OF that
/ body.
Grard Jurors Present
With the Commissioner as quests
of the club were The members Of the
January grand jury of Kings County
which recently took under survey the
conditions IN the Department of Pub
lie Charities and has made recommen-
dations to the court approving certa in
OF the commissioners plans for re
organization.
The Commissioner prefaced his re-
marks with the statement that politics
( had nothing to do with hia views as
he was about to express them He
then stated that the present civic adj
minlstration's record eventually would
be Wind icated, and that he was in the
1 same position as the Mayor determined
! 10 continue TO do the best thing for
/ the people, regardless Of all opposition
Throughout his address, the Com
missioner attacked the press of New
York. "lf there was a fight on to-
night he said, "between a black man
and white man. you would find a page
or two pages about it III every new s.
column part of a column for the
vast work which is being done by the
Department OF Public Charties.'
The Commissioners declared that the
private institutions we're competing
with the public hospitals IN the effort
to get nurses for flu cases, ard he
added that at q recent conference OF
the heads OF the various hospitals in
the city, the official, o. The Bellevue
and allied hospitals had not even been
invited
Scuryy at the Island
Yet, he added these same people
have the nerve 10 come to us afterward
and ask us to send them nurses
You were asked at Christmas time
ne continued" to buy Red Cross seals
TO help fight tuberculosis. Do you men
know that every dollar collected in
Manhattan through the sale of those
seals went to pay salaries and not a
cent OF 1t ever reached tubercular
patients Do YOU know tnut Dr Billings
gets 10000 2 year7
"Three years ago there Was scurvy
on Randall's Island. Not a word about
t was printed IN the New York papers,
because the New York papers were
supporting the administrator then in
power at the City Hall. Yet there vas
scurvy. and a lot of it, and people
died from it, right in New York
Anything The Public Charities De
partment does is ignored blythe news
papers, the Commissioner SAID. ANY
thing the Rockefeller Foundation does
is praised to the skies. The Public
Health Department was the first to
adopt the Carrel-Dakin treatment You
never heard anything about that treat
ment until the private charities got
hold Of it.
Blames Medical Politics
this situation Outside the devastation
caused by the war, medical politics
kills more people than any one thing
in the world to-day. And the news
papers are part of the politics.
II charge that the Rockefeller Foun-
dation and other similar institutions
are trying to dominate affairs of pub
lie policy with private money and I be-
lieve that this is one of the gravest
menaces faced by the people Of New
York to-day. | may say some things
here which will cause discussion.
hope they do"
The Commissioner declared that he
knew Of case where Il feeble-minded
child who had ben convicted of arson
had been sent to Randall's Island
who were paid S2,400 year each by the
Mental Hygiene Society. There was
little or no fire protection ON Ran
dall's Island. he said, and he has
been forced to make a personal appeal
to the committing Judge in order to
get this ruling annulled.
The public charities of New York
are doing great and wonderful WORK
but 1t is impossible for us to get any
puallcity against the subsidized and
advertised private institutional he
said.
Pays Tribute to Nurses
Commissioner Coler concluded his
speech with an outline of plan to es-
tablish a new home for the aged on
/ Staten Island, and with a tribute to
the city nurses who had worked hard
and faithfully through the flu cpl
demic
He would like, he said, to have a
subscription list opened to provide
every city nurse with medal in rec
ogntion of her faithful service.
Money could not pay them for what
they have done, and are doing he
declared
Grand Jury Foreman O'Brien urged
the Home for the Aged proposition,
which he said would enable the Kings
County Hospital to properly expand by
replacing the buildings at present
used as an old peoples home with
modern hospital structures.
The city's charities were being
starved for want of proper public
support, he said, adding that it was a
disgrace that the city administration
could appropriate only 100000 a year
for the maintenance of $4,000, 900
worth of property.
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