The Washington times., 1920-12-23
AT|ENTS LAUO.
MI. ALTO FOOD.
Many Explain Trivial Instances
Leading to Charge Of Bad
Hospital Chow.

A bitter attack upon "insti-
gators" Of reports that unfit food
IL served patients in the United
States Public Health Service Hos
pital. at Mt. Alto. Thirty-hfth
street and WISCONSIN avenue
northwest, is made today by Fred
Hslik. a patient in Ward B. at the
hospital. These charges have also
been denied by 4 number Of the
men in other wards.
.'RADr EGGS CHIEF FACTOR.
Apparently the main cause OF the
complaint appeared to be the diet
and tho source Of the complaint was
In the tuberculosis ward" JI-wV states.
ut 10 an understood fact that so-call-
ed bad eggs cannot be asttmilated by
a body Of pAtinets in a hospital with
out a general complaint resulting
therefrom. 1t is beyond the power
OF comprehension to understand why
10 the eggs served at least once per
day to four wards in the hospital and
found. In the estimation OF three, to
be perfectly all right, the one ward
should find them bad. Likewise with
milk and other foodstuffs. Now then,
who suffers as q result OF this unjust
Islander? Surely not the eggs!
Some Of the best nurses in the in
stitution have been implicated and
ridiculed before the public eye. which
10 very critical In such cases: an hon
orable name and reputation. built
upon the solid foundation Of good SER
vice. have been literally torn to
shreds; And. last but rot least, a
gloom has been cast over the patient
body as Q result OF such unjust
charges"
ExoNNERATE NURSE.
A. B. ONeill, jr., and W. II. Stamats,
two patients in Ward A, where the
charges originated, and who were
members of the committee which re-
ported on the serving Of bad food,
today stated that, in their opinion.
these conditions we're caused by one
Of the nurses, who was in charge OF
the ward for time. The nurse.
however. was completely exonerated
Of all blame by hospital officials and
other patients today.
1t was explained by officials that
this nurse was assigned to duty in
Ward A about a month ago and that,
almost on the same day, an order
was issued by health service officials
cutting down the number of eERs to
be served patients between meals.
and that toast was to be served only
when ordered by physicians in
charge. 1t was stated that some of
the men were eating six and eight
eggs a day in addition to their regu-
lar messes. and that this was too
great a number for their own good.
HASN'T THAT AUTHORITY.
1.-THE men laid the blame for this
condition upon my shoulders de-
clared the nurse in charge. This,
however was foolish. have nothing
TO do with planning the meals and
have no control over the quantity to
be served. All do is serve what food
is sent to my ward"
Charges made by Stamats and
ONeill that milk was being skinned
before being given to the patients
were refuted by hospital officials.
These charges grew, II is said, out Of
a mistake made one morning by new
orderly. 1t is the custom OF the order
lies to stir the milk in the cans be-
fore serving to the men. This orderly,
new to the task. omitted the stirring,
with the result that one man got
cream while the others got straight
milk.
unanimous in their praise of condi-
tons at the hospital, declaring that
the food is excellent at all times.
Three of the men in Ward A, where
tho trouble originated, declared today
that they had no complaint to make
either over food or treatment. One of
them, James c. Longstreet, declared
that the committee appointed to ;:ep-
resent the patients in Ward A. mad
never consulted him and that he knew
nothing of the complaints which had
been made.
Personally / have absolutely no
complaint to make. The food is as
good as Is served in any hospital in
the country and the nurses are splen-
did. The charges that food and treat
ment arc poor are not fair and I don't
want to be connected with them in
any way"