The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-05-08

built in Richmond, Va, in 1882.
There was no Bell system in those
days.
law should be amended SO that IL any
compensation or insurance In to be
Dsid to q man while In hospital IL
should be paid to his dependents ut
home, and not to him to use against
himself and retard his recovery. II he
really be Ill. have made this sug
gestion to q committee of Congress,
which is considering the subject.
CITES ATTEMPT TO FOIsT.
l said something previously of at
tempts being made to foist upon the
Government discredited and busted"
real estate propositions. l have an
example of this in my own experience.
A sanitarium was operated for GER
tain wealthy inmates in a small
Pennsylvania town. This little town
is in an isolated neighboorhood in the
mountains of western Pennsylvania.
H. is a mountain pocket. The main
line of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road runs through the village. There
is heavy grade. AS many as thirty
treins an hour pass throughout the
day and night. Because of the hills
all around, somke does not lift. IL Is
natural watershed. Water stands
in many places in the valley and
brooks are everywhere.
The report given me by the Wealth
err Bureau showed that in one month
OF last winter out of the thirty days
three only were clear. This sanI-
tRrinm was n "busted' proposition.
During the rush of active war II was
taken by the War Department and
,,.ad a baani,al fnr chart tiY,,a
for the treatment OF tuberculosis.
After the signing OF the armistice 1t
was turned over by the Medical De-
partment OF the army TO the Public
Health Service of the Treasury. That
service undertook it's operation as a
hospital for tubercular ex-service
men.
BACKED BY CONGREssMEN.
from boys and persons who visited
them that the placed reeked with
dampness, moisture. and smoke, was
. fire trap. and was so lonely and
gloomy that the men prayed to leave
and constantly did leave, although
for many of them lack Of treatment
meant almost ccrtnins death. One per-
son who visited the place wrote me
that the boys when they awoke in
the morning found their clothes mil
dewed and heavy with damp, that
the walls were covered with cold
sweat. and this, mind you, for men
dying with consumption.
sent a number OF tubercular and
hospital experts to inspect the prop
erty. All reported unanimously that
the place was disgrace and should
be abandoned without delay. When
I ATTEMPTED to take that action I
was met with pressure and objection
from certain members of Congress.
Every conceivable means was at
tempted to force the department to
keep the place open. In spite of
this, 1T was closed, and Is not now
operated by the Treasury Depart
ment. Repeated efforts have been
made since to force Its rcopening, and
I understand that such efforts are
again being made. Needless to say,
IT is an outrage and a crime IL they
are allowed to be successful.
l give this case merely as an ex-
ample of the sort of thing which
threatens the treatment Of our dis
abled men.
CONTONMENTs UNTITLED.
The sggestion has come from
many sources of late that it is both
a measure of economy and speed to
use the temporary army canton
ments put up during the war for the
training and treatment OF the veter-
ans. Speaking generally. this propo-
sition cannot be too strongly con-
demned. The Government is using a
great many of them now and some
Of them have proven very helpful in
the emergency. However, they are
condemned by every informed medi-
cal man and are quite unsuited for
the treatment Of the suffering pa
TENTS Moreover, they are extremely
expensive to operate and maintain.
I need only instance Fox Hills
to give emphasis to this statement.
To my own personal knowledge.
can say that almost superhuman eff
forts have been expended by the Pub
lie Health Service to make the hos
pital at Fox Hill, Staten Island, New
York. a successful operating unit, but
II cannot be done. 1t has got To be
used in the present emergency. Just
as quickly as 1t is possible to find
other facilities, II should be abap-
doned.
What applies to Fox Hills Is true
OF every other such institution now
operated by the Government, and of
any other such institution which
might be operated in the future.
As DR.. Thomas w. Salmon. chair
man of the National Association for
Mental Hygiene has said. caring for
the disabled ex-service men is not
similar to putting an automobile in
a garage. Putting an automobile in
a garage Ia what these men would
do when sending disabled soldier
to army cantonments for medical
treatment