New-York tribune., 1921-10-10
Civilians Hold
Fox Hills Jobs; 4;
Veterans Idle
Z. :. Hospital for Victims of
War Has Pensioned Fire
and Policemen, Others
With No Service, at Work
= Employees to s Patients
Would Not Discharge Amy
TO Make Room for Former
Soldiers Who Need Jobs

With hundreds OF unemployed ex-
service men walking the streets with
empty stomachs by day and sleeping
in parks and lodging houses at night,
the Fox Hills Hospital OF the United
states Public Health Service, an in
st.tution for wounded and disabled war
veterans. maintains a chief of police
and many members OF its fire depart.
ment who arc retired members OF the
New York City police and fire fghtinc
forces and who draw pensions from
the city in addition to their present
pay from the government.
Of the remainder Of the 900 persons
on the payroll of the government as
employees Of the hospital, consider
able number did not serve in anv
branch OF the military service during
the war. Jobs such as those Of clerks
and stenographers, which could be
flled by ex-servce men, are held by
women and girls.
Nine Employees for Each Patient
These 900 employees are now being
carried on the hospital payroll monthly
despite the fact that there now is q
monthly average of only about 100 pa
tlents in the nstitution-about nine
employees for every eight patients.
however, it was said by Or. J. o. Cobb,
IN charge Of the hospital, that about
100 of those currently employed are
engaged in only temporary work, and
he estimated that any we'll regulated
hospital as entitled to one employee
Tor every patient, or thereabouts.''
AZ the present time the cost of main
tanning the hospital is running about
$4,000. month, or approximately So
day for each patient. The cost of
maintaining many of the best private
hospitals in New York is only about
IS or Sc a day q patient, according to
Dr.. Mark l. Fleming, first assistant
superintendent of Bellevue Hospital
And the maintenance of Fox Hills
Hospital is largely expended on q group
Or about forty one-story frame, RAM
shackle buildings, with walls of compo-
boaid and floors saturated with oil,
which would be burced to the ground
IN less than an hour, with loss of life,
once fire got good start there" ac-
commander Of the American Legion.
DR.. Cobb Has Best House
These facts we're obtained yesterday
by an investigating committee sent to
tho Staten Island institution by the
metropolitan committee Of the Legion
and were obtained chiefly from Or. J.
). BoggeSs, executive officer of the hos
pitsl, to whom the committee was re-
ferred by DR.. Cobb's daughter. with
the information that her father was
taking a nap when it called at his house
TO Gee him. This house, Incidentally, =,
was found by the committee TO be the
newest and most sumpteasly furnished
structure on the reservations
Members OF the committee were Y. C..
Badeau, Richmond County; c. W. A.
Cannon, Queens, and John J, Bennett
lr., Kings. Ir was reported last nienr
that on hearing preliminary report
OF their findings, State Commander Dee
gan began preparations FOR trin to
Washington TO reveal the disclosures in
person TO the Secretary of the Treas
ury.
Just prior to their call at the office of
Or. Boggess the committeeman made a
tour CT many Of the hospital buildings
and talked to number Of the patients.
A reporter for The Tribune accom-
panied them. While they found that
there appeared little to complain Of as
to food and emilar treatment. they
were unanimous in the opinion that
the hospital buildings were "frctraps"
and that 1t was poor governmental re-
NAIU 1OI 1iChs NOuNQcQ anu OlSdDleQ
veterans to care for them in such a
place.
Breezcs Blow Through Buildings
Many Of the buildings are sadly in
need of paint. Set above the ground
on four timbers, the chill October sea
blasts wh!rl above, below and through
them. A long corridor connecting the
structures, heated solely and inefect-
ually By an asbestos covered pipe over
head, was equally draughty. The floors
everywhere appeared oil soaked. Their
were three fire buckets and pair of
hand fire extinguishers in each build
ing, but hydrants observed were few
and far between. The compo-b board of
the walls ana ceilings had the appear
ance of being highly inflammable, even
mora so than the remaining wooden
competition Of the structures.
Later Or. Cobb told the reporter that
any man, even with only the power
to crawl, could get out Of his building
If FIRE started"
"Yes, we've heard that before com
mented one patient. But in the sur
gical wards there are men who have
hard time even crawling. One Of
them has two legs and one arm off.
wonder how he'd crawl from his ward
Il there was a fire here"
Probers Received Unofficiaily
DR.. Boggess, jmme ed.ately after meet.
ing the committeeman, announced that
he would rot receive them officially