New-York tribune., 1921-04-27
Fox Hills Head
Calls Charges
OF Neglect Lies
Col. Cobb Tells Legion Com
n,ittec He Never Branded
Hospital Patients Buns.
Thieves and Dope Ficnds'
Declares Morale Gaining
Predicts Institution Will Be
Equal to Any in New
York Within Two Months

Colonel ]. o. Cobb. medical director
Of the United States Public Health Ser
vice Hospital at Fox Hills. Staten Is
land, denounced as downright lies"
the charges made against his admin
fs.ration Of the institution for dis
abled ex-service men in testimony he
rave yesterday before the American
Legion Investigating committee.
The hearing, as had been arranged
between the committee and the hospital
director. took place at the hospital and
was the means of providing an oppor-
tunity for the hospital authorities to
defend themselves against the COM
plants Of patients. gold-star mothers
and others who claimed knowledge of
the conditions there.
Colonel Cobb was the only witness
for the hospital administration. He
began by replying to the statement
that he had on one occasion referred
to some Of his patients as "bums.
thieves and dope fiends." This, he said,
was utterly false, and either the man
or woman who first made the charge
was telling downright lie" or their
hearing was bad" He refused to give
the American Legion committee credit
for improvements made at the hospital
in the last two months, asserting that
the improvements We're only a part of
he had begun upon taking charge of
StS HncDffq{ QTtpr tho Il
it last October. The morale of the
patients. too. he said, had improved
steadily and this had had a good effect
on the general conditions
Asks Two Months Grace
The hospital director said if he were
allowed two months he would make
Fox Hills the equal of any hospital in
the city of New York with regard to
per diem rations and everything else"
Eve took part of the army's personnel
when this place was turned over to the
Public Health Service" said Colonel
Cobb, "and some of our personnel is
civilian, some of it military and some
Of it Public Health Service. Any of you
VINO were here during the armys time
saw the conditions. I am not saying
they were bad then. The army did a
fine piece of work. 1t built this place
for debarkation hospital in ninety
days. The point is that if the army has
not failed, then we have not failed. l
would like to emphasize the fact that
we have had to replace about S. 600
worth of beaverboard that had been
damaged or knocked through by the en-
listed patient personnel.
Since the artificial situation created
BY this very committee arose, and in
which the newspapers joined" contin-
ued the director, "the morale at this
hospital has been improved by the good
patients them selves. III say this: Many
Of these patients are getting more than
ls good for them, but none of them is
getting any more than he deserves"
Colonel Cobb told the committee that
II any of his patients suffering from
tuberculosis or other serious ailment
desired a transfer to some other hos
pital he would send them anywhere the
committee suggested.
Would Send Men to Saranac
"Wil you send them to Saranac
Lake," asked Mr.. Wickersham.
"I'll send them to Saranac Lake
Yes sir. You and General Wingate get
behind me and we will see if Saranac
Lake Hospital will take them"
The cost of keeping up the hospital
at Fox Hills was admitted to be ex-
pensive, the present cost being about
$4,000 month, but the director said
the expense could not be compared in
magnitude with that of civilian hospi-
tails of equal size. He admitted en-
phatically that there is need for a big
general hospital for disabled ex-serv-
ice men in New York City, also fer a