The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-08-12
TUBERCULOSIS
HOSPITAL NOW
UP TO VOTERS
County Commissioners Agree
to Submit Question of Es-
tablishing Institution at the
Regular November Election.
WILL VOTE YES OR NO

The county commissioners Saturday |
took official action and agreed to sub |
NIT the question of establishing a tu-
berculosis hospital to the voters of the |
county at the regular election in No |
yember.>
The voters will have an opportunity
TO vote yes or no on the question Of
the erection of the hospital on the |
ground which was given to the county !
by Mr.. and Mrs. David Esteb.
The ground, amounting to some 235
acres, was given for this particular
purpose and all preliminary plans, in
Guiding water supply a number of mi
nor buildings and fencing, already
have been completed.
The county commissioners have
been delaying further progress on the
building of the hospital on the theory
that the tax rate would be raised
through the erection of the building
and by its maintenance.
Citizens Active
Citizens who have been interested
in seeing some provision made for
the people who have tuberculosis have
been active in trying to get an amount
in the August budget which would
permit the county to complete the
plans next year, or TO get county Off
cials to give back to Mr.. and Mrs.
Esteb the land which was given for
that particular purpose
The commissioners claim that con
siderable money already has been
spent at the farm and that they do
not care to order any further expen-
ditures without having the sanction OF
the voters of the county. One COM
missioner stated that he believed that
fully 90 per cent of the taxpayers were
opposed to the erection of a tubercu-
losis hospital.
Offer Additional Gift
Mr.. and Mrs. Esteb have offered to
make an additional gift of $4,000 for
the hospital If the commissioners
would continue with he building
This offer has not been accepted
In 1917 the Wayne County Medical
society went on record unanimously in
favor Of the hospital and offering the
support of the association in its erec-
tion and operation. All three county
commissioners in 1917 signed an order
foi the appropriation stating that an
emergency existed for the erection of
the hospital at that time.
Commissioners now state that the
war came on and they could not con-
tinue with the building and since then
the matter has been at a standstill.
until the county now has about $685.
of its money invested in improvements
suitable for hospital and lessened
its value as farming proposition
Endowments Promised
Several citizens of the county have
expressed themselves as wishing to in
clude in their wills clauses which
would add an endowment to the hos
pital as soon as it is operating. This
endowment would, it is pointed out, re-
lieve the county of part of the op-
Grating costs.
DR.. ]. n. Hurry, president, has writ
ten asking what the state board of
health can do to get Wayne county
to go ahead with the building.
1t is pointed out that if the county
now turns back the farm to the donors
there will be a loss of about $4,000
in Improvement which it has already
spent.
Favors Building
Robert Heun. secretary of the Ro
tary club, is of the opinion that the
county either should build a tubercu
losis hospital at Smithfield on the
farm donated for that purpose or re
turn the GIT 10 the donors, Mr. anC
Mrs. David Esteb.
That there has been delay enough
in the matter was the opinion ex
pressed by Mr. Heun. He said:
Some action should be taken Al
once. | am acquainted with the cir
cumstances in this case and know
that the Estebs were acting with tht
best motives when they made The
Il s- F,;, II
project should be allowed to drift
The county should do something t
set their minds at rest"