Arizona republican., 1922-01-13

reau for the taking over by the
government of the Deaconess hos
pital for the disqualification of serv-
zee men have been brought to an
unsuccessful end in the subjolned
letter from d rector Forbes to Unit
ed States Senator Ashurst.
The proposition and representa-
tions that had been made to the di-
rector seemed to have been favorably
received by him but the following
letter shows that some influence had
wrought an entire change of his
mind
Hon. Henry F. Ashurst.
United States Senate,
Washington, d. G.
De>r Senator Ashurst:
The policy OF the u. s. Veterans
hureau as TO the treatment Of its
beneficiarles in the state of Arizo-
ma. suffering from tuberculosis. is de-
picted in tn following paragraphs:
A brief presentation of some of the
statistics and facts OR which the
policy is predicated is obviously es-
sential to proper understanding OF
the problems; these will now be re-
viewed December Is, 1921, 11,247
beneficiaries of this bureau were be-
ing hosp.talized on account of tu-
berculosis O. this number 967 were
in hospitals in Arizona, in round
numbers per cent Of the total. APP
! proximately, 1850 men were ac-
/ cep'ed for service in the World war
from the state Of Arizona, or about
three-tenths of one percent of the
otal accepted.
The medical profession has rec
ognized for a number OF years that
many cases of tuberculosis. partlcu-
uarly incipient ones, canvalescs
promptly in the dry and elevated re-
| gions of Arizona This view be-
/ came SO prevalent, even among the
laity that thousands of invalids have
early hastened to the Southwest
oblivi)us or ignorant of the fact
that many oth,r factors, such as
proper medical supervision, adequate
facilities, especially as to rest, food,
i nursing attention, etc, were equally
IL not more important that climate
in promoting a cure.
1t is now an accepted view OF the
National Tuberculosis association and
most tuberculosis specialists that un-
der proper medical supervision and
adequate facilities as to food, nurs-
ing, sanitarium care, etc, equally
good results. can be obtained in many
states Of the union as in the South
L west with the majority of tubercu-
'osis invalid.
Out of Difference to the opinions
of the above mentioned high author
tiles and in order to obtain the
manifest advantages Of hospitaliz-
ing as many patients as close to
their homes as possible, the bureau
S now operating or has under con-
struction ten hospitals east Of the
Mississippi river.
A large tuberculosis hospital Is
now being operated at Whipple Bar
! ac4Ss, Arizona, by the United States
public health service for this bu.
eau. Dec Is there were 631 pa
tients and 131 vacant beds in this
institution. Upon the completion o.
the extension now underway it will
accommodate close to 100. Abou
$50 pat'en g are also in a more
or less temporary hospital at Tucsor
and over 100 patients are in contrac
hos pitals in the state These fig
ures' are Oh De ,ember is, 1921.
/ At the present time over 230O va.
cHnt beds exist in government tu
berculosis hospitals throughout th,
United States. At the same tim,
there are still more than 5000 il
contract hospitals
In the spring we estimate tha
over 5000 additional beds will b.
available in tuberculosis hospitals, o
which 422 will be at Whipple Bar
eoly
,ditional beds have just been mad
available at the Fitzsimmons Gen
eral hospital at Denver, Colo. w
believe this program will satisfac
torily provide for the 1000 beneficiar
es of the burea'- said now to b
in Arizona, who have not yet bee
hospitalized.
1 In view of the above. we do no
believe it wise or expedient to bu
or construct additional hospitals /
Arizona at this time Should tn
need be shown to warrant it later
would advocate further additions I
the already existing hospital at Pres
colt.
I 1t is the opinion of this bureau.
view concurred in bv the Nationa
tuberculosis association, that tn
cities of Tucson and Phoenix are nc
II deSlfaDle sites Tor tuberculosis hos
pitals. On the other hand, the eli
mate Of Prescott is admirable 10
such purposes. This stand is strong
ly supported by meteorological dat
obtained from the United State
weather bureau, which shows that tn
average maximum temperature a
Phoenix, Ariz., annually is rs follows
{ April, 81; May, SO: June, 1905: Jul,
\ 1904; Au@ust, 1908; September 96.4
\ October, S5.4
The mean maximum temperatur
I even in January is GA. The highes
temperatures reported bv months ar
rs follows January, 81; Fehruar,
81; March, "a; April 102; May, ia
/ June, lie; July, III; August, 11S
September. 112; October 105: Nc
Z vember, 80; December, so. Averae
for the year, S3.5.
The same source of informatio
M shows that during the hottest month