Evening star., 1926-04-04

est men Of MS Tune. James
~ a. Garfield who had been
President of the United
States only few months when
struck down by an assassin's bullet.
brought Vividly to the attention OF
The people Of Washington and the
Nation, 40 years ago. the need for a
central general hospital in the Cap
ital City. Out of that need pre-
scented in so impressive fashion
when President Garfield was taken
10 iGlberon, n. j.. a few weeks after
The fatal shot, from Capital lack
Ing adequate hospital facilities, has
grown an agency for alleviation of
human ills that stands today one of
the foremost hospitals of the Nation
= hospital thoroughly modern in
equipment and medical practice and
Tho largest in Washington.
TO most citizens of Washington
the name Carried Memorial Hos
pital" is just another name for a
public institution, with small meaning
unleSs it he 10 those who look behind
The name and search for the cause
The big institution. which stands on
the old Snyder estate. ON the same
hill where the new Central High
School is located, occupying nearly
two entire city blocks from sherman
avenue TO Eleventh street and from
Florida aVenue-the boundary street
of Washin%tun's earlier days-hack
10 Clifton street and beyond, is IL
living memorial to the suffering of
James A. Garfield the cross on which
a President of the United States suf-
fered for II long weeks. For James
\. Garfield. mauGurated in March,
1881. stricken down by an assa ssin's
bullet on July >. the same year,
spent more than a third of his term
OF six and Il half months on bed of
pam and lacking proper hospital
facilities in the Capital. was removed
to the seaside town whore he died.
The hospital which bears his name
grew as q direct corollary of his suf-
ferin@ from q movement begun in
1874, and spulred again into being
"hiic the President lay on a bed of
pain in August, 1881.
From its small ard humble begin
ninSs in farmhouse on the old Sny-
der farm. which took in the property
where Central High School now
stands. has grown the present Gar
field Hospital. a general hospital. non
Sectarian in character chartered by
on&reSs to give medical and surgical
treatment to all persons without dis
1InCtlon OF race. sex or creed.
= 8 :; =:
THE story of the founding of Gar
field is a story Of the perseye,
rance of the farseeing group Of men
ana women who believed in Washing
Ton and its growth. The medical pro
fesSion of the later years OF the nine
teenth century who contributed to its
development, and a vision of the cry
ing need OF the Nations Capital for a
general hospital to serve the then
slender population.
This story has been revealed from
the archives Of the Ladies' Aid Asso-
citation of Garfield. an organization
founded back in the years when the
young hospital was struggling to eX-
ist. and from the memoirs OF Or. sam
ucl {. Busey, a former president of
the Medical Society Of The District of
Columbia and q physician Well known
70 NashinStoniana O. aaothcr genera
tion.
The tale begins back in 1898, when,
except for the Naval Hospital, there
was no hospital Of any Kind in the
young Capital. and when Washington
was nothing more than . village.
viewed by the Nation as a necessary
evil, a place for the Congress to
meet. the home of the President and
little else. In that year q campaign
was started 20 induce Congress to
provide for general hospital, hut it
was conceived on euCh l20ad lines
that many years were required before
il was carried out.
In order to secure the necessary
votes in Congress this plan proposed
the establishment Of a nO5In for old
and sick soldiers and sailors, an insane
ASYLUM, an institution f0E the deal
and dumb and a general hospital. but
fl was not until 1872 that congress
acted in the matter and provided for
refitting the old Jail in judiciary
Square for use as a hospital.
AS this refitting neared completion
President Tyler appointed three ply
Sicians, all members of the faculty of
columbian College. as physicians in
charge" But Congress provided no
money for its operation. ThuS mat
ters stood for q year. There were
doctors. but no money. Finally, real
iZing the situation, Congress placed
the hospital under the management
of Columbian College which moved It's
medical school there and began to
operate For 20 years this hospital
met expenses with difficulty and was
subject to constant criticism because
doctors of schools other than Column
bian College were not welcome.
Then came the Civil War and. with
the lesson of Bull Run before the
beleaguered Capital. all hospitals, pub
liz and private, in the city were given
over to the military. The hospital in
the old iail was one of these, again
leaving the city without general
hospital. If a civilian was taken sick,
there was no place To go, except to a
hotel or home. where nursing was not
expert. and was uncertain.
During the two decades from lS6?
to 1882 the people of the city felt
With increasing acuteness that it was
not right the care of the sick should
be forced entirely on charitable oI
religious organizations. As the mum
bcr of Government employees III the
city increased. members of Congress
found themselves called upon more
and more 10 aid those employees for
whom they were responsible, when
ever they We're in need of medical
care.
DR.. Francis a. Ashford was the
real father of the Garfield Hospital
movement, his interest in the project
dating back to 1877, when he took
hold of the older proposition of Drs.
J.. w Ritchie and G. II. A. Klein
schmidt. and held numerous meetings
with the medical men of that day to
perfect an organization. Armed with