The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-10-19
FOR McCONE COUNTY TAXPAYERS, VOTERS

start on a county hospital there is still much to be de
sired, but it can be improved little by little every yea
as the financial condition of the county permits.
Certain parties who make it their object tC
knock everything and anything that Tom Horsforc
has done or helped to start, are trying to cast the i'm.
preston that the McCone county hospital is a useless
expenditure of county money. That the hospital is
not run efficiently and the present doctor is getting g
big salary as health officer and county physician, and
free use of the hospital, as a reward for his services
to Tom HorsfOrd politically.
Let us try to see how good a thing DR.. Gray has,
he received SO, 400. 90 a year from McCone county for
serving as health officer and county physician. He
has the free use of the hospital building and equip
ment for his private cases, but must take care of any
county patients for a dollar per day. If the McCone
county hospital was always filled with patients, DR..
Gray might have a fair thing, but the rate of three
dollars per day is not much higher than the rates of
any ordinary hotel. And when one considers
trouble and expense involved in caring for sick peo-
pie as compared to the healthy; the extra help and
sanitation expected at a hospital, service at all hours
of the day, higher salaries that nurses get compared
with hotel help it is apparent that a hospital is no
gold mine; for even hotels are not such.
In a small hospital such as we have here at Cir
Gle only a few patients can be cared for at the best,
while the expense of keeping the rooms heated, the
cost of nurses, and other help continues whether
there be patients or not.
DR.. Gray pays all the nurses and other help re-
CURED at the hospital. There have been months when
this help has cost him $4,000 per month. He pays
for all food, coal, gas and other items. The county
only pays for permanent equipment. During the
first few years of it's existence McCOne county had
no hospital. The county at that time paid 81, 10000
per year to it's health officer but this cost was a small
part of the expense the county was forced to bear.
At practically every session there were claims from
hospitals from the surrounding towns for caring for
McCone county's destitute. 1t seemed that every
time an attending physician believed the patient to
be in such financial condition that he might have to
wait for his fee, the doctor would order the patient
off to some hospital and thus get the patient off his
In 1921 the wife of a half-breed who had just
lived in McCone county the 80 days necessary to es-
-ablish residence got severely burned by a kerosene
stove explosion. She was sent to Glendive and the
final cost to McCone county was nearly 100000, in
1925, a man named Anderson who resided north
of BrockWay was sent to Glendive suffering
from a ruptured appendix. The case cost McCone
county about $60O.00
Several other expensive cases might be men
Toned, and innumerable cass Of smaller amounts.
This drain on the county treasury was not relished by
he county commissioners, and they soon realized
a good doctor with modern equipment would
not only be a paying investment for the county itself
out would also be a great value to the public. An
other reason which also helped to decide the county
commissioners to build a hospital was this: In 1923,
/ determined effort was made by the county commits
sioners and by various private parties In Circle, to get
new doctor to locate in Circle. Although they were
n correspondence with several good doctors none OF
hem could be persuaded to locate at Circle when
new were 1nIOTIQ0Q CIldC IO uOSplCdI dClIICIC CAloCCd. /
For the amount spent on the roads during one
a fine up to date hospital could be built. Does
t not occur to everyone how much more good would
Iccrue to the people of McCone county from such a
hospital than from the good this. money would do If
pent on roads?
Although there is much to be desired before the
county hospital can be complete, yet with
he limited equipment at his command DR.. Gray has
wonderful work. Twenty-nine major oper-
lions have been SUCCESSFULLY performed, including
our operations for appendicitis, thirty fractures have
,een attended to, thirty-three operations have been
removing tonsils and adenoids, while
hirty maternity cases have been cared for:
The following testimonial from Peppard & Full
on Company, one of the largest contracting firms IN
he United States and Canada shows their high es-
for the services renderd their sick and injured
mployees by DR.. Gray and McCone county hospital.
Peppard & Fulton Co.
General Contractors
Minneapolis, Mimi, Sept. 2, 1923