Evening star., 1934-07-29
WHITE H|TSDELAy
IN TUBERCULOSIS
HOSPITAL ACTION
President OF District Society
Charges "DiIatory Pro-
crastination."
URGES GLENN DALE
SITE FOR NEW PLANT
Cites High Rate of Disease in
Capital and Need for Cen.
tral Control.
pr. William Charles Whlte. presi.

DR.. william Charles White, presi-
dent Of the District tuberculosis
Society, in a sharply worded letter to
Commissioner Hazen, made public
last night, charged the Commissioners
with "dilatory procrastination" In
fighting the spread OF tuberculosis
here and reiterated that the site al
ready owned by the District at Glenn
Dale, Md, Is the proper location for
the proposed adult hospital.
Early in your administration" DR..
White wrote from BeauInaris. Ontario,
where he is vacationing, you ap-
pointed a committee to advise you as
TO what might be considered the
proper organization for the prevention
and care Of this problem in the Dis
trict.
so far as ! know the labor and
report Of this committee have never
been acknowledged, but you must be
familiar with the sad situation con-
fronting the city of Washington and
the position 1t occupies in comparison
with other cities in the United States.
This situation has obviously occurred
through maladministration OF health
matters"
Text Of Letter.
DR.. Whites letter follows:
II have been concerned with no
tices in The Washington Evening
Star which comes to me here in Can
ada, where ! am vacationing ] see
that the Commissioners of the Dis
trict have again entered into a period
Of investigation with regard to the
location of q hospital for the adult
tuberculosis sufferers of the District
OF Columbia. In the first notice
there was indication that the blame
for the delay lay a. the door of Mr..
Secretary Ickes. / was glad TO see
in later notice that Secretary Ickes
had declined to accept this RESPONSE
bility. 1t is unbelievable that a man
from the State of Illinois should pro-
pose dissociation OF tuberculous
groups and mountain care of the
poor Of the city when Chicago, by
adoption Of DR.. Sachs plan, has been
able to reduce its mortality from tu-
berculosis TO nearly one-third that of
the District by caring for these cases
In the city limits, although 1t dealt
with much greater afid more COM
pick problem there than that pre-
scented by the District.
early In your administration you
appointed q committee to advise you
MS to what might be considered the
proper organization for the preven-
ton and care OF this problem in the
fxtA 20 a Ia 10
and report of this committee has
never been acknowledged, but you
must be familiar with the sad situa-
ton confronting the City OF Wash
ington and the position it occupies
in comparison with other cities in
the United States. This situation
has obviously occurred through mall
administration of health matters. l
do not propose to say where the
blame for this responsibility lies, but
part of Il certainly has been in the
dilatory procraStination caused by re-
peated investigations and the divided
authority which has resulted in the
Federal Capital being among the
worst cities in the United States in
many fields of health.
NOAAAAAAttCS kf1AAe~A SNS SAAANS
the essential feature of tuberculosis
control is the Capitalization of au-
thority in q tuberculosis officer un-
der the health commissioner, the con-
gregation of the sick tuberculous in
one accessible hospital group with the
dispensary, visiting nurse and medi-
cal education facilities co-ordinated
with these in such way as to make
available to the patients skilled care
by physicians in all branches of med
icine and surgery. The property
where the childrens group is placed
Is satisfactory and is the beginning
of a proper grouping OF the tuber-
culous sick that require hospital care.
The need today is for prompt ac-
ton in building there fitting hos
pital for the adult group.
Fears Property Interest.
after a rather long experience in
placing Federal hospitals / cannot
escape the fear in the present action
of the Commissioners that some par
ties are interested in selling Virginia
property to the District government.
I trust you will not lend yourselves
to this move if it be true, but take
steps at once to bring the whole care
of the tuberculous under one head
and so place washington in line to
become a model instead of a city of
low achievement.
Your new committee can scarcely
know much about the problem of
municipal tuberculosis and its con-
trol, although it may advise you on
the choice of a hospital site for the
District"
In another letter to the Commis-
sioners delivered yesterday, the WASH
ington Taxpayers Protective AsSocia-
ton protested the additional tax bur-
den which would be put on the citizens
of the District If the city heads decided
TO build the adult hospital anywhere
other than at Glenn Dale.
The letter, signed by Rufus Lusk,
secretary, estimated the total addi-
tional capital expense would be about
$24o, 900 and the additional annual cp-
Grating expense between $4,000 and
$l00 900. He said lit is q little difficult
for us to understand why the Com
miSsioners are even considering a site
other than the one at Glenn Dale. u
Should the hospital be located a
considerable distance from the city,
Lusk's letter continued, "the entire
staff must live on the premises; al
similar institutions located near Gen.
terS of population, usually one-half
of the staff lives in town Construc-
tion of additional quarters for rs or
zoe doctors and nurses. who otherwise
might live at home, will cost al least
the figure given Tin a chart appended
to the letGT), $l75,0oo.
While some Of the foregoing fig.
ures are frankly estimates with little
to be guided by. we have tried to be
conservative. 1t is hoped the Com.
missioners viii give prayertul consid-
Grafton to them before an unneceS-
sary burden is saddled. for all time
upon the taxpayers OF Washington.