Evening star., 1934-08-10
Commissioners Will Have
Him Decide on Location
OF Tuberculosis Hospital.
P. W. A. ADMINISTRATOR
MUST APPROVE LOAN
Hazen Hopes for Meeting of
Minds" at Conference With
Cabinet Member.

With their medical advisers re-
ported to be unanimously OF the opin-
ion that the Glenn Dale, Md. site
is satisfactory for the proposed adult
tuberculosis hospital. the Commits
sioners today decided to carry the
controversy over the site directly to
Secretary Ickes, the P. w. A. admins
traitor.
This was the only definite outcome
OF a lengthy conference this morning
between the Commissioners. a COM
mittee Of District officials named TO
select a site" for the new sanatorium
and a group OF representatives Of
medical organizations.
The question is whether the District
should abandon plans for the develop
ment OF a tuberculosis center on the
large tract OF land at Glenn Dale,
IA miles from the city-already bought
and paid for by District tax payers
or buy new site "in the Blue Ridge
Mountains" which Secretary Ickes
has said he believes would be So
cially more desirable"
Physicians Favor Site.
The six spokesmen for the medical
group were unanimous In stating
to the Commissioners that the
Glenn Dale site was satisfactory. They
also told the Commissioners that some
increase in altitude of q site Is not
Of major Importance and said there
would be an increased annual main
tenance cost II q separate hospital
plant for adults was built on q dis
tant location. Volunteer medical
service also would be more difflcult to
obtain If q distant site was selected,
they said.
The final result appears TO hinge on
the question of whether the advice
Of qualified medical authorities will
persuade the public works admins
traitor to accept the Glenn Dale site
as satisfactory.
Ickes Must Approve Loan.
II Ickes win make the public works
loan or the Glenn Dale site the Com
missioners will be ready to proceed
at once with the construction of the
adult building there. where the chill
drens' sanatorium Is about to be
opened.
Advised that the District Commits
sioners were waiting to consult with
him on the. location OF the hospital,
Secretary Ickes said he was willing to
discuss this controversial question
with an open mind"
Ickes had Just returned to Wash
ington with President Roosevelt and
was only incidentally aware Of the
situation that has arisen in his alb
sence. He said he would be willing to
confer with them, but indicated that
his own position was unchanged.
Il have all along had an open mind
on this question" he added, but,
speaking for myself. II were a patient
should much prefer being in a hos
pital in beautiful surroundings at an
altitude Of some 500 or 1000 feet"
At the conclusion OF the closed
meeting Commissioner HAGEN said:
I'VE really accomplished very little"
He said he asked the doctors II they
already had not pretty well made up
their minds in favor of the Glenn
Dale site and was told the answer
was yes"
Hazen said his site Committee Of
District officials headed by Surveyor
Edward A. Dent had recommended
four sites in the Blue Ridge Noun
tains as the most desirable of so
which property owners had asked the
District to buy.
Dents committee inspected about
half of those offered.
Hazen announced the appointment
Of the committee of doctors which
consulted with him today as a group
to go with the city heads to discuss
the matter with Ickes In the near
future. Ickes was back in town to-
day after a trip away from the
Capital.
Commissioners Minds Open.
Hazen said the Commissioners
really had not decided to sponsor
any one site as against another and
this included Glenn Dale. He said
he hoped there would be a meeting
of the minds" at the conference
with Ickes.
The committee of doctors is headed
by DR.. william q. Morgan, represent
ing Georgetown University Medical
School, and includes DR.. s. L. Chris
tian, assistant surgeon general, rep
resenting the public health service:
DR.. P. A. McLendon, representing the
District Medical Society; DR.. Earl
Mckinley. representing George Wash
ington Medical School; DR.. william
C. Fowler. District health officer; DR..
j. winthrop Peabody, general SUPER
tntendent OF the District tuberculosis
Hospital, and Dr. w. A. Warfield, rep
resenting Freedmen's Hospital.
All Of these except Drs. Mckinley
and Warfield attended today's con-
ference. Also present were Mrs. Ernest
r. Grant, representing the District
Association; Nathan
Wyeth, municipal architect; Surveyor
Dent, Maj. John c. Gotwals, Engineer
Commissioner, and Daniel E. Garges,
secretary to the Commissioners.
Sites Unrevealed.
The Commissioners said they could
not announce the location Of the four
mountain sites which are
under consideration. 1t was said that
none of the four was over 10 miles
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