Evening star., 1935-07-07
HEALTH REQUEST
REJECTION SEEN
Failure to Report FavorabIy
on S65,OO0 Plea Held
Significant.

Failure to date of the Budget Bu-
reau to report favorably on the re-
quest of the Commissioners for a
$3.50 supplemental appropriation for
the Health Department was inter-
preted last night by District officials
as indication it has been pigeon
holed."
Meanwhile, the great need for ad-
ditional public health funds here was
strongly emphasized with the pubh-
cation yesterday of Nationwide sur
vey showing Washington moved up
from third to second place among ma
jor cities in tuberculosis death rate
during 1884.
At the request Of Health Officer
George c. Rutland, the Commissioners
two weeks ago sent estimates to the
Budget Bureau for the additional ap-
preparation, but so far they have re-
ceived no word of any action.
Action Usually Quick.
In the ordinary course of affairs,
notification is received in a week or
10 days of requests receiving favor
able consideration. When the bureau
declines to approve supplemental ap-
preparation, it does not report the
rejection to the petitioning source.
Failure to send the request to Con-
gress will hold the proposal over for
reconsideration in the framing of the
1887 budget, which will 60 to the
Budget Bureau next Fall.
Such an eventuality, it is felt in
many quarters, will seriously cripple
the Districts public health service and
certainly will effectively prevent the
expansion DR.. Rutland was planned.
Congress cut 100000 from the orig
inal Health Department estimates and
the S65,Q00 request is q compro-
mise from that figure.
In his fight for more funds, DR..
Rutland has the unanimous support
of the District Medical Society and
numerous health and civic organiza-
tions, all of them stressing the grave
danger to the health of Washingto-
mans resulting from lack of proper ia
cilities and adequate personnel for the
battle with communicable disease.
DR.. Rutland believes that an en-
larged public health nursing service is
the heart and core of any expansion
program. OF the total sought, $38, ,440
was to be spent in this field. The
plan called for nursing service direc-
tor at $4,000 year; three supervisors
at $4,000 each; 10 field nurses at
81 300 each; one secretary at $1,000;
two clerks at s162o, and $4,000 for
nurses equipment.
Five thousand dollars would be set
aside for expansion of the public
school medical inspection, providing
for employment of an assistant direc-
tor at 1900. and secretary at $1,000.
It also was proposed to employ two
additional part-time medical inspec-
tors at 81 300 each, and a part-time
dental supervisor at the same salary,
and to spend $500 for maintenance of
dental clinic.
Medical Director Asked.
To improve the tuberculosis service,
DR.. Ruhland asked for a full-time
medical director at an annual salary
of $500, a secretary at 1900 and
a clerk at $1,440.
In order to correct an economy
prompted cut in the Health Depart
ment salary appropriation which be-
gan in 1884 and was continued in
all later supply acts, the Commis-
sioners planned to leave vacant two
positions for which S6,840 was ap-
propriated. One was the post Of first
assistant health officer. The other
was the position of sanitary inspector
Both jobs now are unoccupied.
The 1884 tuberculosis survey, con-
Quoted by the New York City Tuber-
culosis and Health Association,
showed San Antonio, Tex, has the
highest death rate from the white
plague in the country. Washingtons
percentage of deaths per 100000 of
population was 100, while in the
Texas city the figure was 145. Bir-
mingham, Ala, ranked third with
119 tuberculosis fatalities per 100000
persons.
There were 500 tuberculosis deaths
here during the year, and of these
416, or 6S per cent, were among