Evening star., 1937-09-19
PIONEERS REVIEW
SANAT0R|UM WAR
Glenn Dale Achievement Is
Step, but tuberculosis Is
Not Beaten in D. C.


torium at Glenn Dale, Md, wa,
opened.
For 1t was In 1903 that the orga n.
lied campaign which led to The con.
structlon Of the modernly equipped
sanAtorium with beds for 700 adult
and children got under way.
Opening gun In the campaign wa.
fred when small band of public.
spirited citizens formed the Commit.
Tee on Prevention Of Consumption OF
the Associated Charities. The com.
mittee's first heartening victory came
when q public ordinance forbiddine
splitting on sidewalks was adopted by
the Commissioners.
Facilities Drive Started.
But far-seeing members of the COM
mittee, among them the late DR.
George M. Kober, realized the spread
OF the white plague could not be
stemmed until facilities for the treat
ment OF its victims were provided, and
they began campaigning for a munich
pal tuberculosis hospital,
In 1908 the tuberculosis Hospital At
Fourteenth and Upshur streets opened
with facilities for the care Of 120 pa
tients. 1t was hailed AS one of the
most modern institutions IT its kind
IN the country.
BY this time the pioneers realized
the battle facing them was 70 tre-
mendous it required the support of an
organization not burdened with strict
ly charitable activities, ard SO they
formed the Association for the Pre-
vention Of tuberculosis of rhe Dis
trict OF Columbia and affiliated with
the National tuberculosis Association
Meanwhile, demands on the tuber-
culosis hospital became so great that
In 1914 1t WAS necessary to construct
. number OF temporary shacks behind
the institution to accommodate
patients.
School Children Stressed.
Steadily the association preached
Its gospel of prevention and empha-
sized the importance of checking the
spread of the disease among school
children. In 1917 two schools for tu-
berculosis children were opened.
In 1919 the associations ranks were
strengthened by the enlistment OF a
soft-voiced, gallant young woman who
knew nothing about tuberculosis. but
whose heart had been touched by the
meager facilities provided for the
treatment OF children suffering from
the disease. She was Mrs. Ernest r.
Grant, who later became president of
the association and has been its exec
utive secretary since 1882.
Mrs. Grant began to ask why the
city did not build a sanatorium to
treat its hundreds of tubercular chill
dren. No one could give her the
answer, 10 she kept on asking and
thereby launched the movement which
resulted IN the $3,oo0,0oo development
1T Glenn pale.
50 insistent had Mrs. Grants oues-
lions become in 1924 the Monday Eve
ming Club appointed q committee to
study the need for = Children's Tuber-
culosis Sanatorium. The committees
report received the approval of the
United States Bureau OF Eficiency
and IN 1928 the Monday Evening Club
devoted one Of its meetings to arousing
public interest in the need for a sana-
tor1um for tubercular children.
Children Asked to Act.
At that meeting the late Or. Hugh s.
Cumming, surgeon general OF the
United States Public Health Service
gave Mrs. Grant the answer she had
been seeking.
Probably" he said, ''the reason the
District has no sanatorium for tu-
perculous children is because no one
has ever asked Congress to provide
one
Mrs. Grant lost no time in enlistinp
the active support of Senator Ernest
w. Gibson of Vermont, then a men,
Der OF the House District Committee
and in 1929 Congress passed his bill
authorizing the District to spend
$500,0O0 for the construction of q
children's sanstorium. The same
Congress also appropriated 81 500 to
perfect preliminary plans for the build
ing.
The tuberculosis Association appro-
priated $500 out of its own treasury
to bring DR.. Henry D. Chadwick. then
superintendent of the Herman Kiefe.
Hospital of Detroit and an outstand-
Ing expert on tuberculosis sanatoria
to Washington to aid in the study.
s625,oo0 Expenditure Authorized.
The survey revealed that at least
S625,000 would be necessary to pur.
chase site outside the District and
TO build a sanatorium. In 1890 Con-
gress authorized the expenditure ot
the required s625 900 and made s7s
Immediately available.
On August the Commissioners pur.
chased the 628-acre site at Glen Dale
The following year Congress appro.
priated s250,000 to start work on tn.
sanatorium. Two years we're con.
sumed In pickering over plans anc
contracts and ground for the chill
dren's sanatorium was not broken un.
til June 30, 1882.
BY this time it had been discov-
cred that there were not sufficient
FUNDS 70 provide the 300 beds origin
ally planned and the contracts called
for erection Of 150-bed institution
In the Spring Of 1934-seven year.
after its construction had been au-
thorized by Congress-the children.
Institution still remained vacant
while contractors and District en-.
gineers tried TO explain why failur,
Of the water supply had ruined ex.
pensiye machinery and why no IA.
cilities for sun bathing had beer
provided on the roof.
Death Rate Climbs Steadily.
Meanwhile, the city's tuberculosi
death rate had been climbing stead
lily. The now antiqusted hospital a
Fourteenth and Upshur streets wa
horribly overcrowded and there wa
long waiting list Of sick patient
awaiting admission.
The District Medical Society an,
the local newspapers joined force