Milford chronicle., 1938-04-15

I
program. He was one of the trus-
tees Of this hospital and you know
how pleased he'd be IL he were here
today to see and attend this dedica-
tion. He was not only interested in
it in his lifetime, but after his death,
he demonstrated his interest by the
magnificent gift he made to this
hospital.
''It is great pleasure and indeed
privilege to be present on this
memorable occasion.
''It is an inspiring occasion when
the people of a community gather
together to take part in exercises
that mark the completion of great
humanitarian project for which they
have worked and struggled and
made sacrifices for years.
with you. take pride in this
imposing building, so beautifully
conceived by its architect and so
sOIidly constructed by its builder,
and in the splendid equipment 1t
contains to enable the skilIful phys
icians, who will here minister to
human suffering. to apply the re-
suits of scientific discovery to the
alleviation Of pain and the curing OF
men and women who have been
stricken by disease or damaged by
violence, which stalks in such var
led forms in the complex society in
which we live.
pride in the building and its
equipment is entirely justified. You
who have been generous of your
time and money and who have made
sacrifices to bring this day to pass
are entitled to the reward of a feel
ing Of pride and satisfaction in
these material evidences. that you
can see with your eyes, OF a great
spiritual victory.
This is a spiritual accomplish
ment-not a material one. This
building Is mere bricks and stone
and mortar and steel wrought into
beautiful form. Its contents are ma
terials of various sorts wrought In
to useful shapes. Collectively It is
hospital. but you did not build 1t
merely to be able to see fine hos
pital in Milford or to be able to say
Come to Milford and see what
fine hospital we have You built 1t
under the inspiration of the religion
that is taught by the Holy Bible.
both the Old and the New Testa-
ments. Healing the sick was a part
of Christ's ministry on earth.
"You build a factory for the pur-
pose of making money. You estab-
lish a store and engage in the mer-
camille business for the same pur-
pose. This purpose is quite proper
but wholly materialistic. Fundamen--
tally it has no spiritual value what
soever-although I believe that In
the management of business enter
prises, spiritual values can be Gre
ated.
But in building and dedicating
this fine modern hospital. you have
been motivated not by a hope OF
profit, not by an expectation Of per-
sonal advantage. but by the altruis-
tic desire to improve the conditions
of living of the people Of this COM
and by this community
mean all those people who live and
will live within the radius of this
hospitals ability to minister to hui
man ills.
when look back. as ! am able
10 do. over a half century Of life In
our State, l am amazed at the al
most unbelievable changes that have
.aken place within my recollection.
when l ride along a one-way
street in Wilmington. between au-
.omobiles solidly parked on both
tides. YOU will laugh when / tell you
If what I am reminded. ] am re-
minded Of a Saturday afternoon In
when was a boy,
when the principal streets were SO
olidly lined with oX-carts that only
single vehicle could pass between.
1T is a far cry from ox-carts to
but no further than
rom the primitive facilities avail
lble for alleviating human suffering
md meeting human emergencies, IN
he ox-cart days in Sussex county,
o the splendid facilities provided
oday by the institution you have
lere dedicated.
81 remember we'll. when I was a
10Y in Georgetown, an accident that
occurred on the railroad. A train
vas running too fast around the
urye in the sOutherly side OF the
own. A car was thrown from the
rack and over on its side. Many
'ersons were seriously injured.
,ome were killed. I was there short
y after the accident. The local doc
ors were skillful men. DR.. Caleb
.ayton was there, DR.. NAPLES. per-
APPS old DR.. Richards. They did the
est they could with the facilities
hey had. but amputatiOns were per-
Drmed with meat saws, or carpen-
pr saws, and butcher-knives were
sed as freely as scalpels, If they
-ere sharper.
81 remember we'll when there were
ut two banks in Sussex county. the '
armers' and the First National Of {
eaford. The First National OF, Mil
,rd was here, and on the honor roll J
len as l suppose 1t is now, but 1t q
in Kent county.
There we're no telephones. no I
ectrie lights, no gas for cooking,
o automobiles. no radios, no hard c
lrfaced roads. and the system of {
ublic education was at so low an s
1b that the larger towns, such as
ilford, Georgetown, and doubtless a
hers. still maintained the private s
,booIa mr. academies as they were T