Evening star., 1940-02-04
Health Fund
Cut 10 $3.50
Is Defended
Executive Committee
Of Association Cites
Lack of Reserve

UlOu Oh JIlc doSUCldt1O1A . oooAo VI
Directors in appropriating only
$1,28O for supplementing payment Of
salaries of District Health Depart
ment personnel in the face Of sex
traordinary pressure" for an ap-
preparation of $11,300 requested by
Health Officer George c. Rutland,
The action of the board, accord
ing to a statement issued by the
Executive Committee, was based on
the long-established policy of the
local and national tuberculosis as
sociations to furnish funds to off,
cial agencies for the purpose of DEM
onstrating methods OF meeting
health needs not cared for by tax
funds"
Asserting that in 1899 the associa-
ton exhausted it's reserve fund of
over $4,000 in its effort to support
the Health Department., the Execu-
tive Committee declared that "the
issue comes to the point of whether
or not the association should further
cripple or abandon its recognized
services or, in fact, whether or not
the association should act princi-
pally as a subsidiary tax organiza-
ton"
No Mention Of Increase.
No mention was made in the
statement of the possibility that the
appropriation to the District might
be increased The statement, on
the other hand, said the Executive
Committee will continue its study Of
all the "other items" in the budget
and will not hesitate to make such
further revisions or deletions as it
may find in it's judgment desirable
to. recommend to the Board of Di-
rectors
Those who attended the commit
tee meeting were DR.. j. Winthrop
Peabody. president of the associa-
ton; DR.. Luther H. Reichelderfer,
Willard c. Smith, Ross Garrett, w.
Frank Persons, DR.. Numa P. G..
Adams, Maj. Daniel j. Donovan and
Mrs. Ernest R. Grant.
DR.. Rutland had contended, in
q plea to Dr. Peabody, that unless
the department is given a grant of
$11, 300 instead of $3.50 the work
Of the department would be "se-
riously impaired" The larger sum.
he explained, would go to pay six
clerks in the city's tuberculosis clinic
and to augment the salary of the
new chest surgeon at the District
Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Glenn
Dale. Md.
Pointing out that the Health De-
partment's current request is nearly
, twice as large as has been given by
: the association In any preceding
year Qast years appropriation being
about $4,000. the committee main
tanned that some of this requested
money had been promised by the
Health Department as salary sup
plement before action was taken by
the association"
Allotments Reduced.
obviously the association cannot
obligate funds which it does not
have" the statement continued.
mot wishing, however, to necessi-
tate the dropping of employees with
out adequate notice, the Executive
Committee reduced the budgetary
i allotment for several regular and
long-established projects, including
the Children's Health Camp, medi-
cal research and legislation, in order
to make full provision for the clinic
during the first two months of this
year.
The association now finds itself
not only unappreciated for its past
generosity but under pressure and
actual attack for not abandoning
such part of its regular program as
might be necessary in order to grant
requested cash subsidies to the
Health Department.. The Executive
Committee feels that the associa-
tlon's past and present support
OF the Health Department is a mat
ter OF general knowledge and that
the evidence of its present intention
to continue supporting Health De-
partment needs cannot now be dis
counted or questioned"
The only two directors register
Ing dissenting votes on the recon-
mended appropriation of $1280, the
Executive Committee stated, are
members of the Health Depart
ment. These two are DR.. Ruhland
and DR.. A. B. Coulter, director of
the tuberculosis Bureau.
Tracing the history of it's estab-
hshment of the first general tuber-
culosis clinic in the District the
association committee stated that
the association financed the clinic
from 1908 to 1918, when tax funds
were made available. Since 1929, it
was added, the association has sup
ported q childrens clinic under di-
rection of the Health Department.
For the last four years part of the
associations funds have been used
for regular activities of the de-
partment for which official appro-
prtations were available"
Cash Subsidy Asked.
ITO our knowledge" the commit
tee contended, mo other local pri-
vate health agency has provided
cash for demonstrations in the
Health Department.
" . In the spring of 1899 the
association, in addition to support
ing its health education, emergency
relief, census tract, health camp and
rehabilitation demonstrations, was
paying the salary Of one clerk who
was engaged in clearing the files of
the Health Department chest clinic.
The Health Department at that
time was maintaining several cleri-
cal and part-time positions out of
'unexpended social security bal
ances.' In that same spring of
1899 the health officer asked the
tuberculosis Association to assume
the payment of the salaries of these
clerical and part-time positions. The
health officer did not ask for this
assistance to demonstrate the need
for these positions, they being all
ready in existence, but asked for a
cash subsidy to replace the social