Evening star., 1942-10-11
McCarran Demands $
Quick Action 10 Meet
D. {. Hospital Needs
Asks Senate to Call on
All Agencies to Report ir
10 Days on Relief Plans

meet Washington's wartime hos
pital needs.
Charging that, apparently. moth
ing has been done to assure against
possible epidemic" the Nevadan in
troduced resolution asking the
Senate to call on all Federal and
District agencies having any con-
tact with the problem to report
within 10 days the status of any re-
lief measures being planned.
The resolution went over for con-
sideration this week, probably when
the Senate reconvenes Tuesday.
In appropriating to house war
workers here several months ago
Congress included fund of ST.
100000 for related public facilities,
such as hospitals, schools, sewer,
water and highway work. Out OF
this fund the Federal Works Agency
on September l announced an allo-
cation of $3,207,50o for buildings to
- 0NAAC OoV 11OoplGdl UcuS.
Gallinger Would Get $50.
Of these hospital facilities, $50
beds were to be added at Gallinger
Hospital in the District, along with
space for more nurses and interns,
and the remaining 400 beds in near
by Maryland and Virginia.
Senator McCarran called this al
lotment grossly inadequate" and
began series of conferences with
officials on the possibility of adding
beds to existing private hospitals by
converting the nurses homes into
wards and building temporary dor
mitories for the nurses.
FWA officials have emphasized
the difficulty of getting priorities,
and Senator McCarran made his
resolution broad enough to call for
q report also from those in charge
Of that phase Of the war effort.
Resolution in Part.
Senator McCarran's resolution
read in part as follows:
Whereas, the Federal Govern
ment, by concentrating its tremen-
dous war activities in the City OF
Washington and the Metropolitan
Area surrounding the District of
Columbia, has brought a vast in
crease in population estimated at
over a million persons within the
area; and
Whereas, the public utilities and
public services to accommodate this
vast army of persons has not kept
pace with that increase; and
whereas, one of the major and
most important fields of service,
vital to the health and well-being
of the community which has failed
to meet the enlarging demands upon
it because of inadequate housing,
personnel, materials and equipment,
is that of local disqualification; and
Whereas, the number of physi-
clans, surgeons, dental surgeons,
nurses and other practitioners of
the healing arts available to the
public and to institutions is stead
lily decreasing by the call to service
in the armed forces of the Nation;
and
Whereas, the crowded conditions,
and in many instances in many
parts of the area the insanitary liv-
ing accommodations, the complete
upheaval of the normal economic
and civic life of the city caused by
the enormous problem of keeping
the war effort at a maximum of eff
cheney, are the source of serious
menace to the health of the area;
and
Whereas, such a menace might
easily become an epidemic; and
Whereas, in the opinion of many
leaders of this community such an
epidemic might easily become
reality; and
Whereas, not only the health and
the life of the entire populace,
civilian and military. will be endan-
gered, but the war effort will come
to a virtual standstill if such condi-
ton obtains; and
Whereas, the need for additional
buildings, nurses homes, nurses,
student nurses, sterilizing and surgi-
cal equipment, ambulances and hos
pital beds has been forcibly brought
to the forefront on numerous occas-
ions by the Senate Committee on the
District of Columbia through public
meetings, personal conferences and
contacts with officials of the Federal
Security Agency, Federal Works
Agency, the Public Health Service,
the District Commissioners and other
Government agencies and officials,
and through correspondence, tele-
grams and other modes of commune
cation, which conferences and con-
facts and correspondence have DEM
onstrated the urgent need for such
expansion of hospital facilities, and
at the same time has brought forth
no definite or tangible results and
Whereas, it would appear that,
Notwithstanding all of the apparent
need and emergency, nothing has
been done to assure against pos
sible epidemic and growing in
adequacy.
The resolution then concluded by
requesting the FWA, Public Health
Service, District Commissioners and
any other agencies connected with
the problem to submit to the Sen
ate within 10 days reports showing
plans and specifications thus far
adopted and any further relief that
may be in process of study.
Civic Federation 10 Meet
In Bethesda Tomorrow