Evening star., 1948-03-19
Plan
.1oAdnit Negro
Doctors Drawn
Treatment of.Whites
By CoIored Stuff
To Be Worked Out

~ w NFOfkSU SuT
Negotiations to admit Negroes to
the Gallinger Hospital medical staff
this fall were concluded TODAY
with full agreement on a plan for
professional cooperation among
George Washington, Georgetown and
Howard Universities.
The social aspects of the plan
details OF the rotation procedure by
which white patients may be as
signed to Negro doctors-remained
to be worked out by the hospitals
Executive Committee, to which a
Negro representative will be added.
Commissioner Guy Mason, who
attended a conference between uni
versity officials this morning at
George Washington University. said
he would bring the matter before
his fellow Commissioners at his
earliest opportunity-probably at a
board meeting Tuesday.
Their Approval Necessary.
The Commissioners approval Is
necessary to change the existing
contract for Gallinger medical serv-
ice between the white medical
schools and the Health Department.
The schools supply treatment for
INDECENT patients in return for ths
right to teach their medical students
on the wards.
The Commissioners will see rep
resentatives of the universities to
carry out the necessary details in
about three weeks.
The agreement reached today by
the medical schools recommended
that the Gallinger staff include
Howard University on the same basis
as George Washington and George
town"
As the first step in this process,
Howard will be permitted to name
one member to the hospitals poll
icy-making executive committee. II
now has two representatives of each
white medical school and two fromS
the hospital staff. 1t is anticipated
that Howard will eventually have
two members.
Ticklish Problems Involved.
To this committee will be as
signed the fundamental issue yet
to be resolved-how to settle the
ticklish racial problems involved
in whether white patients are to
be treated by members of the How
ard staff.
Federal Security Administrator
Oscar r. Ewing, who last month
proposed that patients be rotated
equally between the three schools
without regard to race, except where
an individual strongly objected,
called this IAN administrative prob
lem" and said I'VE don't think 1t
presents serious problem to any
body"
George Washington University
President Cloyd Heck Marvin said,
What we want to put in out there
Is an elective system as far as it Is
practicable to do so. Whether this
would involve a complete change
in the present system I would not
say"
Commissioner Mason observed
that "a lot of people get high blood
pressure over things that never hap
pen" and said he did not think any
racial sitaution would be permitted
to develop that would give any op-
portunity to the rabble rousers.'
johnson Sees Challenge.
Howard University President
Mordecai johnson said his uni
versity would accept its new as
signment with a high sense of
challenge" If the proposal is ap-
proved by the District Commits
sioners.
He said he hoped that the Secre-
tary Of State some day would be
able to take foreign visitors to CAL
linger as a demonstration of work.
Ing racial democracy.
I'VE shall function" he said, with
The consciousness that what we are
doing here may bring great credit 10
our city and our country"
Todays agreement granted prac-
tically all the points requested last
month when Mr.. Ewing reopened
the Gallinger racial issue, as head Of
The agency which administers How
ard University.
1t provided that Howard should
oegin teaching its medical students
at Gallinger next fall. that it should
be entitled to one-fourth of the
inferno appointments for July l,
194e; that it should promptly as
sumo joint responsibility for CALM
gers pediatrics, communicable dis
ease, skin disease and syphilology
departments, and eventually share
in the operation of other depart