Evening star., 1949-08-16
Ar|ington-Drive
To buy Hospital
Opens Saturday
$4,000 Is Sought
For Initial Payment
To Government

a tIlTee-Week uIlNc W IdlSc
$4,000 for the initial payment on
the purchase of Arlington Hos
pital from the Federal Govern
ment will open Saturday among
Arlington business and profess
sional people.
The 115-bed general hospital
was built and equipped with Lam
ham Act funds at a cost of $661,-
900 in 1914 and. in the words of
Hospital Administrator John j.
Anderson, presented to Arlington
to operate"
The estimated replacement cost
is about $1,000,000. Mr.. Anderson
says. But the Government has
agreed to sell it to the nonproflt
Arlington Hospital Association for
s125,000.
"For the past two years the
Government has continued to try
to get the people of Arlington,
through the hospital Board of
Trustees, to purchase the hos
pital," Mr.. Anderson says. Due
to the lack of community interest
or spirit. we have not been able
to raise a sufficient amount to
both operate the hospital and ac-
cumulate additional money for
the purchase price"
Mail Solicitation.
The first drive for funds in 1916
slightly exceeded the S50.000 goal.
In 1947, only II per cent of the
$4,000 goal was raised. Last year
the campaign realized just $4,000
of a $4,000 quota.
This year Mr.. Anderson, who
came to the hospital May l. 194S.
decided to approach the annual
drive in a different way. He elm
mated house toulouse soliciting
and placed residential portion of
the campaign on mail basis.
To date, the administrator
states, this has had a rate of re-
turn as good as the national aver
age for mail solicitation-about 8
per cent. With the donations
from benefits staged by civic, club
and school groups, the receipts
total about $4,000.
This amount. however. has been
used to take care of deficits from
past hospital operations and cur
rent obligations. The hospital has
not been able ito place any of it
aside toward the purchase price.
Option to Sell to Others.
If the drive fails-an eveutuality
to which the administrator will not
admit-the Government still has
the privilege of offering the hos
pital for sale to the Arlington
County government or to private
interests should the county not
desire to buy it.
The General Services Agency,
which absorbed the Federal Works
Agency and which is handling the
sale, however. is under a congress
sional mandate to dispose of such
properties "in the best interests
of the Government and the COM
munities concerned"
If the GSA thinks sale to other
than the hospital association
would not be in the best interests.
In the event the down payment
were not raised Immediately.
chances are that the sale would
be deferred.
Under the present plan, the hos
pital association would pay the
100000 balance over 5-year
period at 3 per cent interest rate.
The need of a hospital in Ar
lington Gt also serves Falls
Church and FarifaD is evidenced
by the number of persons using
the institution. The occupancy
rate during the first six months
this year was 1904 per cent and
more than 800 emergency cases
were handled by the emergency
room in June, alone.
/ A total of 260 physicians and
surgeons are on the staff of the
institution which is approved by
The American Medical Association
and the American College of Sur
geons.