Evening star., 1949-12-30
Enforced Care Of INDECENT Non Residents
Another Example of Districts Handicap

Enforced Care of INDECENT Nom Residents
Another Example of Districts Handicap
To the Editor Of The Star:
The Chinese have saying: "A picture Is
worth thousand words" Weary taxpayers
should apply this truth to Christmas item
headlined in The Sunday Star: Patient
Stranded on Stretcher AS Hospitals Argue
Admission" Christmas readers learned that
Emergency and Gallinger Hospitals were
engaged in a bitter jurisdictional dispute
over an INDECENT nonresident. Emergency
Hospital provided adequate first aid. Any
further care was matter OF watching Tor
possible complications.
The dispute which followed involved moral
responsibility for the custodial care of an
INDECENT nonresident. Gallinger is our tax
supported municipal hospital Emergency is
a voluntary hospital whose dangerous deficit
spending in implementing humane policies
is convincing evidence Of its civic conscience.
It habitually plays the Good Samaritan with
devastating effect on its solvency. Yet there
Is no record of deliberate avoidance of hu-
name responsibility to the dangerously Ill or
injured. Emergency Hospital in this in
stance had saturated its 46-bed space al
lotted for male indigents. This public serv-
ice is operated at a substantial loss. Our
municipal government contracts to reim-
hospital services and treatment provided
medically INDECENT residents. Each patient
so treated is a direct levy upon community
philanthropy because 50 only pays part Of
actual cost. Having provided adequate
emergency service irrespective Of the pa
tents qualifying year Of residence. Emer-
gency Hospital transferred the INDECENT pa
tient to our tax-supported facility.
Nothing could have been more logical and
equitable. Emergency Hospital already had
contributed large donation Of community
philanthropy to help patient properly the
responsibility of q tax-supported agency.
The admission Of the INDECENT patient was
protested on the grounds that our tax-sup-
ported facilities are for residents only.
The obvious inference is that a tax-sup-
ported hospital can compel voluntary hos
pital to increase its deficit spending If an
INDECENT patient lacks qualifying year of
residence. Here we have spokesman of a
tax-subsidized hospital defining community
duty to INDECENT sick and injured in terms
Of fiscal policy. If INDECENT sick and injured
lack qualifying year Of residence in this
politically impotent ward Of the Federal
Government. community philanthropy must
continue to underwrite the mounting deficit.
Added to the deficit spending incident to
being merciful to INDECENT residents our vol
uuGAIy kOSkltAl6 dI6 ul1UIu6U tIlCy ALSO QUSG
subsidize the medical care of nonresident
tndigents.
Here we have picture worth thousand
words Of hypocritical pleading for the Presi-
dents compulsory health scheme. This vote
less community is the Nations Capital. AS
such, 1t Is the mecca of tens of thousands
who make pilgrimage to the seat of Federal
Government. It Is inevitable that INDECENT
citizens are numbered among the throng of
visitors. Unlike California, this administra-
ton would not dare prohibit the migration
Of the INDECENT to the Nations Capital. The
Supreme Court decision, Edwards VS.. People
Of California mo. l7-October Term, 1941) !,
proved this was unconstitutional. But our
hypocritical masters can accomplish the
same result by administrative hocus-pocus
and default of social conscience.
Having paramount powers over this vote
less community, Mr.. Truman's administra-
tors can compel us to bear national burden
Of taxation without representation. The
medical care Of the nonresident INDECENT
should be the burden of the whole Nation.
In effect. we are informed our hospitals
must go deeper into deficit spending because
we lack the right and power Of self-govern-
ment To the discerning this is true pic
ture Of what voters can expect when politi-
clans control medical care for the entire
Nation. The welshing will be on national
scale. THOMAS E. MATTINGLY, M. D.
S<o,:~. Ahnr< r>~~,n,,. Do Irood.