The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1952-08-28
HUB CITY DAY THURSDAY, AUGUST %
Around Town With
The Editor

| was late getting to the plant on
Tuesday morning, since I had to stop
by the police station and cough up
the usual dollar for parking over
time = and the ticket was fully
justified.
1 parked by a meter, deposited my
nickel and went on about my bust
ness. About an hour-and-a-half la
ter it dawned on me that my time
had run out so I beat it back to the
car - even though my business was
not concluded - fully expecting to
find it ticketed.
Luck was with me that time, how
ever. so expecting to finish my bust
ness in about ten minutes and
being Scotch - figured could save
four cents, so just dropped in pen
ny, instead of playing it safe and
depositing another nickel. Unfor-
tunately for me, however, tarried,
after my business was finished, to
tell couple of new stories had
heard and by the time I got back
to my car a good half hour had
elapsed and a nice, clean ticket was
nesting securely in my windshield
wiper.
It's too bad that the work on con-
struction of the badly needed Chronic
Disease Hospital for Washington
County, for which the State Legisla-
ture has provided three million dol
lars, has to be delayed because of a
confiiction of opinions regarding the
site.
I had hoped, after the recent meet
ing here at which Governor Nickel
din was present, that the question
of the site would be settled in short
order. Unfortunately, however, it
now appears that Senator McLaugh-
lin, who wants the hospital built on
the Bellevue site (and l agree with
him 100 per cent? and DR.. Riley, head
of the State Health Department, who
wants the hospital built at the rear
of the County Hospital off Cannon
Avenue, are as far apart as the poles
and they are both airing their views
in the daily papers.
This puts the Board of County
Commissioners squarely in the mid
die. These men, headed by their
president, Winslow F. Burhans, have
worked long and hard to get a
chronic disease hospital for Wash
ington County and they have offered
the state clear title to the Bellevue
Home site as an outright gift.
When Dr. Riley, backed up by DR..
Prather, the former Washington
County Health officer, started the
agitation for the Cannon Avenue
site, the County Commissioners,
whose sole purpose is to get the hos
pital built, took an option on the
property as requested by DR.. Riley.
Since then, however, DR.. Riley has
demanded that options be taken by
the County on other properties in
the Cannon Avenue area, which he
says are necessary, and the Commits
sioners even went along on that
proposition by trying to get these
options also.
I thought that when Governor
McKeldin left here after inspecting
both proposed sites, decision would
be made promptly so that actual
construction could start. But it now
appears that the two sides are more
interested in winning their point
than they are in getting hospital
built, and the tragic part of it is
that the Board of County Commits
sioners can do nothing about it.
It seems to me that Governor Nc
Keldin should insist that decision
on this important matter be made
at once, for it is obvious that the
more this question of a site is kick
ed around, the greater becomes the
possibility that the building of the
hospital might be postponed indefi-
nitely - And that would be real
tragedy.