Evening star., 1955-07-11

IAAN AASb AOcAe4As 44S oO0SN w AAA
guns, fighting hard to keep tn
Icity's public health institution
in operating condition despit,
the acute wartime shortage o
qualified doctors.
/ The Commissioners health
broke under the strain. He Suf
Ifered a mild stroke in June, 1914
Mr.. Mason was reappointet
for a three-year term that sum
mer. The final vote for conflr
mation, 80 to 20, was doubles
Influenced by a flood of letter
from District citizens and or
Examinations expressing the con
Iviction that Mr.. Mason was thei
man.
/ If he was at all chaStened b,
the experiences of his first term
he did not show it. He remained
incapable of confining his publ,
remarks to the bromides which
are expected of public official
In the traditional phrase, condi
tions at the Upshur street tuber
culosis hospital were ''deplora
BILE" Mr.. Mason, however
termed the place a "flophouse.
Criticizes Government.
At zoning hearing one da!
lhe told a Federal official tina
"the Federal Government il
always trying to rook u.s." II
1916, when the District pena
administration came under at
tack. Mr.. Mason had his owr
comment on the problem of tht
prisoner rehabilitation program
They ought" he said, ito use
a little more lead pipe on those
fellows instead of teaching then
to crochet"
Mr.. Mason's second reappoint.
ment in January. 1948. was a rel.
Iatively quiet affair. Technically
his term expired November 20
I1947. and when no word came
Immediately from the White
House the rumors began to fly
again. There were reports that
he might resign because Of Ill
health, and a number of persons
advanced their names as can
didates for succession to the
post. But Mr.. Mason, it turned
out, was very definitely a can
Ididate to succeed himself. and he
remained on the job until Presi-
dent Truman finally gave him
the nod.
His third term was to have ex-
tended three years from the date
lof his swearing in, or until Feb
|ruary 3. 1851.
Mr.. Mason scarcely settled into
his third term before he founc
himself in hot water again. This
time. he admitted later. it was
strictly his own fault and the
incident closed with his apol-
ogizing publicly to everybody
concerned.
AS usual, Gallinger Hospita,
was the center of the contro-
versy and as usual 1t was the
quickness and sharpness of Mr.
Mason's tongue that caused the
blowup. A group Of Gallingel
doctors. including the chief sur
Igeon. Brian Blades of George
Washington University. issued a
statement criticizing the hos
pitfalls administration. They sug-
gested control of Gallinger be
taken from the city Health De-
partment and handed over to the
|city's medical schools.
Apologies for Charges.
Mr.. Mason was angry. A few
days later he called reporters to
his Office, where he launched a
bitter attack on DR.. Blades. He
said the surgeon had "conspired'
with other Gallinger doctors to
have an unauthorized patient
admitted free, and he said he
would ask George Washington
University to put another doctor
in the chief surgeons post.
To his acute embarrassment,
Mr.. Mason learned within few
hours that there was not O single
iota of substance to the charge
he had made. To his credit. his
apologies were quick and hand
some enough to save the day for
the municipal ship of state
Mr.. Mason was born Septem-
ber 10. 1880, in Pierceton, Ind. His
ancestors fought in every Ameri-
can war from the Revolution to
the Spanish-American, when he
represented the family.
He had just completed the first
round of his education in the
public schools of New York and
New Jersey when he enlisted in
the cavalry at the outbreak of
hostilities with Spain. He later
served in the Philippines and
Texas. Honorably discharged,
he came to Washington in 1904.
Mr.. Mason had dabbled a bit
with professional baseball, play
ing with San Antonio in the
Texas League. In Washington,
he tried out for the Mats at
shortstop and second base. 1T
was too fast company for me"
he later explained.
Follows News Career.
The year 1906 was a big one
for Mr.. Mason. In rapid success
sion, he went to work as a re-
porter for the Washington Post,
quit, took a job in the press bu-
reau Of the jamestown EXPOSE
'tion-and got married to Louise
Urquhart Burgess. daughter of
a Southampton County (Va)
physician.
Back in Washington in 1907
he kept up the pace. He was
successfully a reporter for the
Herald. the operator of a weekly
newspaper in Abingdon. Va; a
reporter again for the Post, a
member Of the Washington bu-
reau Of the st. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat, a member of the Washing