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Show H I " ' .... . I Scandalous Conditions at the City Test House. H NORTH VIEW OF HELL'S LOCAL SUBURB. H The present prevalence of smallpox has H brought to light the wholly scandalous and out- H ragcous conditions "which prevail at the city pent H house, where sufferers from the malignant dis- H case are erroneously supposed to receive treat- H ment. H The pest house is located about three-fourths ' of a mile beyond the state penitentiary. Any ob- H ' servant visitor who has witnessed the conditions H prevailing in the two institutions would prefer H the institution of criminology to the domicile H provided for the care of victims of the dreaded H smallpox. H The blame for the atrocious state of affairs H which prevails at the isolation hospital lies in a H j general way with the city administration, but BJ specifically the odium of the scandal rests with H the health commissioner and the city board of B health. The status of the city pest house at prcs- H ! ent Is so ghastly that were the public fully ad. H vised of the situation, the board of health wouli H be greeted with the clamorous indignation of the H public. Ordinary decency and civilization do- Hj mand that immediate remedies be instituted in H this modern purgatory. H & & & B In the first place the pest house itself is a H ghostly specimen of pioneer architecture, which H before being converted Into a hospital for small- H pox patients did duty as a woollen mill. As in- H' dicated in the accompanying sketches, the build- Hj ing is a leaky, rambling, hideous old structure H as totally unadapted for the care of smallpox suf- ferors as it would be for unfortunates in the last stages of consumption. The building is antiquated, antiquat-ed, dilapidated and draughty, and when the chill blasts from Parley's canyon shriek around its rafters, the most intrepid backwoodsman would shudder at the thought of hibernating there dur ing the winter months. As the available space within the old adobe atrocity proved to be inadequate inade-quate for tho influx of smallpox patients, thoio was recently constructed immediately in front of the old building, a big, glaring lumber effect which is serviceable for the accommodation of fifteen or twenty additional victims. In the immediate im-mediate vicinity are broken walls that look ghostly ghost-ly with the background of snow, and all the space in the rear yard is littered with heaps of debris. ? & 5 During tho past week twenty-one people who have been afflicted with the ravages of smallpox have been domociled in these buildings. Three of the guests were women. Generally speaking, they have been totally without medical attention and have been left almost entirely to their own resources. re-sources. According to statements made by patients in the pest house, no physician has appeared there for a week or ten days at a time, and in case of sudden and precarious illness on the part of one of the sufferers from this most malignant of diseases, dis-eases, no medical attention would be available. The place is in charge of a steward, not a graduate In medicine, whose time is so thoroughly occupied occu-pied that he is unable to give individual attention to the patients, even were he professionally qualified qual-ified to perform such work. $5 fcjv &v There are no nurses and no attendants. Tho result is that this poor band of halt, be-speckled and blind are practically isolated and unpiotectod and each patient is dependent upon the charity VIEW FROM REAR OF PEST HOUSE, SHOWING ACCUMULATED DEBRIS. and good offices of his fellow sufferers. Beside the stewar , the only functuary. in the den of horrors hor-rors is the cook, who is assisted in his culinary work by the patients. "It is necessary," said one of the smallpox victims vic-tims recently, "for all the patients to bathe in oil or a carbolic acid solution, and each time a new arrival comes, one or two of the old patients perform this work for him. The new arrival in turn treats the later arrivals in a similar way. Besides Be-sides this, we are not allowed to wash with water, and when we have to perform the work of nurses, you can imagine what the state of affairs is. Besides Be-sides this, all the work, with the exception of cooking, is done by the patients themselves, and some of them are so ill and weakened that they are unable to leave their rooms. Thirteen men occupy bunks in the same apartment, and the ones most seriously afflicted are taken care of by the others." yV V V The outhouses are located forty or fifty yards from the house, and frequently at midnight, in the face of blinding snow or icy breezes, some poor tottering and weakened sufferer struggles out into the darkness. If he is too weak for the task, his fellow patients, themselves weak and decrepit, perform the duties of nurses. & & & Ordinary humanity demands that something be done at once for the relief of the denizens of this pestiferous bastile of affliction. The action of the board of health will be awaited with interest. in-terest. If they are handicapped by lack of funds, or if they are grossly incompetent or negligent, the fact should be publicly known. The statements herein made can be verified by any philanthropic citizen who will visit this band of men hemmed in . clay walls and quarantine quar-antine enactments. He will find them behind glar-. glar-. . ing walls and bleak vistas of debris, with such comforts as would convert robust manhood into senility. To the city fathers we would recommend that the culpable officials who are responsible for this deplorable condition be promptly and adequately dealt with. Provide these sufferers with nurses, and doctors. Build a new pest house and wipe away this ignominious disgrace. |
