Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library iEx ICtbrtB SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this hook Because it has heen said " Ever' thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned hook." A PLEA FOR HOSPITALS. The direct object of this pamphlet is to demonstrate the necessity for a new Hospital in the city of New- York. To show the inadequacy of the present modes of available relief, when compared with the increasing amount of sickness among the poor of the city, and also, to show by comparative sta- tistics of other cities, both European and American, how much we are wanting in those provisions of relief which are called for by the necessities, wants, and sufferings of the sick poor. In whatever point of view we look at the subject, whether as Christians, philanthropists, or in the strictest sense as political economists, the necessity of more Hospital accommodation appears. In all the calls of humanity, in distress, whether at home or abroad, whether caused by " war, pestilence or famine," the citizens of New-York have attained an honored pre-eminence in being ever ready, and ever willing to furnish the means of alleviating such sufferings ; and it is confidently believed that the want which is now urged, has only to be known and un- derstood to be provided for in the most liberal manner. A stranger or casual observer, in viewing those noble struc- tures, — noble in themselves and doubly so in the purposes for which they are used, — the New-York Hospital and the Bellevue Hospital, in passing through the wards and noticing the extent of accommodation for the sick and suffering, might at first suppose the city abundantly supplied with such provisions. But when an analytical examination of these institutions and their means of relief is made, it only shows by the invaluable ministrations of good which they bestow on a certain portion of the suffering poor, the great want of more relief of a similar kind. The Bellevue Hospital is devoted entirely to the sick paupers of the city, and at present, although having in constant use 550 beds, is inadequate to supply the wants of that class in society ; and the last report of the Warden strenuously urges, from various considerations, the adding of another story to the present building, in order to meet the increase in its sole beneficiaries, the pauper population of the city. The New-York Hospital has 350 beds, which have during the past year been occupied by 3296 patients, who have re- ceived the benefits of the institution. As is shown by the last report of the Governors of this Insti- tution, there have been under treatment — 1245 Seamen, 544 Pay Patients, 1507 Paupers. 3296 The time has been occupied by the several classes of pa- tients in the following proportions : — 39 x 2 6 8 o per cent. Seamen, 19 T ^ 7 o " Pay Patients, 41-A/V " Paupers. It will be seen that a large portion of the beneficiaries of this Institution have been Seamen, whose expenses are paid by the United States Government, from the avails of the Hospital tax, which is gathered from Seamen and Shipmasters ; thus leaving for the general purposes of the Hospital only about sixty per cent., and it is a fact well known to every physician, and many of our citizens, that during the past year many proper Hospital applicants have been reluctantly turned away for lack of suitable accommodation, and many more are deterred from making application by the knowledge of this 3 fact. Another fact worthy of notice is embodied in the fol- lowing quotation from the Report of the Governors. " Among the deaths are included 122 casualties, and other cases of sudden death falling under the charge of the Coroner, which terminated fatally soon after being brought to the Hospital, being 6 more than in the last, and more than double the number of such cases that have occurred in any other preceding year. Such cases requiring immediate medical or surgical aid for any hope of relief, are received without reference to the pro- bability of cure ; otherwise no patients are received whose cases do not appear to the Physicians or Surgeons, to admit some pro- bability of cure, or of substantial though temporary relief." St. Vincent's Hospital contains 40 beds. Thus the inadequateness of these, the sole provisions, to meet the wants of a city with a population of more than half a million, and, including adjacent cities, nearly three-quarters of a million, is strikingly manifest, and the surprise and wonder is that the evil has not long before this been remedied. In a startling manner, simply by reference to Hospital Sta- tistics taken from other cities, may our own wants be shown. In New Orleans they have three large Hospitals ; Charity Hospital, Maison de Sante, and the Marine Hospital. The Charity Hospital was built at an expense of $150,000, and is capable of accommodating 500 inmates. It is under the charge of the ablest Medical Faculty in the city, and has the assistance of the Sisters of Charity, as nurses to the sick, who cannot be excelled in kindness and careful attention. It has in the course of a single year, when the yellow fever was not epidemic and there was no cholera, admitted nearly 6000 patients. The onty passport required for admission to the best attendance is sickness or an injury. The Maison de Sante was completed and opened in the year 1839. It will accommodate 200 patients, and is designed chiefly for strangers and others who are able to meet the actual expenses of their sickness. The Marine Hospital was built at an expense of $130,000 and will accommodate about 300 patients. As its name indi- 4 cates, it is intended exclusively for sailors ; but being ample in its accommodations, it precludes any necessity, as with us, for that class filling the beds and wards of the other public Hospitals. In addition to these, there are several private Hospitals, which, however, do not properly come under our notice. Thus it appears that New Orleans, with about one-third the population of New-York, is vastly its superior in Hospital ac- commodations, it having, exclusive of the United States Ma- rine Hospital, which corresponds to the one on Staten Island, about the same available number of beds ; — thus leaving the number of Hospital beds, in proportion to the population, at about three to one in favor of New Orleans. In Philadelphia, the Hospital accommodations are no better than our own ; but an effort is now being made, with every prospect of success, through the liberality of some of its wealthy citizens, to build a new and large Charity Hospital in that city, which will make the proportion largely against us as compared with their population. In Boston they have the South Boston Hospital, with about 400 beds, which corresponds to the Bellevue in this city, being a part of the Alms House department, and the Massachusetts General Hospital, which has about 250 charity beds, thus giving them much better Hospital accommodation, in proportion to their need and their population, than New- York. The citizens of Boston have evinced their interest in this subject, and shown their accustomed liberality by donations and bequests to the Massachusetts General Hospital, amounting to more than one million of dollars. There are also a large number of annual donors, who give one hundred dollars each to sustain free beds. In addition, for a permanent source of revenue, there are four chartered Life Insurance Companies, (the Massa- chusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, the State Mutual Life Insu- rance Company, and the Bowditch Mutual Life Assurance Company, and the Merrimac Manufacturing Company,) which are obliged, by the terms of their charters, to pay over to the 5 Trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital one-third of their net profits. Thus it will be seen, that in point of public and private munificence connected with their Hospital, and the Hospital accommodations themselves, Boston stands far ahead of any Northern city, and is very far in advance of New-York. The citizens of Albany, we are informed, have subscribed the sum of forty-five thousand dollars for the establishment of a Charity Hospital. "Let us not, however, confine our observations to the com- paring of ourselves with ourselves. A larger view may, per- haps, stir us up to a holy emulation in good works. Within the last few months, a volume of nearly 500 closely printed octavo pages has issued from the press, called ( The Charities of London,' containing a mere enumeration of the titles of the various institutions of that metropolis, which may legitimately be included under the name of charities, with such a succinct account of the design of each, and enumeration of its means of support and mode of management, as shall furnish aid to those who need information where and how to seek assistance. The total number of such institutions exceeds 1300, while be- tween 60 and 70 are specially devoted to the relief of the sick. There are no less than twelve general hospitals, many others being devoted to special diseases, as the Fever Hospital, those for Consumptives, and for Diseases of the Eye, &c, Sec. 11 In comparing the relative amount of provision made for the sick poor in London and in New- York, we ought to leave out of the account Bellevue Hospital, which is more than counterbalanced in London by the provision made by the poor laws for the treatment of the sick pauper, either at his own house, by medical officers appointed by the Board of Commissioners, or at the Union Workhouses, supported by the parish rates. We have in New-York, then, the New-York Hospital, with 250 beds (excluding the beds appropriated to seamen, paid for by the Q. S. Government out of the avails of the Hospital 6 money), and St. Vincent's Hospital, with 40 beds, to compare with the following Hospitals of London.* St. Bartholomew's Hospital, founded in 1102, A. D., has accommodations in its wards for 5S0 patients, who are all sup- ported by the funds of the Institution, and in the year 1848 received 5826 in-patients, 19,149 out-patients, and 46,598 casualties. It was originally founded by the minstrel of Henry L, and has an average income of .£32,000 per annum. St. Thomas's Hospital was founded in 1551, and has accom- modations for 428 beds. During the year 1849, 59,710 per- sons partook of its benefits, nearly 5000 of whom were in- patients. It has an income of £25,000. Westminster Hospital was founded in 1719. It has 174 beds, which are always full, and during the year 1849 received into its wards 1S91 patients, and dispensed advice and medi- cine to 13,479 at their own houses. It is supported by volun- tary contributions, and has an income of only £4,000 per annum. Guy's Hospital was founded at the sole cost and charges of Thomas Guy, Esq., in the year 1724. He expended .£18,000 on the building during his life, and endowed it with £219,000. A gentleman named Hunt, in the year 1829, added £200,000 to this endowment, so that its annual income varies from £25,000 to £30,000. It contains 5S0 beds, and has an average of 500 in-patients constantly in its wards. The entire annual average of patients reaches 50,000. St. George's Hospital was instituted in 1733, and is chiefly dependent on annual contributions, and is supported at an ex- pense of about £10,000 per annum. It has over 300 beds, and during the past year received into its wards 3643 patients, half of whom were from accidents. The London Hospital was instituted in 1740, and receives from 320 to 340 patients into its beds. In the year 1849 the total number of in-patients was 41S5, and out-patients 28,614. * Tins abstract of the London Charities and the passages quoted on the previous page, are taken from an eloqnent " Appeal on behalf of the Sick,'' in Philadelphia, understood to have been written by Dr. Caspar Morris. 7 It has an income of .£13,000 per annum, only .£2000 of which is from annual contributions. Middlesex Hospital was established about 1745, and con- tains 285 beds. It has an income of about .£10,000, above .£3000 of which is from annual subscribers. The annual aver- age number of in-patients during the past five years has been 2206, and out-patients 9316. Charing Cross Hospital was founded in 1818. It has about 120 beds, into which during the past year 1116 patients have been received. This institution is dependent on annual con- tributions, which do not exceed ,£2500. King's College Hospital was founded in 1833, and has 120 beds, into which, during the past year, it has received 1634 patients, and relieved 18,000 cases at their own dwellings. It has an annual income of .£5000, chiefly from present con- tributions. Marylebone and Paddington Hospital has been opened dur- ing the past year with 150 beds. The amount contributed to the present time is only sufficient to cover the cost of the build- ing, which has been .£30,000. It is worthy of observation, that these institutions have all been originated by private charity, and endowed or supported by 'private benevolence, with it is believed only one exception. Nor was it the charity of a distant age. The stream has va- ried in its fulness, but has never ceased to flow, furnishing, at the present time, permanent provision for the support in its Hospitals of no less than 3192 beds. While in our own city, in St. Vincents and the New- York Hospital (excluding those used by seamen at Government expense) only about 250 beds, and a large portion of these, as will be seen by the report of the Governors, are put down as paupers. As these London Hospitals are exclusive of the provisions made for sick pau- pers, the Bellevue Hospital, which is in reality but the sick ward of the Alms House, is not included in the comparative statistics of charity beds. Thus it appears that London, with a population of about two millions, has nearly 3200 charity beds, which are supported by private munificence (indepen- s dent of public provision for sick paupers), while New-York, with a population of half a million, has but 250 charity beds, and these nearly one half supported by a State Annuity and " pay patients." The proportion of population is as one to four, of Hospital accommodation, about one to thirteen. At first sight it may appear that this want of Hospitals is measurably supplied b}^ those noble institutions, the Dispen- saries in this chy. But the same duties are performed by the London Hospitals as by the Dispensaries here ; and even to a very much greater extent. Thus, during the past year, St. Bartholomew's Hospital has supplied medicine and attendance for 65,747 out patients. St. Thomas's Hospital, 54,000 Westminster Hospital, 13,479 Guy's Hospital. 45,000 London Hospital, 28,000 Middlesex Hospital, 9,316 King's College Hospital, 19,383 University College Hospital, 18,000 Total 249,925 During the same time the Northern Dispensary in this city has supplied medicine and attendance for 20,680. The New-York Dispensary, 40,835. The Eastern Dispensary, But more than with any other city do we suffer by a com- parison with Paris. The whole number of Hospitals under the care and direction of the Council General of Hospitals are thirty-six. There are nine General Hospitals destined for the reception of all classes, and both sexes above fifteen years of age. These contain 35S0 beds. The Special Hospitals are for accommodating patients la- boring under diseases which are of sufficiently frequent occur- rence to authorize the establishment of a special institution for their treatment, and for such as by their contagious nature should be kept separate and apart from others. There are ten of this description, five of them containing 2410 beds, for dis- 9 cases which are received in our General Hospitals. These nine General, and five Special Hospitals, are Charity Hospi- tals in the strictest sense of the word. In addition, there are twelve General Alms Houses (Hospices) established in differ- ent parts of the city, for the reception of old, indigent and in- curable persons of both sexes, and for orphans and foundlings, which are provided with infirmaries, to which surgeons and physicians belonging to the General Hospital service are at- tached. The following are the General Hospitals : Hotel Dieu, containing 800 beds. Hotel Dieu Annexe, " 100 La Charite, " 530 La Pitie, " 600 Hopital des Cliniques, " 150 Hopital Beaujon, " 500 Hopital Necker, " 500 St. Antoine, " 300 Hopital Cochin, " 100 3,580 The Special Hospitals are the Hopital St. Louis, containing 800 beds. Hopital Du Midi, " 450 Hopital Lourcine, " 200 Hopital des Enfans Malades, " 560 Hopital de la Maternite, " 400 Total, 2,410 Comparing New-York with Paris, the proportion of popula- tion is as one to two and five-tenths. Hospital accommodation one to twenty-four. There is also a Bureau de Bienfaisance, or Charity Office, under the management and direction of the Council General of the Hospital, for the purpose of visiting and assisting with medical advice, medicines, &c, all who are Note. — The information in regard to the Hospitals of Paris is drawn from the work of Dr. F. Campbell Stewart, (the accomplished physician to the Marine Hospi- tal on Staten Island) on the u Hospitals and Surgeons of Paris." 10 unable to leave their houses or unwilling to enter the Hospitals. The whole number of families who received assistance from this source during 1840 was more than 36,000, comprising up- wards of 80,000 persons, distributed in the following manner r No. of families, 36,057; men, 18,656 ; women, 31,697 ; boys, 17,723 ; girls, 16,823 ; total, 84,S99. The cost of the relief afforded is defrayed out of the Hos- pital fund. The revenues of these immense Hospitals and Charities are derived from various sources. A very large allowance (5,200,000 francs) is made to them by the chy. The depart- ment of the Seine, which embraces Paris and its environs, grants them 400,000 francs annually. All the theatres and places of public amusement are obliged to pay in 10 per cent, of their gross receipts to the Hospital fund. All the pawnbroking in Paris is conducted by agents of the Hospital administration, and the profits derived from this source go to the General Hos- pital fund. Articles pledged may be redeemed at any time within twelve months, on the payment of three-quarters per cent, a month on the amount advanced : if not called for by the expiration of the year, they are disposed of at public auc- tion, and the surplus over the amount advanced is retained, during three years, to the credit of the depositor ; if not with- drawn prior to the expiration of this term, the surplus is passed into the treasury of the Hospitals. Occasionally very large sums are derived from this source. The depositors receive pretty nearly the value of what they deposit (on gold and silver articles three-fourths, and on every thing else two-thirds of the value). The advances made on articles brought by poor people to be pawned, are not left in the hands of rapa- cious individuals, as is the case elsewhere. When unable to redeem what they have been obliged to part with, the poor have the satisfaction of knowing that whatever advanta es may accrue from the sale of their goods are indirectly received back by them, in going to the support of institutions, to which they have always access in sickness, or when overtaken by infirmities. 11 In addition the Hospitals receive annually large sums in do- nations and legacies. All the public Hospitals in Paris are so admirably conducted, and so abundantly supplied with every convenience and com- fort for the sick, that respectable individuals from the middle classes of society are frequently induced to resort to them in cases of sickness, both with a view to economy, and for the advantage of being well and properly attended during the continuance of their illness. No stigma whatever attaches to those who seek Hospital relief ; hence all classes of citizens who would not be properly attended at home, may with per- fect propriety do so, and they are often induced to avail them- selves of the rare advantages which they possess, in having access to such noble and liberally provided institutions. The manner in which thousands of the inhabitants of this city live, in a state of almost extreme poverty, their sole de- pendence being the pittance they are enabled to earn from day to day, furnishes a strong and overwhelming argument for more public provision for sickness and disease. This class, if in health, are barely able to eke out a half-starved existence, and when sickness comes, are without any of the absolute necessities of life. Thanks to the philanthropic exertions of Dr. James Stewart, we are enabled to present some facts in re- lation to the lowest class of the poor outside of the Alms House, the cellar population of the city. We are startled by the fact that we have in our midst a " Subterranean City, from whose damp and filthy portals ooze up the foul and poisonous miasma which continually pollutes the air, and sows the seeds of dis- ease broadcast among the inhabitants of the upper city." From investigations made by the Chief of Police, it is shown by actual census that nearly twenty thousand human beings live, eat and drink in cellars, and that the rate of dis- ea and mortality among this class is from 12 to 15 per cent, higher than among the poorest class living above ground. The wants of their condition in health call emphatically upon th philanthropic for relief, and when disease, and the worst of diseases, those generated by the noxious vapors of their 12 subterranean filth, come upon them, their condition is truly pitiable. We quote from the articles published in the Tribune during last summer by Dr. James Stewart (with his permis- sion), some account of these " Dens of Death." " The ceiling is often so low that a tall man cannot stand up- right with his hat on ; the main room has but one window, and that is often under a grate, and in such a position that it cannot be opened, thus leaving the door as the only place where fresh air can enter. In rainy and cold weather, and at night, the door must be closed, and then the half dozen victims inclosed must breathe over and over again the poisonous air, until they are themselves poisoned. The bedrooms are still worse places. These bedrooms are always in the rear, and very few of them have any opening except into the main room ; with- out air, without light, filled with damp vapor from the mil- dewed walls, and with vermin in ratio to the dirtiness of the inhabitants, they are the most repulsive holes that ever a hu- man being was forced to sleep in. " Imperfect drainage is often the cause of rilling these places, after a hard rain, with water, which lies under the floor until slow evaporation and absorption dissipate it. Among the sweet savors of these cellars may be mentioned the leakage of gas, the continued exhalations of the gutters, remnants of animal matter decaying in the streets, &c. " We know that in many of the dirtier streets the stench is always revolting to the wayfarer, who is accustomed to such localities, yet thousands of people dwell with their noses con- stantly at the level of the fetid gutter, and draw in at every breath a dose that would suffocate a less fastidious person. " Around the doors of many cellars you may see at any time when the weather is not too cold, swarms of children, whose appearance is the best argument that can be found in favor of public wash houses ; covered with rags, encased in a coat of dirt, that from long hardening has become a sort of water and fire-proof paint, their hair matted into one mass with grease and dust, their limbs distorted by disease or bruised and dis- figured by accident, constantly in contact with the more vicious 13 of the street roaming vagabonds of a larger growth, utterly- ignorant of such a place as school, perfectly oblivious of the use of the alphabet, they grow up in ignorance and wretched- ness to a future of vice and misery. ***** " The Boarding and Lodging Cellars are the last we shall mention. In several of these there are three classes of boarders taken ; the first class pay 37^ cents per week for board and lodging, having straw (loose upon the floor) to sleep upon, and being entitled to the first table : the second class pay 1S£ cents per week, sleep on the bare floor and eat at the second table : the third class pay nine cents per week, are turned out when there is a lack of lodging room, and eat at the third and last table. These cellars are generally bare of furniture except one or two benches and a large table. The marketing is done by the children, who are sent out to beg cold victuals, except in some instances where there are too many boarders to risk such a hazardous source of supply, and then the keeper of the cellar makes a special contract with three or four professional beggar women, who sell the product of their appeals in behalf of starving children and sick husbands, for a mere trifle. ***** 11 The lodging system in these places is, to spread along one side of the room a layer of straw, on which the first class boarders stretch themselves, lying generally very close to- gether; the next tier, on the bare floor, are the second class, and if the patronage be extensive, the whole floor outside the straw will be packed with these persons as closely as it is possible to make human beings lie. Should this class fill the room, the ninepenny vagabonds are unceremoniously thrust into the street, regardless of rain or snow, to crawl into alleys and under door-steps for the night. Thus packed, the room becomes in a few minutes filled with nitrogen and carbonic acid gas sufficient to poison a regiment. The door being barred and the windows closed, there is not the slightest chance for fresh air to get in, and the appearance of the wretches as they issue forth in the morning, shows plainly the effect of their dreadful confinement." 14 The effect of this kind of life is demonstrated in the increased amount of sickness and mortality in the city. The living in ordinary health in these places is revolting to human nature, and much more must be the case when the fermentations and emanations from the filth with which they are surrounded produce their legitimate result, disease. Then the sick and suffering in their damp and noisome cellars, destitute of pro- per medical assistance, destitute of any care, radiating conta- gion and extending disease by contact with those about them, linger along in their unrelieved agony, until a welcome death ends their sufferings, and the Potter's Field receives new ad- ditions to its crowded graves. Statistics show a terrible mortality among the children who exist in this unnatural state, their feeble constitutions not enured to these hardships. In the year 1848 the whole num- ber of deaths from diseases was 14,199, of which number 6,847 were children under five years of age, and in 1849 the number of deaths were 22,006, of which the number of chil- dren under five years was 9,057. The increase of mortality in the city, which for years has been steadily going on, presents in another view the great want of additional provision for the sick poor. From the Annual Reports of the City Inspector the follow- ing statistics on this point are gathered. 1 1835 the population was 270,689. Deaths 6,608—1 to 40.94. 1840 " " 312,710. " 7,868— 1 to 39.74. 1845 " " 371,220. " 9,8S6— 1 to 37.55. 1848 " " 412,155. " 14,199—1 to 29.03. 1849 " " 450,000. " 22,006 Less epidemic from Cholera, 6,579 15,427—1 to 29.81. lS50the population was 515,394. Deaths 16,978—1 to 30.35. Thus it may be seen that population has increased within the last twenty years about 50 per cent., and mortality in- creased proportionally about 75 per cent., while to meet this great increase from both sources, there has been hardly any 15 increase of public accommodations for the sick poor of the city. It is hardly deemed necessary to undertake an elaborate statement showing the utility and worth of Hospitals. From the fourth century to the present time, they have kept pace with and been the proudest monuments of civilization. They stand in European countries crowned with the blessings of generation after generation, as each in their turn have visited them for relief, and any man whose heart beats with sympathy for the woes of his fellow man, will place these unostentatious buildings far above the sumptuousness of palaces, the stateli- ness of temples, or any monuments of ancient grandeur upon which his eye may rest. A Charity Hospital is a child, a favorite child of the most enlightened Christian philanthropy, its only end and aim to help in accomplishing one of the prin- cipal missions of the Son of God himself, — the healing of the sick. It tends to a decrease of mortality in removing the des- titute sick, some from those loathsome pestilential cellar houses in which so many are compelled to live ; others from places, which when in health they are enabled to make comfortable, but which sickness and want have reduced to a pallet of straw, to a place where all the comforts of kind and careful nursing, all the skill and advantage that medicine can afford, are found, which often will save them from death. Who can calculate the amount of pain and anguish which Hospital attentions, even in our own city, have assuaged, and who will not lend a helping hand when increasing misery cries for more relief, whether it comes from the cheerless home of honest poverty, or the fetid haunts of degradation and vice. The establishment of a Charity Hospital would have a di- rect influence in diminishing vice. There are many families in the city who, industrious and provident, in health are ena- bled to support themselves by honest effort, but when sickness comes upon them, when the father, the mother, or the child, are struck down with disease, which demands the untiring at- tentions of the other members of the family, they are prevented from earning their daily subsistence. These are often led into 16 crime to gain a pittance to support their own, and the lives of their sick friends. Hundreds of cases can be adduced in our own city, where lack of bread, and fuel, and clothing, and money to pay for shelter, and a place to send their sick ones, have led women to prostitute themselves for the sake of pro- curing the means of relief for the bodily sufferings of a child or a parent ; — and having once tasted the cup of infamy, though with an aching heart, they begin the woes of a loath- some life, sinking deeper and deeper into pollution, until they end by swelling the moral sewer of prostitution and iniquity, running through the purlieus of the city. We could detail the circumstances in cases which have come under personal ob- servation, of those who have valued name and fame, and wished to be honest, but who could not bear the groans and anguish of sick parents, or sick children, without surrendering every thing to bring them relief ; — but they would be too revolt- ing, a reality of misery too painful to contemplate. It is the duty of those whom Providence has favored to at- tend to the wants of the destitute. The poorest class, those without any means of support, either in health or in sickness, the absolute paupers of a country, are always provided for by Government, and the burden of their support thrown upon society generally by means of involuntary taxation. The other class of the poor, those who in health are enabled to maintain themselves, but who in sickness are thrown upon the cold charity of the world, friendless and unknown, are the ones in whose behalf we mainly urge this appeal. There are many who feel that sentiment of independence and self-respect which shrinks from the mortification and debasement attendant upon seeking pauper relief, and thereby becoming a part of our city pauperage. These are the persons that shrink from an application to the Bellevue, yet gladly avail themselves of the privileges of the New-York Hospital ; and many others would avail themselves of this charity, were the accommoda- tion at all commensurate with the demand. Another class of the poor, who arc denied even the charity of the present Hospital, arc those alllicted with chronic or 17 incurable diseases. Out of the depth of this wretchedness a groan ascends to our ears, which, for the honor of our city, for the honor of humanity, calls loudly for relief. Must a sufferer, because his or her disease is incurable, be debarred the scanty Hospital charity that is allowed others among the sick poor? Is it not enough for him that death has set his seal upon his brow, — that the lamp of hope has given its last glimmer, — that the king of terrors has him fast fettered in his skeleton gripe? Is not all this enough, without having his anguish unassuaged, his imploring calls for relief unan- swered, when pain contracts his frame, distorts his members, and disease is feeding on his vitals ? This is a question we desire to carry home to the common humanity as well as the benevolence of mankind. If, within the whole range of objects claiming and calling for the charity of our citizens, one can be found more deserving than this, we have yet to learn what it is. Let then the citizens of New- York — world renowned for their charities and liberality — take heed of this great want ex- isting in our midst, and let it not go unrelieved ! There is a higher satisfaction in being the means of laying the arm of relief beneath the suffering sick ; in prolonging human existence by timely aid ; in meliorating the condition of the sick poor, by taking them from damp and miasmatic hovels and beds, to a place where sickness and pain and sor- row may be relieved, and perchance death warded ; than in the narrow, selfish circle which contents itself with gratifying the caprices of vanity or pride, and accompanies the human race only in their aggrandizement and revelries. From the couch of the sick, from the bed of the dying, from widows and orphans, amid pain and anguish and groans and tears, there will go up to the widow's and orphan's God, prayers and bless- ings for those who have been the instruments of their relief. From voices quivering in the shades of death, and from friends of the dying, who are saved from pauperage or vice, there will be breathed forth benisons of more worth than the world's chap- lets of fame, or notes of approbation. 2 18 The want of increased Hospital accommodation in this city is not, however, confined to those who are dependent on charity. It is also demanded for domestic servants, where medical attendance, medicines, and the best of nursing can be famished at a sum per week not exceeding the ordinary price of board for this class. We again extract from the " Appeal" already quoted from : — " Domestic servants often suffer exceedingly from the want of suitable accommodation for their relief in times of sickness. While some families make a point of retaining, and nursing them, when sick, many, with the best wishes, are quite una- ble to do so. But with few exceptions, even when they are kept at the houses of their employers, their hours of sickness are much less comfortable than they would be in a Hospital. Few families keep more than are absolutely necessary for the performance of the ordinary work of the household, and if not so closely crowded in lodging rooms as the laboring men, the difference is but slightly in their favor. When one is incapa- citated for duty, the share of labor commonly performed by that one falls upon the others, who are thus more than ordina- rily occupied in their several duties, while the invalid is left in the loneliness of an upper room, heated in summer by its prox- imity to the roof, and suffering in the winter from the want of any means of warming it. An occasional visit from the mis- tress of the house is all the assistance she can give ; and ser- vices reluctantly performed by those whose time and strength are already exhausted by duties made more onerous than usual by the necessity for the discharge of those of the sick, in addi- tion to their own, are all the attention received by the sufferer. If, as is very often the case, the consciousness of this induce the poor girl to seek for affectionate sympathy in the family of some parent or relative, or to procure attention in the house of some friend, the privilege is too often purchased at a sacrifice, which none but those who have witnessed it can estimate. In some close court, or some narrow street at best, every room and bed already occupied, the sick friend or child is received with a hearty welcome it is true; but it is a welcome which 19 cannot conceal the inconvenience to which it subjects the bene- factor. The necessaries of life procured with difficulty by constant toil, what can be spared to purchase the medicine and more expensive articles of diet appropriate for the sick ! Week after week, perhaps month after month, this discomfort is endured, the recovery of the sick retarded, and the well subjected to exposure, but too likely to terminate in additional sickness. How great would be the relief to sick and well alike, could the wards of a well ventilated Hospital, and the care of nurses devoted to the attendance upon the sick, as their only duty, be substituted for these slender accommodations. Let it no longer be the reproach of our city that for such none have cared. In view of these facts and considerations, the Trustees of the New- York Medical College are now making efforts to estab- lish a new Hospital in a quarter of the city where it is much needed, and they confidently appeal to their fellow-citizens, for their liberal aid and assistance. They feel that this ap- peal will not be unheeded, when the wants and necessities of the sick poor are known. A site has been selected, remote from either of the other Hospitals, on which it is proposed to erect a plain, economical, but commodious and well ventilated Hospital, which shall contain three hundred beds. In addi- tion it is proposed to adopt the plan of the London Hospitals, by furnishing medical advice, attendance and medicine for out-patients, and thus supplying the want of Dispensary relief in a large territory, east of Fourth Avenue and north of Four- teenth Street, now destitute of such relief. A very large and rapidly increasing population inhabit this territory, many of whom must belong to that class who are destitute of the means to pay a physician for professional services. A petition for assistance has been presented to the Legisla- ture of this State. A bill has passed the House of Assembly, granting the Trustees the power to establish such a Hospital, and appropriating ten thousand dollars for their aid. It now awaits the action of the Senate. The Trustees have also pe- » 20 titioned the Common Council of this city for the grant of two lots on which to erect the Hospital. The following outline of the plan of organization is respect- fully submitted to contributors : — Every annual subscriber of $100, shall be entitled to have one person constantly in the wards, on his or her recommen- dation. Each person subscribing the sum of $1000, shall be deemed a perpetual contributor, and be entitled, in addition to the privilege last mentioned, to designate by will, or in other legal manner, to whom the rights of contributorship shall descend. Every person contributing by will or donation the sum of $10,000, shall be entitled to confer such name as he shall ap- point upon a ward, which shall ever thereafter bear that de- signation. Any person contributing $30,000 or more, shall be entitled to confer such a name as he shall select on the Hospital. (The name of the donor would be preferred.) In case, however, there should be several subscribers of the sum last mentioned, the name of the Hospital shall be given to the largest subscri- ber, the names of the others to be given to the largest wards. This Hospital shall provide medical advice, medicine and nursing for the sick, either at their own houses, or in the wards of the Hospital. Any case of accidental injury shall be received gratuitously, if brought to the Hospital within twenty-four hours of the time at which the injury was received, and the case be considered by the House Surgeon or Physician, sufficiently severe to re- quire assistance. And all sick poor persons shall be admitted to partake of the benefits of the Institution, subject to the de- cision of the physician or surgeon in attendance and the Mana- gers who shall be there superintending the interests of the Institution. It may also be deemed advisable to make an arrangement on the plan of a Beneficial Society, by which the payment of a trifling sum weekly ivhilc in healthy w^ld yrocure a refuge in time of sickness. 21