CORTLAND HOSPITAL DEDICATED

Cortland Hospital.

Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, March 28, 1895.

THE CORTLAND HOSPITAL

WAS DEDICATED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, AT 4 O'CLOCK.

Addresses by the Pastors—Great Crowd Present—Splendid Supper Served—Snug Sum Netted.

   The Cortland hospital is no longer a myth, but a reality; it is no longer in prospect, but is actually in existence. For years the ladies have been working toward an end and that end was consummated yesterday by the dedication of the hospital building up on North Main-st. The dedicatory exercises were held in the entrance hall at 4 o'clock, brief addresses being delivered from the stairway. The house was thronged and standing space was at a premium in every room within sound of the voices of the speakers. Rev. J. A. Robertson acted as chairman. In opening, among other things he said that we had met on what every citizen of Cortland believes to be a happy and important occasion, to dedicate a building for the relief of the suffering by the hands of Christians. The movement was made by Christians and will be continued by Christian benevolence. He spoke of Christ's aid to the suffering and showed the wonderful advancement of hospitals during the past fifty years, especially in London and New York, and how this village had kept pace with the movement. He said that it had been started by the King's Daughters and closed by exhorting all to assist in its support.

   Dr. H. A. Cordo was the next speaker. He said in part that the Christian religion was in every philanthropic output. He spoke of institutional churches, but thought that we could do such work better by having the various Christian churches unite rather than have one church. He said he was glad to extend the congratulations of the people he represented to the hospital association. It was the commendable spirit of sympathy which had made the hospital what it is. We were all thankful for the hospital location, and he hoped the people of Cortland would not fail to carry on the work which had been begun.

   In his own inimitable manner Rev. George H. Brigham made a brief and witty speech. He said that none of us wanted to come to the hospital as patients, but it was very pleasant to be here this afternoon. He said that he never appreciated the word hospitality till this afternoon, that the hospital is for those from whom no hospitality is expected in return, that the sunshine should enter the hospital in the shape of love, warm hearts and sympathy or it would be as cold as a dungeon and that we ought to pledge ourselves to the maintenance of the association.

   Rev. W. H. Pound said that the hospital was for the welfare of a county such as ours, that we are proud of our churches, schools and other organizations but he believed that the hospital stood first. He extended congratulation from the people whom he represented, that the age of experiment had passed, and he was glad of the strong charitable impulse, the signs of onward Christianity and that it was essential that not only a few but all should have the impulse and feeling of pride and responsibility in everything and should call it blessed in our midst.

   Rev. L. H. Pearce of the First M. E. church offered his heartiest congratulations and good wishes for the institution and said that his contribution would be a story, which proved to be very interesting and touching. He gave a word picture of a single day of his experience in a hospital in Egypt, where he was quite ill.

   Rev. Charles E. Hamilton said that he realized the progress in Cortland, as he had lived here longer than at any place. He was particularly conscious of the moral improvements. He had known what illness is, away from home, and he hailed with delight this institution, not only on behalf of the people whom he represented, but on behalf of some families, where the father had died there, and on behalf of other families, members of which had themselves been inmates of hospitals.

   Rev. H. W. Carr begun with a funny story and followed by saying that he was glad to see so many here, that all expressed their sympathy with the movement and all ought to feel way down deep in their pocket, that this home was not like a city hospital.

   The exercises closed with a fervent dedicatory prayer by Rev. J. L. Robertson.

   Supper was all ready at the close of the speaking and from 5:15 until about 8:30 there was a constant rush for seats at the tables. The diningroom and the operatingroom were used for this purpose and about fifty people at a time could be accommodated. It was believed to be the largest crowd of people ever served with supper in Cortland. And it was a splendid supper too. The receptionroom which leads to the diningroom was most of the time packed to its utmost capacity with a crowd that moved forward by inches toward the diningroom door. It required from a half hour to an hour to get into the diningroom after one had started in the receptionroom. Many went away without eating, leaving their money, but not being able to spend time to wait for an opportunity at the tables.

   The most of the guests made their way out of the diningroom by way of one of the rear stairways to the upper part of the house and spent a little time there in looking over the new hospital. Words of gratification were heard on all sides at the completeness of the arrangements of the rooms.

NOTES.

   Almost $200 were cleared from the supper. Nearly everything was contributed so that the outlay was small.

   The ladies desire us to express their most sincere thanks to every one who contributed food or money for the supper. The soliciting was done by so many different people and there are so many different lists of donations that it is impossible yet to give a complete list of the contributors. They ask us to say, however, that all of the coffee which was used was the gift of Palmer Brothers, the grocers.

   A complete description of the hospital was given in The STANDARD a few days ago, so that it will not be repeated here.

   The rooms were made doubly attractive last night by the many beautiful flowers which were generously offered by all the different florists in town.

   The first person in Cortland to set on foot the idea of this building being used for hospital purposes was Mr. Lewis Davis of the firm of Davis, Jenkins & Hakes, real estate and insurance agents. The place had been put in the hands of this firm to sell by the Syracuse owner. Last June the thought of its use for a hospital occurred to Mr. Davis and he at once suggested it to Mrs. Hyatt, president of the Hospital association. The property was then held at $8,000.  The association considered the matter and offered $6,000, which was finally accepted and the arrangements were completed through Mr. Davis' agency.

   The March blizzard which set in at about 7 o'clock last night filled all the trolley cars that passed the hospital. If the Traction company could have put on an extra car just then to run back and forth between the hospital and the switch on Main-st, it could have more than doubled its business, as many people started for home on foot after waiting a while for the cars which were running on the usual twenty-five minute time.

   The Hospital association is governed by the following officers and managers:

OFFICERS.

   Honorary President—Mrs. M. E. Dowd.

   President—Mrs. F. O. Hyatt.

   Vice-President—Mrs. Wm. H. Clark.

   Secretary—Mrs. F. J. Cheney.

   Treasurer—Mrs. A. Donnie Squires.

BOARD OF MANAGERS.

   First Baptist—Mrs. F. H. Cobb and Mrs. W. J. Perkins.

   Catholic—Mrs. Hugh Duffey and Mrs. L. J. Fitzgerald.

   Congregational—Mrs. A. E. Buck and Mrs. Samuel N. Holden.

   Episcopal—Mrs. M. E. Doud and Mrs. F. N. Harrington.

   Jewish—Mrs. I. Whiteson.

   Homer-ave. M. E.—Mrs. S. E. Curtis and Mrs. N. J. Peck.

   First M. E.—Mrs. H. L Gleason and Mrs. A. Donnie Squires.

   Presbyterian—Mrs. Wm. H. Clark and Mrs. Alice Ettling,

   Universalist—Mrs. F. J. Cheney and Mrs. Adaline Heath.

   Undenominational—Mrs. F. O. Hyatt.

   Homer—Mrs. Coleman Hitchcock and Mrs. W. H. Crane.

   McGrawville—Mrs. Albert P. McGraw.

   Marathon—Mrs. E. L. Adams.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

   Rev. J. A. Robinson, C. F. Wickwire, D. F. Wallace, E. H. Brewer, R. B. Smith, C. P. Walrad, Maj. A. Sager, G. W. Bradford and A. Mahan.

   The various committees are made up from the above officers.

1868 photo of railroad tunnel under Erie Canal at Syracuse, N. Y.

Railroad Tunnel Unsafe.

   Division Engineer W. H. H. Gere has reported that the tunnel of the New York Central railroad under the Erie canal in the eastern part of Syracuse is in an unsafe condition. It leaks water from the canal continuously, and Mr. Gere thinks it is likely to give out some time soon unless attended to. If this should occur, sixty miles of water, seventy feet wide and seven feet deep would be emptied into the city of Syracuse. The drainage is such, Mr. Gere says, that it could not run off without flooding the city and people would have to take to the third stories of their buildings. It seems probable that the Central people will make the necessary repairs at once and will build a new tunnel at the close of navigation next fall.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

The Railroad Revolution.

   Significant of one of the greatest industrial changes in the past 50 years was the recent appearance before the railroad committee of the Connecticut legislature of a delegation from the New York, New Haven and Hartford railway and the New York and New England railway. The representatives of these long distance steam roads appeared before the committee to protest against the granting of any more charters to trolley roads on lines paralleling their own.

   They said the cheap and convenient little trolley was destroying their traffic between stations. They gave figures showing the injury that had been wrought by the construction of trolley lines. Between Danbury and Bethel the steam roads had lost 75 per cent of all their business. Between Naugatuck and Waterbury they were losing $300 a month. From Meriden to Yalesville 90 per cent of their former passenger trade had gone to the trolley. These are only a few of the instances they cited.

    This is very unfortunate for the steam railroads that have already encountered such serious losses during the past year. But it will do them no good to try to stop the trolley lines. The only possible relief for them is to form companies of their own and build the trolley themselves, thus forestalling the rivalry.

Uniforming the Boys.

   Half a dozen years from now the 117,533 officers and men of the United States national guard will be much more soldierly and efficient as to drill than they are at present. The reason is by that time their ranks will be made up largely of brave and bright boys who learned the military drill in school. Certainly 100,000 boys in the public and private schools of the country are now practicing the military drill as an athletic exercise, and they could practice nothing better.

   Some tender-hearted souls fear that the military drill in public schools will foster the spirit of hate and bloodshed among the boys. They might as well say that the two buttons on the back of a man's coat at the waist foster the spirit of war and bloodshed, because those two buttons were formerly used to support a man's sword belt and have survived down to our day. The habit of order, discipline and prompt obedience as well as the invaluable results physically are testified to wherever the drill has been tried any length of time.

   There is one difficulty, and that is the expense of uniforming the young cadets. Undoubtedly this is more than many parents can bear. At the same time it breaks the heart and spirit of a boy in a way not pleasant to contemplate to find that he cannot join his comrades because of his poverty in dress. Some provision outside ought to be made for the boys' uniform. The teachers ought to see to it in a quiet way that the uniform is provided without wounding the delicacy of either child or parent. In every community are rich American citizens who would contribute a trifle for this purpose, or a school might give an entertainment whereby the funds could be raised.

"Cotton King" Next Wednesday.

   Manager Rood has booked for next Wednesday night, April 3, at the Opera House Sutton Vane's great melodrama "Cotton King," which has scored one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hits of the year. It was played for three months in New York and Boston, and is a little after the order of "In Old Kentucky," which so delighted a Cortland audience here a few weeks ago.

   While Sutton Vane has met all the requirements of modern melodrama, he has broken new ground by the presentation of a scene that rises immensely above the level of this class. Of course his hero is always constantly good and his villain is always constantly bad, but in the part of Schillinglaw he has drawn a human character in which the powers of good and evil are at work with that intensity and perseverance which makes the struggles of our dual nature. This is a portraiture which stands out of the play by its true strength. Shillinglaw needs money to get proper food and nursing for his wife and child sick with a malignant fever. These things the doctor says will cure her, and save their lives. In his hour of distress along comes the villain Stockley, who desires to encompass the death of Miss Hetty Drayson, and offers Shillinglaw a large sum of money if he will allow her to nurse the wife and child, and so catch the disease. After a great struggle, the better self of Shillinglaw triumphs, and he orders Miss Drayson out of his house and out of harm's way. This is but one of the splendidly drawn pictures of the play. It would take columns to undertake to describe them all.

LADIES' LITERARY CLUB.

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the Subject of Wednesday's Meeting.

   At the meeting of the Ladies' Literary club yesterday afternoon the study of Richard Henry Dana, Jr., proved a most interesting one. The program consisted of a biographical sketch given by Mrs. Mary F. Henry. This was given without notes which greatly added to the effect. A paper upon "Dana as an Author," was read by Mrs. M. M. Watrous; selections from "Two Years Before the Mast," by Mrs. Alice Bardwell; "Political Career," by Mrs. Mary M. Beach; selections from the "Oration on Edward Everett," by Mrs. Lydia H. Cheney.

   The committee are entitled [sic] to R. H. Dana of Cambridge, Mass., the sixth in a line of literary Danas, and the son-in-law of Henry W. Longfellow, for a copy of his address, Accompanying it was a letter written by the author from France in 1880 to Mrs. Edith Longfellow Dana. This charming letter was read by Miss Marguerite Force, and by its bright allusions and the depth of affection and family pride which it breathed throughout brought the meeting to a happy close.

The Traction Co's New Enterprise.

   The new express car which the Cortland & Homer Traction Co. put on its line last Monday is something which promises to be a great convenience for the public and ought in time to be a paying enterprise also. The new car was built by the Omnibus & Cab Co. and is a neat and substantial piece of work. The intention is to handle light express matter between the two villages promptly, expeditiously and at reasonable cost, and the business has been placed in charge of Mr. Frank E. Price, who recently closed out his mercantile business at Virgil and has moved with his family to Cortland, Mr. Price is taking hold of the matter energetically and vigorously, as he takes hold of business generally, and will see to it that nothing is lost through lack of push and persistency. Orders for the present may be left at the company's office in the Garrison building, and will be promptly attended to. After the McGrawville branch of the road is opened the business ought to receive a great impetus and come to be one of the established and popular features of the road.

How They Do It in Auburn.

   Up at Auburn they never think of sending for an expert to open a safe when the key has been lost. Frequent cases are on record when safes saved from fires have been opened by convicts from the prison. A gentleman died recently, leaving no clue as to the combination of his safe. His executors immediately sent for a well known safe cracker serving his term in the prison. The safe was one of the so-called "burglar proof" variety, but the convict thought that he could open it all right. He went to work and in twenty minutes, to the surprise of everybody, had the massive doors swinging on their hinges. He was sent back to the prison a happy man, with a couple of pounds of tobacco to solace his confinement.—Syracuse Standard.

The Good Government Club.

   The executive committee of the Cortland Good Government club met and organized last evening. Several important sub-committees were appointed, a line of action was marked out, and it was decided to proceed in the direction of enforcing the law against the sale of intoxicating liquors with all possible speed. Instructions were given a special committee to take legal counsel as to the best manner of carrying out the plan of campaign which was agreed upon, and to report at an adjourned meeting of the executive committee which will be held before the close of the week. The prospect now is that fire will soon be opened on illegal liquor selling both by the village board and the Good Government club.

PUNISH THE CRIMINALS.

Taxpayer Gives Cortland County a Very Bad Name.

   To the Editor of the Standard:

   SIR—I notice from articles published in several papers that the people are becoming uneasy over the murder of Patrick Quinlan, and suggest that a reward be offered by the county for the arrest and correction of the murderer or murderers. Would it not be well for the board of supervisors to increase the salary of our district attorney to a reasonable amount, so he can give his full time to the duties of the office? There has been a long list of crimes in Cortland county within the past few years where the guilty parties have not been punished. A man raised a check and secured several hundred dollars from one of the banks, and it was settled by his returning the money stolen. A pair of horses was stolen and taken to the headquarters of a gang of thieves in Cortland county where it was decided that they were of too little value to pay the risk, and they were turned loose and the thieves paid ten dollars to settle for the theft. Two houses were broken open and pillaged and the thieves settled by returning the property stolen. A large amount of honey was stolen and the men settled by paying a little more than the value of the honey taken. A boy was robbed in the streets and the thieves settled for the money stolen. A member of a gang of thieves forged some papers and when he found he was caught took up his residence in another place and there is nothing done. Such a course is putting a premium upon crime. It is not strange then that a man should be murdered in cold blood and no effort should be made to punish the guilty parties. If we sow the wind we must expect to reap the whirlwind. It is not the officers of the county that are alone to blame. People of good standing in society have helped to cover up crime, to the personal knowledge of the writer, and if such a course is continued, a man's life in Cortland county will be of but little value.

   Would it not, I repeat, be well to pay the district attorney a reasonable salary so he will not be obliged to neglect the duties of his office to earn his daily bread? He could then give his full time to the interest of the county and to some extent protect our lives and our property, letting those that compound the felonies by settling with the guilty parties feel the strong arm of the law, and not let a wicked gang of thieves have their headquarters in Cortland county, as has been the case for several years past. There is a good deal of work for a district attorney in Cortland county at the present time. The fields are ripe for the harvest.

   TAXPAYER.

   Homer, March 25, 1895.

BREVITIES.

   —The Y. M. C. A. bookkeeping class will not meet this week.

   —The Y. M. C. A. mechanical drawing class ceased its meetings last night until next fail.

   —Superintendent F. A. Bickford is re-wiring the engine house to facilitate testing for breaks, etc., in the fire alarm system.

   —Lincoln lodge, I. O. G. T., will hold a maple sugar sociable in their rooms over Baker & Angell's shoe store tonight. All are invited,

   —A teachers' institute has been appointed to meet in the Normal building May 20. It will be under the direction of Conductors Sanford and Downing.

   —Mr. Ainsworth's bill has passed the assembly providing for the study in public schools of the nature and effects of alcoholic drinks upon the human system.

   —The regular monthly meeting of the board of managers of the hospital association will be held at the new hospital Monday afternoon, April 1, at 3 o'clock. A full attendance is desired.

   —There is a rumor in town that Mr. G. E. Rowley is about to have a bill introduced in the legislature to change the name of Cortland to Higginsville. Mr. Rowley neither confirms nor denies the report.

   —A regular meeting of the W. C. T. U. will be held at their rooms on Saturday, March 30. Consecration service will begin at 3:30 P. M. Members are requested to bring items of interest for the after meeting.

   —Passenger traffic on the Erie and Lackawanna is picking up, a sure indication of business revival. Railroads are the last to succumb to a business depression and usually the last to recover.—Binghamton Republican.

   —A peculiar freak of nature has made its appearance at the farm of Eugene Carroll of West Chenango. Broome Co. It is an animal having the bead of and looking precisely like a calf, but covered with the wool of a black sheep. This lusus naturae is exciting much curiosity.

   —Messrs. J. H. Cole, Henry Wayle, A. T. Niver, and C. B. Griffin of this place were indicted by the grand jury last week on the charge of selling liquor without a license, and to-day each one has given bail at Ithaca for his appearance at the next term of court.—Dryden Herald.