JMEUTARY. movements ana manceuvres ili Hongkew which reduced the'number of private patients, "and the treatment of an unusually large number of beggars at a large' financial loss. to the institution and physical suffering to the staff are two important facts mentioned in the annual report of St. Luke's Hospital for Chinese during the year 1936 as presented by Mr. J. M. Wilson, Superintendent, Reference is also made to medical treatment for young Chinese apprentices and the remark is made: "It is seldom that the owners: will pay anything for these little boys as they frankly say they can get plenty more if the little fellows die."
This does not apply to the generality of Chinese employers, many of whom undertake the medical treatment of their injured employees and also gener ously subscribe to the hospital's funds, The report slat The year 1936 was a hard year Anaeially, as it was a year when we received fewer private room patients than for many years. This was caused Jargely by the presence of foreign troops in the Hongkew dis trict and the frequent passing of armoured cars, tanks and" machine uns mounted "on motor cycles. Pa-fients who could pay went elsewhere and several moved out, as they feared that they might be caught in another 1932 experience.
Somehow, the Shanghai police have been very energetic in gathering up the beggars of the-city and bringing, many of them to St, Luke's. Some of them were the most pitiful masses of ith "imaginable, of they. had been pulled" through a sewer they could not have been dirtier oF more ill-smelling. "Many were covered with body sores and lice. Great credit Is due our nursing star who have cleaned these beggars tip when the odours were enough to sicken them. In spite of precautions several nurses contracted relapsing fever from the Body lice and bed bugs removed from these people, These beggars, with other injured and sick people ought in by the police alone, have cost St, Luke's Hospital $52,146.60 in 1990, Of this amount the Municipal Council gave us a grant-ingald of $28,000 and we were able to collect from a few of the patients or motor car owners $5,082.44, leaving a total loss to the hospital of $19,098.16, Chinese Apprentices In addition to patients brought in by the police "St. Luke's Hospital Mayo 11,883 free tiospltal days to patients' who came in themselves or were brought in by friends and rela tives, This was done at a cost of $49,314.45, Many of these were little apprentices, who became sick oF wore Injured in the Shanghai indus ftrles, It is seldom that the owner will pay anything for these ttle boys, as they frankly say they can et plenty more If the blue fellows During, the year, with the assistance of the S.M.C. Industrial Section some of us visited a number of Shanghai industries where these tittle apprentices work, We went with our young doctors and Internes to see where our patients come from and (o dnd the causes of their dis eases. Conditions were. worse than we thought possible! In fact while they continue, mach of our healing work Is like going around in a eivele-'We heal the little apprentices simply send them bade to conditions where their trouble will be repeated, From 90 to 95 per cent, of the work these industries is done by chile ren between the ages of 10 and 16. The girls are paid a.small sum and do not live in the plants. They seem Vetter off than the lillie boys, who receive only. their food and a space ina loft In which to sleep, Most of the food is contracted to the lowest bidder and ts insuMcient to prevent the workers from developing berlberi, They sleep on the floor of the Jofls above the shops so thick that the fect of one are in she face of the next child. Of course these lofts fore well supplied with rats, bed bugs and lice. Our doctors found that a very large percentage were develop-Inge beri-beri, that where they were working with lead, they were contructing lead poisoning, with brass, brass poisoning, etc, Some of us have read in the Seplember number of "fortune" of the bad condition of the workers in Japanese industries, These condi tions would be like "heaven compared to the conditions of the little apprentices In the International Con cession of Shanghai:
S.C, Industrial Section We know that the. S.M.C, Indus rela! Section are doing what they can by trying to educate factory owners and persuade them to im= prove these conditions, "Their cooperation with the Hospital we find 4 great help, but we understand that they have little power to force an improvement. It is not only going take education and persuasion with these owners, but laws and laws enforced with "teeth" in them, 'We hope our readers will not think' from the above remarks that li Industries in Shanghai under pay and mistreat their labourers, for this not true, Many industries, Chi~ nese and foreign, are concerned about the health and welfare of their employees and also gladly donate to
Shanghai regularly. names of this hospital, or other hospitals quite, a number of them are shown In our subscribers' lst, The pity of it is that often these Sndustries have to compete in price with those who live. on the life blood of these little helpless apprentices.
This year makes the 70th year that St> Luke's Hospital has served the city of Shanghai, During all these years the American Episcopal Church has carried the burden of a large part of the budget of the hospital jand, by continuing the support of our' foreign staff, they still continue to pay a considerable proportion of the total expenses of the work. We estimate that over this long period fof time the home church has coneibuted nearly million Mex, dollars to St, Luke's and, when we consider that "this money "has been given by people who are half way around the world and not in daily contact with the suffering of Shanghai, we feel that thede gures show a consistent generosity which Shanghai should Appreciate, We also wish to. think our many Shanghai friends whose help and contributions have enabled the hospital to carry on in good years and bad years—amid peace and war abundance and depression,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.