Dr. John B. Hawes letter to Elizabeth C. Clarke - September 28, 1920
Transcript
[Dr. JOHN B. HAWES, 2ND letterhead] [September] 28, 1920. Mrs. Powhatan Clarke, Hotel Buckingham, St. Louis, [Missouri]. My dear Mrs. Clarke: I found your letter awaiting me on my return from a short vacation in the Canadian Woods and I hasten to reply. Dr. Paterson telephoned me that your son had passed away. I was greatly grieved but I must confess not surprised at the news as to me as well as to the other doctors who saw him it was only a question of a few weeks before this sad even would occur. He has given his life to his country just as much as if her were killed in battle. I consider it quite natural that you should feel as you do about Saranac Lake. On the other hand I am very sure that you would have felt just the same in regard to the Phillips House had he remained there and had he died there as you do about Saranac. Cases similar to that of your son are taken into the Philips House only by a special exemption of the rules and at my personal request and because I am a member of the staff of the Hospital. Such patients are supposed to remain there only a short time and cannot be allowed to remain there permanently. I had already been informed by the hospital authorities that a change of some kind by your son was necessary. However silly and foolish it may seem, not only were patients on the same floor objecting but the other doctors and nurses were feeling that the close proximity of a tuberculous patient in general ward was not a good thing. Had I not sent your son to Saranac, I firmly believe that you and your sister and countless of you friends would have asked the question
Transcript
address- [January] 3 [1921] My dear Dr. Hawes I wish to thank you for the affidavit, I enclose check for $765.00 the amount of your bill. I did not pay it before as it is such a large amount and I have been paying the bills as I can reach [ms illegible: 1 wd]. I was very much surprised and distressed to learn from your letter of [September] 28th of the attitude of the Phillips House toward my son and I am sorry you were were so unfair but to him and to me. You should not have insisted so in his going there in the beginning if you knew their attitude as it would have been were considered if you had told me of conditions there; I could have had the choice of taking him to a Catholic hospital as I wanted to in the beginning, as I knew they would not have turned and many to die
Details
| Title | Dr. John B. Hawes letter to Elizabeth C. Clarke - September 28, 1920 |
| Creator | Hawes, John B. |
| Source | Hawes, John B. Letter to Elizabeth C. Clarke. 28 September 1920. Clarke Family Manuscript Collection, 1540-1926. DOC MSS 30. Saint Louis University Library and Special Collections, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | Powhatan Hughes Clarke served with the 21st Aero Squadron and the Labor Bureau A.E.F. during World War I. He died from tuberculosis August 20, 1920. Clarke's mother, Elizabeth Clemens Clarke, corresponded with her son |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--Medical Care; World War, 1914-1918--Chemical Warfare; Gas; Tuberculosis; World War, 1914-1918--Aerial operations, American; World War, 1914-1918; War work-- Red Cross; World War, 1914-1918--Women |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Site Accession Number | DOC MSS 30 |
| Contributing Institution | Saint Louis University Library and Special Collections |
| Copy Request | Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Please contact the Saint Louis University Archives for details at 314-977-5516, or tachee@slu.edu. |
| Rights | Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Please contact the Saint Louis University Archives for details at 314-977-5516, or tachee@slu.edu. |
| Date Original | January 7, 1921 |
| Language | English |