It was early in May when I returned to San Jose. No sooner had I
arrived than the chief of police telephoned me to come to his office at
my earliest convenience. This was by no means uncommon. Frequently
Chief Carroll had some one whom he preferred should have the benefits
of Beth-Adriel rather than be sentenced to a term in jail.
I hurried to town and was soon in conference with him concerning a
young woman that had arrived in San Jose that morning with a youth, who
was caught in the act of trying to secure lodging for her in a
disreputable house. Evidently it was her first incarceration behind
iron bars. When we approached her cell, we could hear her screaming and
crying with both fear and distress. Upon seeing me, she ceased
temporarily. I put my arm about her in tender pity and tried to say
words of comfort. The Chief had informed me that she had applied to the
health officer for medicine as soon as placed in a cell, her physical
condition being by no means good, in consequence of the sinful life she
had been living. I prevailed upon him to have her committed to
Beth-Adriel, where she was taken late that afternoon.
At the time we had a new matron, of whom I had heard through
correspondence with the board, but had only just met. My impression of
her was by no means satisfactory, nor was I wrong in my estimate, for
she telephoned to my lodgings to say that, on account of this poor
girl's physical condition, I should have to remove her _immediately_.
On receiving this word, I made application and obtained a pass from one
of the supervisors for her admission into the county hospital, and then
went to Beth-Adriel to convey her thither. Poor, poor child! That
matron had barely allowed her to sleep under the roof, and at daylight
had ordered her out on to the back porch and there had given her her
breakfast in discarded dishes. In fact, the matron treated her as
though she had leprosy or smallpox. By the grace of God I kept silence,
but resolved what should be done when the board convened the following
week.
I left Martie at the hospital, only to receive word before the day was
over that I had made another mistake, that they did not take cases like
hers. "What is a county hospital for?" I inquired of the one who was
talking to me over the telephone. Answer: "Mrs. Roberts, were we to
take in those kind of cases [venereal] there wouldn't be a building in
California large enough to receive them. We're sorry, but _she must_ be
removed from here." However, as it was late, they isolated her for me
until the morning. In the meanwhile I again conferred with the chief of
police, and also I received a severe reproof from the supervisor for
not informing him of the nature of poor Martie's complaint.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account