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     The Meschianza in aid of the proposed McKinley Memorial Hospital for Philadelphia, Pa., was formally opened in the Academy of Music, November 11. The first of the series of entertainments was devoted to a portrayal of some phases of life in China. This was given under the patronage of the Chinese Minister, Wu Ting-Fang, LL.D.
     Judge Ashman presided at the opening entertainment, and before introducing the speakers made a brief address, in which he pointed out the need for the city of a pay hospital for contagious diseases. It was an axiom in medical science, he said, that the proper way to deal with disease was, if possible, to prevent its spread. When a child was attacked with diphtheria the house was quarantined, social and business intercourse was interdicted, and there was havoc in the household. There was prejudice in the minds of many parents against allowing their children to be removed to the Municipal Hospital, which was regarded as a “pest house.” The purpose of the McKinley Memorial Hospital, said Judge Ashman, “is to supply a place of refuge for our dear ones if they happened to be attacked by contagious disease. It is not a charity in the absolute sense, its main purpose being to afford a place where every comfort can be provided, the family being relieved from quarantine, and where the family physician can have free access to the patient.”
     Dr. John Madison Taylor spoke of “The William McKinley Hospital Association”; Dr. James Tyson, “The Needs of a Pay Hospital for Contagious Diseases”; Dr. James C. Wilson, “The Care of Contagious Diseases in Special Hospitals”; Dr. George M. Gould, “The Practising Physician and Care of Contagious Diseases”; Dr. John V. Shoemaker, “Contagious Diseases and the State.”
     Entertainments were continued throughout the week.