Note 18 — VIII THE NEW FOURTH

I may here say, in passing, that our Police Commissioner, recognising the humane necessity of properly safeguarding the sick, sent out officers with orders to prevent disturbances in the vicinity of hospitals. Thanks to his action, the city’s sick had a day of comparative peace, and the reports which I received that night were unanimous in stating that the hospitals had never had such a quiet Fourth. A letter written by Mother Celso, Mother-Superior of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, will show how gratefully General Bingham’s thoughtfulness was appreciated: “It seems as if we were in Paradise. The patients, the doctors, and the sisters all appreciate the quietness of the day.”