I will advise you further that no frame buildings can be erected within the city of Chicago for hospital or similar purposes. We require exterior brick walls for buildings of two stories or less in height, and any structure above this height must be of fireproof construction.

The reason a superior form of construction is required for hospital buildings is on account of the helpless state of the occupancy, as the greater number of occupants would be unable to leave the building without assistance. Respectfully submitted.

CHARLES BOSTROM, Commissioner of Buildings.

My argument further against the use of the Fort Sheridan buildings is this: The construction department interjected what they thought was a pretty good reason for prevention of fire, and that is their wall, their fire wall, and their fire stops. I am not a building constructionist. I just have a little knowledge of building. I think if I were going to put up a home or a garage, I would supervise its construction, and I would not erect it on stitlts, and I would know, as far as a fire wall is concerned, that if the underpinnings of the wing of this building that is adjacent to the fire wall were to burn away, that wing would drop and pull with it the fire wall. That was my argument against the fire wall as regards safety. I could not see wherein there was any common-sense reason for that fire wall being a means of safeguard. Then, too, supposing the underpinnings did not burn away and fire started on the second floor or the first floor. The rush of that flame would overleap that fire wall and ignite on the other side. That did not give us any assurance that the building was safe.

Senator HARDWICK. Let me ask a question there, madam. You seem to be interested in the hospital situation. Do you know anything about this so-called Speedway project?

Mrs. SEVEY. No, sir; I do not even know where Maywood is. I have never laid my eyes on the Speedway hospital.

Senator HARDWICK. What you are advocating is the general principle of having fireproof hospitals?

Mrs. SEVEY. I advocate a safe hospital-the safest we can furnish to the men that fought for a safe democracy.

Senator HARDWICK. Even if it costs a little more?

Mrs. SEVEY. I was on the Woman's Liberty Loan Committee in Chicago, occupying the position of vice chairman of the Women's Liberty Loan Committee. I put 20 hours a day into my work as a volunteer worker during the third and fourth liberty loans. My department, over which I had the honor of presiding, was responsible for $16,000,000 worth of liberty bonds sold. I will go out and work 20 hours a day for the next 10 years if the Lord will be good enough to allow me to live that long to provide safe places for our boys. I think the people of this country have come to the front beautifully. They have not questioned. All they want to do is to have safe places for our men.

Senator HARDWICK. I say, you would provide safe places for them. even it cost a little more than these temporary structures?

Mrs. SEVEY. I would.

Senator HARDWICK. You would not hestitate on that account?
Mrs. SEVEY. Not at all.

Senator TRAMMELL. Was it claimed on the part of any of the representatives of the War Department that they had certain portions of these hospital facilities there that were fireproof, or not?

Mrs. SEVEY. No, sir; they claimed that they were fire safe. Senator TRAMMELL. The reason I asked that question was that there was some statement made here in regard to that. remember just who made the statement.

Mrs. SEVEY. They claimed that they were fire safe.

I do not

Senator TRAMMELL. Did they claim, in discussing the matter with your committee, that they thought they had sufficient quarters for those who were more incapacitated to occupy that were fire safe? Was that their contention?

Mrs. SEVEY. I do not think, sir, that I quite get your meaning.

Senator TRAMMELL. I say, did they claim that they had sufficient quarters there to take care of those that were more incapacitated to make them safe, and that they would put the wounded and the sick that were able to get out in these more inflammable buildings? Did they make a contention of that kind?

Mrs. SEVEY. Nor, sir; they did not; but Maj. Billings, in Surg. Gen. Irelands's office, made this statement to counteract the position that we had taken against putting wounded men in these buildings. He said that he would much rather have wounded men in these buildings than men ill from pneumonia. I assume from that that the change of atmosphere and the change in temperature in taking the men out if they were pneumonia patients would be equally as bad as the chances for wounded men to get out. Does that answer your question?

Senator TRAMMELL. Some one here stated that they had sufficient space there in fire-safe buildings, probably, as the language was used, to take care of those that were not able to make exit themselves in case of a fire, and that those that were able to get out would be housed in the other buildings.

Mrs. SEVEY. But the buildings are all joined together by ramps; and if one part of the building should ignite it does not seem likely, from what the commissioner of buildings says in this letter, that there would be any chance to save any of the other buildings; so I can not see wherein any of the men might be safe that are in any part of these inflammable buildings.

Senator TRAMMELL. I do not know myself. I based my question upon some other statement that has been made here by a witness whom I do not remember. I do not remember just who it was that made the statement.

Mrs. SEVEY. It does not take the view point of an expert to decide upon a building as being a very unsafe place to house sick or wounded

men.

Senator HARDWICK. Did I understand you to say that you came down to Washington with this committee of ladies?

Mrs. SEVEY. This previous time?

Senator HARDWICK. Yes.

Mrs. SEVEY. Yes; I did. I was coming East on personal matters, and when Mrs. Fisher asked me to come with her committee I told her I was coming East, and that I would be very glad to give my services, and I offered also to pay my own way. In fact, I insisted, but she would not hear to it, because she said it was a committee formed by the Women's Press; that the Women's Press was going to fight this.

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Senator HARDWICK. And the ladies were getting up contributions to defray these expenses?

Mrs. SEVEY. I do not know; I did not defray any part of my expenses, except added matters.

Senator HARDWICK. Mrs. Fisher provided for it?

Mrs. SEVEY. Mrs. Fisher provided it.

Senator HARDWICK. Now, let me ask you this question: Did you have any unpleasant experiences in Washington about agents of the Department of Justice or anybody else questioning your motives? Mr. SEVEY. No; I did not.

Senator HARDWICK. You heard Mrs. Fisher's statement about that?
Mrs. SEVEY. But they did not come to me that I know of.
Senator HARDWICK. They did not come to you?

Mrs. SEVEY. No. There were newspapers that called me up and asked me concerning our errand here and our motives, and I declined to answer each time. I said if there was any information to go to the newspapers it should go from the Secretary of War; that we had come down here to see the Secretary of War, and if he wished to state our errand he was at liberty to do so; I had nothing to say.

Senator HARDWICK. Very well. Gentlemen, are there any questions to be asked this lady?

Mr. BENNET. Just one question. You seem to be, if you will permit me, a woman of a rather practical turn of mind. Are you connected with any business?

Mrs. SEVEY. I am, in the sense that I look after my family's affairs in the absence of the men at war.

Mr. BENNET. Does that include building or business?

Mrs. SEVEY. It is a business.

Mr. BENNET. What is the business?

Mrs. SEVEY. The supply business. It is not in the State of Illinois, however.

Mr. BENNET. How many persons do you employ!

Mrs. SEVEY. We have from time to time anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men.

Mr. BENNET. Do you have anything like general supervision, executive administration of the business?

Mrs. SEVEY. NO; I just sign the pay roll and look over the accounts and receive an occasional dividend check; that is all.

Mr. BENNET. You never tried touching a match to that rosin in that piece of wood, that fir that you showed the committee? You do not know what the result would be if you should touch a match to it?

Mrs. SEVEY. Why, it would ignite, of course. All over that building, before the paint was put on, I happened to lean up against the building, and I spoiled a perfectly good suit by leaning against that building, getting rosin on my coat, and my gloves were covered with rosin which oozed out from the lumber. I avoided it afterwards.

Mr. BENNET. What did you say to the Surgeon General when he made the rather naive suggestion that he would not put any Chicago boys in that structure?

Mrs. SEVEY. Of course, that was rediculous, you know, to safe guard only Chicago boys. Maybe the other fellow from down at Podunk, Ill., might have put up the best fight. Why not give the fellow that put up the best fight an opportunity to get well, too?

Mr. BENNET. You were not making the fight alone for Chicago soldiers, then?

Mrs. SEVEY. Not at all.

Senator HARDWICK. Are there any further questions, gentlemen? If not, the committee excuses you.

Mrs. SEVEY. Mr. Chairman, I hope it may be read into the records of this committee that at least my motives were honorable, and that I am not in the employ of anyone.

Senator TRAMMELL. The committee feel that all of you ladies were prompted by the highest of motives.

Senator HARDWICK. Neither Mr. Hines nor the backers of this Speedway project have bribed you all?

Mrs. SEVEY. I have lived in Chicago for 20 years, and I have never met any member of the Hines family, I am sorry to say.

Senator HARDWICK. You have no propaganda in their behalf in this matter?

Mrs. SEVEY. None whatever.

Mr. BENNET. Do you occupy any political position out there?
Mrs. SEVEY. Oh, no, sir.

Mr. BENNET. Are you not attached to one of the parties?

Mrs. SEVEY. No, indeed, not at all; I am not so honored. I am very proud of the party that I voted for. I hope that they are going to be able to maintain the splendid record that they have set during this war. [Laughter.]

Senator HARDWICK. We can see great potentialities in the situation. Thank you very much.

Mrs. SEVEY. Can I say something that we can take back to our women in Chicago?

Senator HARDWICK. You can tell them that this committee are going to try to find out the truth of this thing if they can; that they are going to see if they can not remedy this hospital situation by providing suitable quarters for the men.

Mrs. SEVEY. But in the meantime our men are being endangered by being put in there now. There are over 1,500 men, as I understand, in that building now, Mr. Chairman. Suppose a fire were to start this morning or to-night-what about it?

Senator HARDWICK. Well, the Secretary of War, of course, is responsible. The committee can only enact legislation. There has got to be a certain flexibility of administration that is lodged in the department, and we can only advise and suggest and enact laws. We are going to try to give them money enough to give our soldiers safe hospital quarters; then it will be up to the department.

Mrs. SEVEY. But can it be done soon?

Senator HARDWICK. As soon as we can do it; right away, I hope. Mrs. SEVEY. It seems too bad that the mothers who have had 18 and 20 months of war and anxiety should have more added to their already heavy burdens.

Senator HARDWICK. We agree with you thoroughly. We are going to do all in our power to help the situation.

TESTIMONY OF MRS. WILLIAM SEVERIN.

(The witness was duly sworn by the acting chairman.)

Senator HARDWICK. Please give the reporter your name, your official connection with this hospital matter, if any, and your interest in it.

Mrs. SEVERIN. My name is Mrs. William Severin, of Chicago. I am a member of the Chicago Women's Hospital Committee and executive secretary of the delegation to Washington.

Senator HARDWICK. Suppose you make just such a statement as you like about these hospital matters, so far as you know about them. Mrs. SEVERIN. I have been an untiring volunteer worker for humanity during the last 22 years of my life. I have served as president of the seventh congressional district of the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs, for two years on the State board as director by virtue of that office. I served for two years as chairman of the civilservice department of the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs, and it was a function of my office to visit all institutions in our county and State of Illinois under the civil service. It has been brought to me very forcibly that it was necessary for some of us at times to investigate not only as a committee but as private citizens. We have partial suffrage in Illinois, and it was because of the need of investigations of this kind that women desired the vote.

My attention was drawn to the buildings erected at Fort Sheridan early in November. I live on the North Shore, east of Sheridan Road, about 125 feet from Lake Michigan. I happened to drive through Fort Sheridan, and I saw what, in my estimation, was simply a network of a structure. I inquired, and was told that this structure would be a hospital to house the wounded boys who were coming from over there. I took it for granted, Mr. Chairman, that it would be concrete or made of cement. I know nothing about construction, only as a laywoman. I know the difference between a fireproof and a wooden building.

My attention was drawn to the inflammable structures at Fort Sheridan, I think, after Christmas. A local paper on the North Shore had a picture of Mrs. Sevey, I think, and one of those structures, "the North Shore leader," and a very good story in regard to a protest that was being raised generally. I am at the present time the president of the Illinois Women's Athletic Club, and also president of the Republican Women's Association of Illinois, and vice president from Illinois of the National Republican Women's Association. I was a member of the national Republican women's campaign committee appointed by Chairman Willcox in 1916. Because of this, it is my duty to canvass our precincts and wards, and, if possible, to give a great deal of my personal attention. I found that a great many women in our so-called river wards in the congested district of the city of Chicago had some information in regard to the structures at Fort Sheridan, and in the settlements the question came to me, when I asked for a canvass of the precincts; they did not seem to be so interested in politics as they were in the fact that the boys were coming home, and that they wanted a fireproof hospital in Chicago.

Again, my attention was drawn to this building, and I went out. I went out alone.

Senator HARDWICK. To Fort Sheridan?

Mrs. SEVERIN. To Fort Sheridan; yes, sir. The building was above the second story, this particular building that I saw that day. It