Among the many excellent charitable institutions of which the Capital is possessed are the Orphans' Asylum, directed by Don Francisco Escobar; the Sara Asylum, directed by Dr. Alfonso Quiñónez; the Orphans' Hospital, which is under the same control as the Asylum of that name; and the well-known Hospital Rosales, which is controlled by a number of the most eminent medical men in the Republic. It is an admirably-managed institution, and has effected a great deal of sound charity since its inauguration some years ago.
A great amount of unobtrusive but sound charity and benevolence are practised in Salvador. The people as a whole are, perhaps, not very wealthy in the accepted sense of the word, and there are probably few great family fortunes to be found there; while I was never fortunate enough to come across a full-blown millionaire—at all events, considered in sterling money. On the other hand, there are many very well-to-do families, many handsome privately-owned properties, and several highly-prosperous businesses, especially among the coffee and sugar planters. No doubt in the halcyon days of the indigo industry Salvador could boast of many very opulent residents; but with the invention of the aniline dyes much of this indigo wealth passed away. The wide diffusion of charity and benevolence is, therefore, all the more noteworthy and all the more commendable.
Most of the charitable institutions are not alone the creation, but remain the special care, of the Government, and successive Presidents have very properly devoted both their personal attention and the country's funds to the maintenance of these institutions. The charge of these charities is in the hands of the Minister of Education, Public Works and Benevolence. I visited several of the hospitals during my stay in the country, and I was pleasurably impressed with their generally cheerful and always cleanly appearance.
The foremost institution of this kind is the magnificent building presented, with its entire equipment, to the nation by the late Don José Rosáles, a distinguished and very wealthy Salvadorean, who not only sustained the hospital during his lifetime, but bequeathed to its funds no less than $4,000,000. The institution bears the name of its generous founder, and it is admirably conducted in every way. A large staff of competent physicians and a full body of male and female nurses are always maintained, and as a rule the hospital is very well patronized, the kindness and the skill of the authorities having obtained a wide notoriety. The Rosáles is, however, but one of several similar institutions, the Government having of late years added similar necessary buildings to the towns of Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Ahuachapán, Santa Tecla, Zacatecoluca, San Vicente, San Miguel, Alegria, Chalatenango and La Unión. It is difficult to speak too highly of the thoroughly efficient manner in which most of these establishments are maintained; and among the many patients whom I saw, and with whom I conversed, I met with not one who had anything but praise and gratitude to express for the benefits which had been received.
As an evidence of the use to which these institutions are put, I am able to say that during the year of 1892 some 3,198 patients were treated, of whom 2,798 were discharged completely cured, 203 died, and the rest remained under treatment. The total amount expended in this year was a little over $81,000. Including all of the hospitals established throughout the country, there are annually admitted and treated about 8,000 patients, of whom an average of 8 per cent. die. This cannot be considered a high rate of mortality, considering the climate and the many tropical diseases which have to be treated.
In the vicinity of San Salvador, upon a beautifully-situated and very healthful spot, has been established a tuberculosis Sanatorium. Here the open-air treatment is employed in conformity with the latest recognized therapeutic and hygienic methods for the alleviation and cure of consumption, which, as in Mexico, is unfortunately a common complaint. The expenses of this Sanatorium are met by appropriations by the Federal and Municipal authorities; by contributions from industrial companies, which are usually very open-handed in such matters; and by voluntary donations from benevolent people and institutions. A library is maintained for the use of the patients, and all possible measures are employed, to mitigate the sad condition of resident invalids. So far, I understand, the Sanatorium is free from debt, and it is so excellently managed an institution, and is productive of so much real good, that it is sincerely to be hoped that it may remain so.
How admirable have been the attempts made, and how successful the results achieved, to overcome the ravages of tuberculosis, are best shown by the following comparative statistics, which give the figures for Spanish-American towns:
| American Towns. | Mortality per |
| 10,000 Inhabitants. | |
| Lima (Peru) | 62·1 |
| Carácas (Venezuela) | 60·0 |
| Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | 38·0 |
| Santiago (Chile) | 38·0 |
| Havana (Cuba) | 32·7 |
| Montevideo (Uruguay) | 16·0 |
| Buenos Aires (Argentina) | 14·2 |
| Mexico City (Mexico) | 14·0 |
| San Salvador (Salvador) | 13·7 |
That Salvador should have the smallest number of deaths among all these Republics is a triumph for the medical faculty and for the Government, which have conjointly done so much towards the improvement of conditions.
Many of the sanitary and clinical institutions in the Republic have medical schools or classes attached, and such are naturally much better equipped with special departments for the eye, ear, nose, throat and skin diseases. Fever hospitals are carefully segregated, and are most carefully controlled, with the idea of avoiding any epidemic breaking out. Many of the attendant physicians have studied in Europe and the United States.