Byline: Annie Laurie; 1890-01-19; San Francisco Examiner;
Report: Hospitals and Clinics Undercover
Tags: Annie Laurie, City Receiving Hospital, fainted on the street, feigned illness, posed as, San Francisco Examiner
The precede reads: "After being hauled into a prison van and jolted over the cobbles, she is forced to drink hot mustard water on general principles - the acting police surgeon laughs when he hears about it, and suggests a thrashing to make her take the dose - he bruises her shoulder because she resists his hurting her head, and wants to strip her down." ... "The woman who fainted on the street and was roughly dragged into the vehicle and jolted away over the rough cobbles, was the Examiner's Annie Laurie. She had been sent to write up how a woman unfortunate enough to be taken sick or injured on the public streets of San Francisco in the year of civilization 1890, is treated by those who are paid to care for the unfortunate and suffering. "Had Annie Laurie been run over by a street-car and been cut and mangled the treatment she received would have been just the same. It took twenty minutes for her to reach the hospital, more than time enough for a person to bleed to death from a wound that would not be at all serious if attended to at once..."
Description:Annie Laurie, aka Winifred Sweet, later Winifred Black, (and later Winifred Black Bonfils), feigned illness on a street and was taken to the San Francisco Receiving Hospital, where she was ill-treated. The story launched a long illustrious career.
Rights: Public domain.
Additional Media
Additional Media
