Pioneering Spirit: The Sisters of Providence in Alaska

Gold Fever and Health Care
open it or even allow access to its medical stores
unless the Chamber of Commerce assured him
a salary of $500 per m onth and complete control
over the hospital's administration. Not surprisingly
the Chamber balked at these demands, and
chose instead to contract with one of Nome's
prominent physicians for care of the sick during
the early m onths of 1901. This solution quickly
encumbered the Cham ber with financial obligations
that exceeded its sources of revenue.
The strain of leadership proved to be too m uch
for Nome's informal consent government. In late
February it voted itself out of existence. For some,
the event came none too soon. Others were more
evenhanded. According to the Nome Gold Digger
of 27 February 1901, the Chamber's regime had
"given Nome a good apology for a governm ent
during the last few m onths." But it had its faults;
its "most pitiable feature" was the condition of
Nome's hospital and the mounting debts incurred
on behalf of indigent patients.
The residents of Nome soon concluded that
some form of local government was necessary.
Rampant claim jum ping had created legal chaos
that worsened w hen United States Judge A rthur
Noyes was appointed to Alaska's new Second
Judicial District. Judge Noyes was for a time the
only legal authority in the community, but he
became a paw n of swindlers, and his term
underscored the need for legitim ate civil
authority. The situation became so bad that Sen.
William Stewart of Nevada unfavorably compared
the administration of law in Nome with brutal
Spanish rule in Cuba and the Philippine Islands.
The new city government that Nome voted into
existence during the spring of 1901 assumed some
of the burden of caring for the indigent sick in
the community. To improve public health, it made
cleaning up the town a first priority. Although the
municipal health budget rem ained limited,
responsible m em bers of the co m m u n ity
recognized the continuing need for improved
hospital facilities.
Jesuits Arrive in Nome
W hen two Roman Catholic priests arrived in
mid July 1901, Nome's prospects for a new
hospital suddenly improved. The Very Reverend
John B. Ren6, S.J., had accompanied Father
Aloysius A. Jacquet, S.J., to Nome. Father Ren6
was the Prefect Apostolic of Alaska—a position
in the Church similar to that of a Bishop but exercised
in an area where Rome had not yet
designated one, with powers delegated directly
Rev. Bellarmitie
Lafortune, S.J.,
photographed here in
1907, served as pastor
of St. foseph's parish in
Nome from 1906 to
1916 and again in later
years.
Photo courtesy of the Archives
of the Oregon Province of the
Society of Jesus, Spokane.
15