New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-11-13
A WORD OF COMMON SENSE FOR HO-
MEOPATHY.

To he Edito, Of Tie ~ Tribune:
SIR: A coroners inquest mas recently been held in
BrooklJ on the body Of patent of homeopathic
ply sicsD, the object Of which was to show that the
deceased came to sudden death in consequence of
malpractice the part of the medical attendant. II
seems that child aged l2 years, daughter of Mr..
Lotimer resident at Brooklyn was taken on the 7th
October, with Commissions, which terminated, in
few hours in hemonbsge from the lungs, and DEATH
Her ply stefan, DR.. Wells, homeopathic had hnt
been called TO attend her, on August 3 when she was
| laboring under an attack of inflammation of the
brain, from which she slowly convalesced for seven
or eight days when her malady began to remit aud
gradually took the form of regular intermittent fe-
YER the paroIysms of which re.urred uniformly,
though with diminishing severity, up to the time Of
| the last fatal sttsck. A day or two previous to
| the convusioIs the patient had complained oil
stiffness of the side of the eek, with slight fever,
which. taken in connection with the fact that me
mother had JUS, suffered from the mumps, led the
doctor TO regard the commissions and hcmorrbage as
consequent upon translation of the mumps-poison
to the brain. Grea: disappointment at the result and
dissatisfaction with the ply scisn however prevailed
among the friends OF the little PATIENT the Coroner
an od-school NJ. ID was summoned, who proceeded
forthwith 10 institute a OOst-moftem eX 1minaton.
This revealed the usual changes occurring in milan
nation Of the membranes Of the brain aud nferlnit
tent fever chemical ana ysis was also had oi the
contents of The itomsch but traces of poison nor
indeed Of any medicinal substance we're dlscoyeraoe.
Now no person could ever have seriously supposed
DR. Wells capable Of poisoning this patient. The
real object Of me inquest rds plainly 70 ta'tea upon
hin the odiu1. Of iO,iHg her By mtermsnt Jerer,
disease which rarely proves fatal under OLD school
treatment, that an opposite result under the new,
might well afford ground for severe censure. An IN
| - sltf rnafIh
able but evidently lay outside Of The Coroners jurs-
oiction-a jurisdiction fully terminated on salts
fsctoy proof that the patient did NJ, come 70 her death
through foul play. Persons die every day OF he
mortgages convul-ions, and otherwise suddenly yet
DO one Ihibks it necessary to impeach the judgment
| or honesty of the medical attendants by calling
cOrober's inquest
Courts OF justice are the proper authorities for
settling questions of nal practice, aud the dal0IHs
Of this whole procedure is sufficiently app irent from
the attempt To anagn respectable ply stefan before
tribunal, having ne c0gDzdnce Of his act except ID
criminal nisdemeaDor
We cannot but regret that DR.. Wells dii not, in
viz cation Of his seespec make ste adfast prJtst
against this irregularity lie not even present
al the post nortem examination. Tor which omission,
| considering he was ne lamb IN the hands OF the
| tbeareIs there is no excuse. The testimony oil ths
| alopahic ply sicians directed 10 SHOW that mumps
cannot be translated 10 the brain, betrayed elihor
great unscrupulousness or great ignorance. Not 10
quote al length this p?nt it is worth na,ng that
seboeniep than whom thsre is no greater authority,
speaks oi The u"H.sIaiiOn Of mumps to the brain
membranes as of the most dreaded result IN TINS
| disease. DIR. Durham, in bis evidence before the
Coroners Jury, mentions this as well as other con-
elusive proofs Of the same purport Ii tnls De true,
and its truth hey ond all gaIay, there no foun-
| cation for alleging ague as the cause Of this death.
Patients live for years with the spleen greatly en-
la1ged, ano neither this enlargement nor tue changes
in the liver, and other yiscera implicated IN sgue,
produce bemOrrhage from lungs previously sound.
| So much, then, in favor OF DIR. Wells. those VINO
know HIM, and who are qualified 10 Jqdge VIII TESTIFY
10 his upfghtness of character, and his extreme ac-
curscy IN selecting appropriate homeopathic remedies
| for the sick.
But in freely acquitting him Of the serious charge
of suffering his patent 10 die OF fever and ague we
capnot say that bis success in treating 1t was 10 THIS
instance at ell fat,ering. This patient had suffered
| of the disease two months, aud the paro1Ssm ma
not, single time, failed TO make It's appearance
! Now, ia The name OF common sense, II tn1s DC no.
! meopsihy, IL lot the common practice preferable for
the treatment Of chils and fever Ii gives quinine
aud 10 a jUity Of The csses the fever disappears
But says Dr.. ellis aid many OF his colleagues the
disease Is only suppressed and - liable - Is
only when il s cured gradually the system is left per-
fscily sound. Very we'll, take Agnes LOtmer Tor an
example She had been un Ter treatment eight weeks
but alter death her spleen found three or four times
lis natural siZe. Does this enormous agu5 cake look
! like cure Again, we have prsctced homeopathy
| for eighteen wears and have found agues not un-
fire. dueDtly after the use OF the pest ind-
caiea homeopathic remedies.
! scue. Would il always suppress ague, and the asue
stay suppressed we for one, should be very well con-
tent call il cured. On the other hand, unoF mate
~ for the allopaihist, Quinine though mighty cap
tam is not universal iebrifuge in any dose, and
herein the homeopathist claims hearing for MS art.
/ But there ia a rapidly widening distinction among
homeopathis's known but 10 few persons outside the
prof, sioD which ought long since 10 have been fully
/ made public, ana which, aojurng all personalities,
we sh1 briefly advertise here deening IT, id pra -
/ cal point OF view, Of great consoq lenee. We mean
the division OF the school into high and low daonIsts
Now 10 let the cat fairly out OF the bag, there is
scarcely less sympathy between hOmeoPathists and
old school doctors than between these two sects OF
! homeOpathsts themselves: The one party MAINTAINS
that diseases are durable by thousandls mlllIonths,
nay even decillionihs OF a grain of medicine-the
other holds that apPreeiabe doses ara required lhe
/ frs, party acdUses Hahnemann, who IN la;ar LIE
was c.risnly great srckbr for little doses as thetr
medel-the latter denying persons as the iniailoie
standard OF science holds the doctrine OF ike cures
like as the only essential of homeopathy aaf the
only important tltment OF conflict between II and a.
lo siky The one sect arc Hahoemannists, the other
Hone Oyath ITS. 80 iar tue doctrine OF doses Is
cerned the burden If pro 4 lies with the iohnit-
esuast the Other branch asserts nothing or the head
at staEtl vsrianee with theopIons OF the fofii al
! large.
This family scbism would, az first sight appear TO
admit Of easy adjustment II is question OF expert
tuce lie results obtained az the bedside ought 10
render speedy and conclusive verdict az 20 the
merits e tie quarrel, but If consider FOR moment
that natre Is potent handmaii in disease AMI that
patients Get well under a methods OF practice, We
discover fertile source of difficulty in coming 70
! conclusion. If sdd 10 this the ever re ,urrios
doubt Of The infnte,malst in the OF failure as
10 the corr, ctnes of bis selection Ofthe medic smsnt-
| q doubt which beguilss him round a N sly, eternal
eele-we perceive him - be the hopeless bondnan 81
a theory. He sees his fixtures 81 involving mistake
either as to the or the remedy. aud with sheer
humility and self dstrust he sgppOses II mu-t always