The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-10-02
"A Travelling Doctor and his Prac-

The Pittsiield Eagle gives fuller details
Of the case of DR.. Calvin c. Bennett, the
travelling physician, who was arrested
there, and is now under bonds for IN as
sault on Il young lady who has been for
nearly or quite fifteen years confined to
her house by Il disease that has been in
durable to all the various physicians that
| have treated her.
Dr. Bennett is a practitioner of 'psychic
Healing Force" according to his protes
sional card He gains psychological in
fuence over his patients, treats them
through the emotions, performs his cures
through the mind coming under his con-
troll, when ''by agreeable emotions nerv-
Gus currents are liberated which stimulate
| blood, brain and Viscera" By his manipu-
latlon and by contact with him the heal
| ing influence is transmitted to the sufferer
"a system Of practice, it will be seen, that
requires the utmost confidence between
patient and physician, and in some eases
calls for humiliating concessions and IA
miliarities. SO it was in this case. The
doctor as the lady says, on his first visit
explained to her his mode of procedure
| He informed her that whatever passed
| between them must be secret. Even her
mother must be excluded, and the patient,
the doctor and God be the only witnesses
She must unreServedlv and confidently sub
nit to him, that the healing influence
| might master her. In no other way could
| She be benefited He made Il second and
third visit, in which, by the laying on Of
! hands, he established the Psychic power,
and it was at the fourth call that his pro-
| ceetlings were Of such a nature rs led to
the inference upon which the complaint
against him is based To thoroughly and
| etfcctually transmit the healing influence
| il became necessary that as much as pos
| sible of his body should come in contact
with the patient, and to accomplish this he
removed his shoes and coat, threw himself
upon the bed and gathered the patient
| close to him Then She became alarmed,
and drawing herself away declined to cor
| tinue the Neurological experiments. The
doctor at once informed her that her re-
| 9istance would prevent the cure, and quietly
withdrew. Tbs Young lady'S mother upon
entering the room found her daughter
much excited and weeping protusely. The
worst possible designs We're charged upon
| the doctor, a most shocking msintcrpre-
| tation as he insists, and it was the knoWl-
edge of these suspicious that led to the ar
| rest
Dir. Bennett admits the facts alleged
| bur contends that it is the method OF all
| physicians of his school, and ii was So
| Understood by this. as it is by all his
patients. to whom he explains fully before
entering upon a case His conduct was
therefore purely professional and the evil
designs he is accused of had no place in
his mind and he had no wrong intent.
He proposes to bring the testimony Of
similar practitioners, though how much
weight it would have is doubtful, and also
that of former patients in Maine, where he
| is better known. including ladies of the
| highest responsibility and established char
acter. The continuance OF the case for three
weeks was promptly accorded to allow the
doctor 10 obtain his evidence. commits
sion will probably be sent to Maine to
procure the dispositions Of such witnesses
a. cannot personally attend, and there Will
be present quite a number of those who
have been the doctors patients.
THE EPIDEMIC AT SIREv EPORT. Ac-
cording to the Nicksbure Herald, the
present terrible afflictien OF Shreveport is
due to gross violations of the laws of
health. 1t says:
The laws of nature and the laws of by
oienp have both been outraged in ShreN q
port. and the people of that unfortunate
place are paying the penalty We had
previously heard that the town was i'll a
horribly filthy condition. We had been
told that the bodies Of putrid animals We're
to be seen sweltering i'll the sun i'll differ
pnt portions of the city, while mud holes
reekmg W it'll filth and miasmatic yapors
were poisoning the atmosphere in every
direction, but our information, derived
from a gentleman of character bttrays a
state OF facts that is absolutely appalling,
and if moi properly youched for would a.
received with incredulity.
We are informed that a boat having on
board a hundred on more Texas cattle
was recently sunk in Red river, very near
| Shreveport lneXpli,able and incredible
as the statement may seem, we are in
| formed that these dead animals have been
| f>hpd from the wreck and taken ashore
for their hides and that after being skinned
the bIoated bodies have been permitted to
remain exposed to the rays of a burning
sun, where they have swcltrred and
poisoned, with the sickening etlluVia arts
| mo from these decaying carcasSes, the
whole atmosphere Is it astonishing, OF
rather is it not perfectly natural, that such
a violation of the laws of health should be
followed by Il irghttul epidemic' The
wonder is that the population of ShreVe-
port has not already been dccimated by the
ravageS of malignant typhus fever, on
some other equally deadly and malignant
disease