New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-11-21


paper the condition of the reverend gentle
mans washbasin. When an eminent v0lup-
tuary quarrclled with one OF his mistresses,
Paul Pry instantly visited the woman ana
stood over her while she sat at dinner,
inserting questions about her amours
and iotting down the scandals which she
blabbed between the spOOnfuls OF soup. ii q
famous belle is to be married, he calls at the
house and demands n view of her under-cl0th's.
If rich men die, he insists upon exploring
their insides. If an unhappy wife takes pol
son, he wishes to print all her last private let
tiers, and is very angry if they are withheld
THE public takes n great interest Ill the
"case;n and private life has no right which
public curiosity is bound to respect.
Newspapers of a certain class have pandered
so industriOusly to this disease OF impertlnence
that perhaps we should not be surprised to find
the disorder invading the courts OF justice ana
confusing professional ideas of prOpriety which
were once clear and strict. Judges, lawyers,
physicians are not different from other men |;
and when the press has been teaching them Tor
years that there is nothing sacred from the IN
ouisitions of the reporter and no affair, puDllc
or private great or mean, noble or Disgusting
of which some print or another will not think
it proper to publish the most minute and most
personal details, they naturally come to take
liberal views of the privilege of an examiner
and to hold in practice that secrecy about
anything is suspicious and against public pol
lev. Thus when the children of Commodore
Vanderbilt determine TO expose to the lnspec-
ton of the world the vices, weaknesses and
miseries Of their dead father, iii order the bet
ter to settle their quarrels over his money, IL
is easy enough for them to find doctors who'
besides rehearsing i'll court the disgusting
disclosures of pOst-mortem eXamlna-
ton, will give particular account OF all
the dead mans infrmties during long
course Of years, and of their effect upon
his temper and his intellect-doctors who
think nothing of repeating the family
condolences of the sck-room, and recording
all the tcsty end unreasonable remarks OF the
departed, at the same time that they describe
the del0rmity OF his liver, the disaranSemeht
of his intestines. and the condition of his
kidneys. Time was when physicians bore in
mind the Hippocratlc oath, by which they
bound themselves not to reveal the secrets
acquired in professional confidence. Time was
when courts gave a strict and rational con-
structOn to the statute, which not merely pro-
tects physicians, lawyers and clergymen
against an examination on such subjects,
but expressly commands that they " shall not
"be allowed to disclose any information ac-
quircd in the regular course OF tier probes
sional ministratiOns. This does not apply to
the results of an autopsy, and hence the cilu-
cIsmS which have been so freely made upon
the conduct of the medical witnesses III the
Vanderbilt case do not ft either DR.. Satter-
thwaite or Dr. SumsOn. But what are
we to think of the testimony Of DR..
Jared Linsy This gentleman had been
the family physician of Commodore Van
delbilt for the great part of forty-Seven
years, and he was put uDon the stand TO tell
all he knew about his patients successive all
ments, the state of his internal organs, his
sick fancies, and his physiological irregular
tiles and it is understood that after testiiyinS
for one side he will be recalled to give evil
dence for the other. Is it possible that Dr.
Linsly never thought of Directing to
all these inquiriesl Is it possible that
neither he, nor the Surrogate, nor any
of the lawyers, remembered the Ian
guage of the statute: a person duly
"authoIized to practice physic or surgery shall
"not be allowed to disclose any information
which he acquired i'll attending patient in a
professional capacity, and which was Deces-
gary in order to enable him to act in that
capacity :" 4 subsequent section of the act
declares that this prohibition "applies to every
examination of person as a witness, unless
:" the provisions thereof are expressly waived
by the patient" We are not aware that any
waiver has been obtained from the late Mr.
Vanderbilt.
The case of DR.. Linsly does not stand alone.
We have had other instances III late years of
physicians talking freely about the diseases of
their patients, and it seems to be high time to
recall doctors and lawyers TO sense of their
professional duties. We are sure that respect
able practitioners like DIR. Linsly have no sus-
picon that they are in the wrong. They
neglect to plead their privilege because they
presume that the subpoena lays them under
compulsiOn to answer all questions that are
asked them III court. But they probably would
not think so, except for the widespread idea,
inculcated by certain newspapers, that the
sanctites of private life Including the state
of mans internal Organs) are relics of class
privilege, and that in this free country "the
public has right to know" everything that
amuses the public curiosity.
FLUCTUAIING VALUES.
1 n 4 N