Smyrna times., 1878-07-03
Grave-R Robbers.

The horrible robbery of the grave of the |
son of President Harrison at North Bend, |
Ohio, has led to still more shocking dis
coveries. 1t will be remembered that the |
son of Mr.. Harrison, in searching the Ohio |
Medical College, at Cincinnati, for the body |
of young man named Devin, which had |
recently beer stolen from the cemetery, |
was Mortified at discovering, not the corpse |
for which he was looking, but the disfgured |
remains of his own father hanging by
rope around the neck. Other develop
ments soon followed. 1t appeared from
card signed by the Dean of the College
Faculty that, although these gentlemen re.
gretted that they should have been betrayed
into buying the body of a distinguished
person like the Hon. j. Scott Harrison,
whose family would be likely to make a
| fuss about the dissertation of his tomb, they
were in the habit of dealing with resurrec-
| tionsts, and were inclined to maintain that
| the robbery OF graves was a necessary
branch of medical education. The person
suspected of committing the outrage is
known to have operated extensively in that
line of business, and to have supplied
great many medical colleges in different
parts of the country. Or, to put the case
in another way, great many medical col
leges are known to have employed this
+" Doctor Morton" to desecrate graveyards.
In the course of their search for the
missing body of young Devin, the officers of
the law visited the Miami Medical College
in Cincinnati, and there they learned that
Morton had been in the habit of depositing
his plumber in the vaults of that institu-
ton, preparing it for market, and then
shipping it by express to his customers.
Acting upon information reluctantly given
by the terrified janitor, the officers pro-
ceeded to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to beat up
one "John @. Quimby," to whom Morton
had recently been forwarding great deal
of freight. John @. Quimby turned out to
be-as the authorities had suspected-an
. imaginary person, under whose name was
! concealed the Medical Department of the
State University. The vaults of the col
, lege were promptly searched. A CORES
: pondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who ac
! companied the officers, gives horrifyinG
account Of what was discovered. The
narrative Of the night visit to the cellar il
Z evidently too highly colored but making
> allowance for the exaggerations of an ex
. cited reporter, enough undoubted fact re
I mains to fill us with indignation anC
amazement. Forty corpses were founC
- "pickling" in vats of brine. They wer
" turned out on the floor, and among
= them was the body of Devin, easil
identified by certain marks. After
a wrangle with the college people, who a
y first refused to give it up, until they ha'
- been paid for their trouble and labor (l),
- was at last returned to the grave fror
=, which it had been stolen. The expires
~ company's receipts indicated that as man
10 20 as thirteen of the picked subjects had r.
:; Gently been obtained from Morton's curin
| ~, he &c
- natl College.
az Naturally there is the greatest excit
~ ment over these discoveries, and til
:" widest stories are circulating in Cincinna
e' and elsewhere about the systematic pi
laying of cemeteries and brutal maltrea
% ment Of the stolen dead. Whatever ms
=. be the truth about such rumors, it is Gle
l enough, first, that members of the medic
'eS profession are extensively engaged in ii
theft of subjects for dissection; secondl
o W that bad as this crime is, the perpetrato
'le aggravate it by a shocking disregard of Il
re sanctities of death; and thirdly, that C,
co lege professors and other reputable docto
VIC. defend the business Of the resurrection
u as being necessary, though it may not
precisely legitimate. 1t is ridiculous
~. us waste indignation on fugitive wretches Ii
l.e Morton when there are criminals 50 mu
~ higher placed who insist that felony a
~ s outrage are not wrong. The chief offend
" is not the brutal fellow who prowls arou
A11 graveyards with sack and shovel, but t
Aue educated gentleman who pays him for
nights work. 1t is idle to pretend Il
doctors who employ resurrectionists do l
.o know how the subjects are obtained. Th
sue cannot throw off responsibility by mer
N ""S abstaining from curious questions. A gra
arc. jury in Cincinnati has indicted the resurr
her ZIONIST, Morton, who cannot be found, a
the janitor of the Ohio Medical Collie
ny who is only the servant of the facul
Most lame and impotent conclusion
'ny. you seek the criminals, gentlemen Of
,dly jury, 60 up higher If you would .cl
1--WE we your tainted regulations, doctors, pro
ded sors medical societies, speak out and
me. nounce these horrible brutalities, 8
y 10 make every man guilty of them an out
10 from your ranks. 1t is is you theindign
we're finger of the community is pointed
sekS it would be great satisfaction to the pu'
to see half dozen or SO of you in jail
. IN Y. Tribune.
1 all ] Signs of peace A patchwork quilt.