The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-07-17
Bogus Medical Colleges in Philadelphia.


For twelve or fifteen years Philadel-
phia has been the seat of number of
medical colleges that flooded the coun-
try with spurious diplomas. The Leg
islature of Pennsylvania tried, in 1872,
to suppress the institutions, but failed,
and they have been run ever since on
legally issued charters. The authorities
declared themselves powerless to stop
it. Six months ago the city editor OF
the Record, John Norris, called the at
tention of Attorney General Palmer to
these concerns, and the grave necessity
for their suppression. But the State had
no evidence against them, and the At
torney- General had no money with
which to proceed. Then the Record Of
fered to advance the money to the Com
monwealth upon promise of reimburse
ment by the State Legislature, and the
work was begun. To-day it
eliminated in proceedings which
will wipe out five spurious medical
colleges, and in the arrest of John Buch-
anan, Dean of the American University
at Philadelphia and the Eclectic Medi-
cal College of Pennsylvania. He was
also President of the National Eclectic
Medical Association, which issued di-
plomas, and under the alias of James
Murray, D. d., he acted as Dean of a
concern issuing its diplomas as the Liv-
ingstone University of America. Two
others of the faculty, Charles S. Polk
and John j. Seggins, were arrested, and
six others of the faculty are still at
large, apparently out of the reach of the
police.
The Record oftomorrow morning will
publish full egpOSe. Its city editor
has prepared evidence which it is al
legged will show the sales of forty-two
diplomas to various persons. He gives
the names of eleven others to whom the
diplomas were offered, and the names
of eleven agents who were acting for
Buchanan. The Record man himself set
the trap which resulted in Buchanan's
arrest. For $50 he obtained three medA
ical diplomas, one in English from the
the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsyl-
vania, a regularly chartered institution,
one from the American University of
Philadelphia, in English, and another
from the National Eclectic Medical As
ISOLATION.
One feature of the proceeding is that
while the last named concern was Or
ganized in 1879, its diploma to the news
paper man is dated 1878. All purported
to show that the newspaper man, under
the name of DR.. John Tanning, of Tip
pecanoe County, Ind, studied medicine
for three years, had attended two full
courses of lectures, and had passed q
satisfactory examination in each of the
seven branches of medicine. Not salts
fed with this evidence, he sent letters
under the name of DR.. Geo. A. Dawson,
apparently belonging to Chester Court
House, S. c., asking for degrees. For
$3.50 he obtained five degrees, two of
Doctor of Medicine, one Doctor of Di-
vinity, one Doctor of Laws, and one
Doctor of Civil Law. The final letter
in this transaction passed through the
mail, DR.. Buchanan receipting for it.
He also deposited the diplomas in the
mail to be delivered to the spurious
doctor in South Carolina. Special Pos
tai Agent Barrett, Chief of Police Given,
Deputy United States Marshal, and
the newspaper man walked into Buch-
anan's place this afternoon, arrested
him, and then captured about half a
ton of spurious diplomas with mass of
correspondence, showing the traffic in
diplomas and the sale of about 5000
sheepskins. Hearings will be held to-
morrow, and proceedings will be started
by the Record through the Attorney
General to wipe out five of the colleges
Philadelphia Cor. N. Y. Sun.