Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-03-10
DOCTORS DIFFER,
And Look at $40 a Day in
Different Lights.
The Progress of a Mighty Inter
eSting Trial.

of the court and a jury was the sui
of DR.. J. Fl. Nuttall against Ed
Correll, for $l05, to satisfy his claim
for twenty-one visits as a physician
during the fever scourge of 1873, tn,
claim being made while he was in tn,
employ of the Howard association at
daily consideration from that organi
cation. The first witness called in tn,
case this morning was DR.. +. L. Sim
who said in substance that had Mr.
Cornell been in the district of the city
allotted to him, he would have at.
tended the case without making &
charge against Mr. Correll.
DR.. Sol Green followed DR.. Sim, and
said that he understood his contract
while in the service of the
Howards, not to prohibit attention
to his private practice without making
the usual professional charges. He
attended almost exclusively to the
services ofthe Towards, and had but
little time for other duty. He has not
been suing patients on charges made
against them while in the Towards
employ. lie served under their direc-
tions during the fever Of 1873, againin
1878 and also in 1879. He supplied his
own horse and buggy.
DR.. Collins was placed on the wit.
ness stand, and said he came here
from Cincinnati August Both, 1878, as
a volunteer physician, aud served
under the Towards. There was no
written agreement, but merely an un-
d%erstanding that volunteer physicians
were to devote their entire time TO
the Towards. The remainder of his
testimony was excluded, because it
related merely to a conversation had
with DR.. r. W. Mitchell.
DR.. Purnell testified that he con-
tracted to serve the Towards, the
agreement being with Mr.. L~angstaf
who sad it was not contemplated to
pay physicians anything, but to allow
them $40 per day to cover their neces-
sary expenses. He subsequently
desired Mr.. Langstaf to explain the
position Of physicians, and their
relations to the Towards, also where
charges might be made. The result
that Mr.. Langstaff stated he
expected physicians to protect the
Howards from intrusion by persons
able to bear the expenses of medical
attendance, supplies, etc. Of the
patients he treated in 1878 the pro-
portion able to pay escaped his atten-
ton, he being too busy to designate
one class from the other. During the
fever the majority o fthose able to pay
for medical service left the city and the
private practice of physicians was
greatly reduced. Attention was al
ways given to all, regardless of their
ability to pay for it.
DR.. Mitchell was recalled, and stated
that he had no knowledge of a resolu-
ton by the Towards fixing the pay of
physicians, until some time near the
close of the epidemic of 1873. He
had no recollection of ever having
been notified in writing of his election
as Howard medical director.
In opening the argument, Mr.. T. NJ.
s. Rhett, on behalf of his client, DR..
Nuttall, requested Judge Pierce to
exclude testimony offered in the form
of resolutions on the minutes of the
Towards, his client never having had
knowledge Of such proceedings, and
they should cut no figure in the
case. Judge Pierce regarded the
case peculiar, and considered the res.
olutious bearing upon the matter as
relevant, therefore decided that
they should go to the jury. He could
not see how the jury could determine
the facts in the cast i fthe resolutions
were excluded. The jury should UNI
derstand how the Towards and their
agents were acting, before they could
determine a state Of facts. Mr.. Rhett
said, in his argument in favor of DIR
Natal, that the physician was
employed by the Towards at $40 per
day during the epidemic Of 1873,
with the privilege Of attending to HIS
private practice. 1t made no differ.
ence how great the harvest to physi-
clans proved during the period of tte
epidemic. 1t was understood by DR..
Nuttall hat he was not to be
excluded from his private prae-
tic, or of making charges
therefor. Mr.. SeInmcs, ono Of the
witnesses, stated that it was positively
stipulated with DR.. Nuttall that the
services Of the physicians employed
belonged exclusively to the Towards.
He would not intimate that Mr..
Semmes had made a misstatcmeut
knowingly, as he knew him to be an
honorable and courageous man but
he believed, according to the tosti-
mony, that Mr.. Semmes' Mcmory was
at fault. He drew a parallel between
the Howards and a banking corpora
- IL