Morris tribune., 1881-07-14
WHAT THE SURGEONS SAY
GARFlELD'S ASSASSINATION.
Further Particulars of the Most Excit-
Ing Event of the
Year.
No Check to the Steady Advance of
President Garfield Toward Ply
steal Restoration.
An Interesting Installment of Distin-
guished Medical Mems Opinions
of the Case.
GARFlELD'S ASSASSINATION
THE LONDON LANCET.

THE LONDON LANCET.
LONDON, July S.-The Lancet, the leading
medical journal of London, says:
The accounts of the condition of Garfield are, on
the whole, satisfactory. They give reasonable
ground for hope. There are. of course, many per-
lis to be encounte red. Seco dary internal hemorr
haCe may occur when the bullet is surgically
cidenally displaced. Extensive inflammation or
blood poisoning is possible, but looking at the
as whole, and recalling the history Of similar
cases, it is impossible not to feel that fairly
gooC hope is permissible 1t may be as
sumed that the course taken by the bullet must
have been such rs to avoid injury to the most i'm
portant structures 1t is scarcely possible that any
large vessel can have been injured. and hypothe
SIS of complete severance or even of severe
injury of of great nerves YES is not Necessary to &C
liver, If wounded, can hardly have been extensively
lacerated. IT Garfield survives the perils of the
next few days, and the bullet can be extracted
there can be no medical reason at least arising out
Of the general character of his injuries, why he
should not do we'll
DR. HAMILTON.
New YORK, July S.-Dr. Hamilton is very
much encouraged over to-day's news from
Washington. He says
The term "laudahle pus" means healthy pus,
Gear ana free from gangrene or unhealthy matter,
cannot yet be said to be out of DANGER but there is
every reason to believe that all chances are in his
favor for recovery, although it may be protrac,ed
unknown.
danger, but the symptoms reported indicate that
nature will take care of the ball.
LOBBY SURGEON.
From the New York World.
DR.. Norris Is staunch friend of DR.. Bliss
and when asked about the trouble said 81 was
the physician to the White House during the
time of President Johnson and wien General
Grant was there, but when Mr.. Hayes came
did not remind him of the fact, and then Doc
tor or Colonel Baxter intruded and was recog-
a 10 po1 1Dl,I I>1,;ot i 4
the 80, 600 salary of full colonel for his
services in looking over the papers of
the two deputy purveyors 1t is one Of the
greatest slnecures in existence. When
Hayes was in he did not like to supplant the
old Surgeon General Barnes, but he made a
bargain with Garfield by which Hayes ap
pointed Maj Swains to be judge advocate
general because he was friend of Garfield,
and IN return Garfield was to appoint Baxter
as surgeon general. We old army officers
Der OF good reasons against 1t. Just think of
this. Ninety-tive officers of the medical de-
partment are Baxter's seniors. and their COM
missions antedate his, going back beyond
1861. They all served actively with volun-
teer troops during the rebellion. They were
all breveted for faithful and meritorious ser
vices. The chief medical purveyor entered
the regular army as assistant purveyor to pur-
chase medicines and medical supplies. On
March 2, 1872, he was put above all the sur
colonel On January %, 1874, he was placed
over the other two medical purveyors and made
the chief purveyor, with the rank of colonel
in the army. He now applies to the president
to be appointed over the only remaining officer
above him on the army register, the assistant
surgeon general, and to command us all, every
one of whom entered the army by competitive
examination. His promotion to the surgeon
generalship would shut out all the other sur
geons from such promotion for seventeen
| years. Well, when he came into that con-
| ference chamber you may be sure he was not
! welcome-a man who was better lobbyist
than practitioner, and who, by currying ia
| vor with the sergeant at arms, had gained the
run of the cloak ROOM He would no doubt have
insisted upon attending at the next conference,
30 by not having the conference there was no
chance of his intrusion. 1t avoided possible
complications You see don't feel offended
in being thus politely dismissed, for I am in
good company. That is the real basis of the
trouble. We were of one mind in our treat
| ment and 1t has been to-day indorsed by men of
worldwide fame as DR.. Hamilton, of New
York, and DR.. Agnew, of Philadelphia"
DIR. TOWNSEND IN NEW YORK HERALD.
Doctor, what do you think of the presi
dents chances nowy"
We'll, his condition is yet very critical. We
can only hope for the best He may pull
through God grant that he may. This" said
the doctor, 'was my first close contact with
James A. Garfield, and I think if the whole
American people could have seen his bearing
under the circumstances they would come to
Roman of them ALL Cool, calm, clear, reso-
lutte and enduring, cheerful under great suf
| ferlng, grateful for every attention or assist.
ance-l think his the grandest type of man.
hood have yet witnessed"
| referring to the nature of the presidents
wound, DR.. Townshend says that his judgmen,
of the course the ball took, from the examina-
tion he made of the wound at the depot, is thai
the ball entered two inches to the right Of the
| fourth lumbar verbetr8, passed through the
intercostal muscle, between the tenth and elev-
enth ribs, fracturing. the upper edge, Of the
the latter not affording resistance enough to
stay iD into the abdominal cavity, where il
| came in contact with some hard
substance on the opposite side,
which could have been nothing else but the
ribs and possibly directed to the spinal column.
partial paralysis of the extremities shows
that the spinal column has been injured The
doctor added that he considered the president
| in as much danger now as at any period since
| he was shot, and that he came near dying the
first night from internal hemorrhage aud had
it kepi up much longer he certainly would
have passed away; that he yet has the
danger of peritonitis to pass through
and symptoms of its advent in more
or less degree have shown themselves
right along Yet he might escape peritoniti.
entirely, for if it did set in It might carry
him off, although his strong physique Nigh
probably carry him through safely. The doc
tor says that he received at the battle O
Shiloh a shot in some respects similar to tina
of the presidents, only the ball that strucl
him was q Mimic ball of one and quarter
ounces, or little larger than that shot from
Guiteau's pistol. r.
'It was a glancing shot, which passed
through my sword-belt over the crest of th,
ilium, passed down over the pelvis and cam,
out over the groin. could not walk for fou
months, as the fracture of the bone of the pevi
was considerable. Of course I was not struck il
any OF the vital organs, as the shot came from
prominence and took downward course
Quite the contrary ID tho case with the presi
dent as the ball was sent straight at him.
singular feature of my wound was that clever
years after it had healed mp it became inflame,
and troublesome, and had q physician,
friend nd Of mine in this city, to open and prob'
of my leather belt that had been carried In b,
the ball" The doctor concluded bv saving h,
could IN candor state that in all his experienc
he had never known Of a shot similar in it
character to that received by the president
DIR. CARNoCHANs VIEWS.
DR.. Carnochan, when asked by Herald re
porter whether he had an accurate knowledge
Of the character of President Garfield's wound
replied that he had not obtained complete data
but that in addition to having read newspape
| eOOouueo ho uou udU 5Oauo COuN0TSatlOn VII
other members of the medical profession
from which he had obtained an idea Of it's ma
ture g4H-H ap
The reporter then showed him the bulleti
Of 1880 p. m. yesterday, and DR.. Cafnocha
declared that the symptoms there describe
were not desperate, and that he should nc
consider the case q hopeless one from the dat
he had. e7 ~ + s 9s
.'What is the probable prognosis OF the case
asked the reporter.
81 should say" replied the doctor, '.that i
many surgical cases as well as medical W
have to Judge from negative symptoms. Th
position Of the ball not having been, 80 far a
| / oan learn, dafiuitalY asaartainad hY axact ax