Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-08-23

Ever since the fatal Saturday when the
astounding tidings of the assault on the
life of the President were flashed from
Washington, hepublic have been swayed
by alternate fear and hope Time and
again the President has stood at the en-
trance of the Valley of the Shadow OF
Death, and yet has not entered it. To-
day, after weeks of pain. of marvellous
endurance and persistent determination
to live, the patient requires all the atten-
ton that science can give him, all the
encouragement that love can bestow, and
all the heroic resolution he can summon
to his aid.
The public refused to lose faith in his
final recovery, in the face of his relspses,
because the splendid vitality of the Pres
ident had enabled him to withstand the
first shock and to rally from each sue
ceeding set back. To-day that vitality
is practically exhausted, and he is re-
duced to dependence on artificial modes
of nourishment, when his need of natu-
raj vigor is sorest. The people, taught
by the example of those about the
President. who, possibly, were in
spired by his singular cheerful
ness, have thus far virtually taken
it for granted that his recovery was SIM
ply question of time. So great has
been this fond faulty that the death OF
the President would shock the country
as profoundly now as it would have
done had he fallen at the assassin's fire.
Surely, the fondest well-wisher of the
President must admit that the time has
come to look the danger squarely in the
face.
The President has but one chance to
live, and he has not that bare chance, if
the dreaded blood poisoning has set in.
Whether it has or not, the intelligent
reader can resolve pretty well from the
light which Virchow, the famous Ger
man scientist, sheds upon the subject. a
condensation of which we give else
where. With the merits of the
Presidents treatment it is neither
our province nor our taste to deal.
1t is to be presumed that no means
have been spared to tide him through his
trouble But the views expressed by the
surgeons, if they have always been cor
81
ate, and the time has come for the truth
or silence. The comparative reticence
of Drs. Agnew and Hamilton should
commend itself to all of the physicians
in attendance The fact is clear that, even
if the President has not to face the peril
of blood poisoning, which. in his weak
ened state, would prove fatal, his lost
vitality must be restored. If there are
reasonable grounds for believing that his
stomach can be made to resume fairly its
functions, they should be made clear If
naught is left but hope, that fact, dis
heartening though 1t would be, should
not be kept back.
We yield to none in good wishes for
the illustrious sufferer, and recognize
the Importance of his preservation, but
we cannot and will not be party to the
well meant deception that has been so
skilltully practiced and willingly tole-
rated. The Presidents life is hanging
in the balance. A feathers weight may
turn the scale. He bears his cross with
manly resignation. but he has need of
the strength that the prayers of his peo-
pie can procure for him from Him who
holds all in the hollow of His hand.
Yesterdays reports show some slight
Improvement Some symptoms were
better, and none were worse than the
day before. He took and retained a
quantity of liquid nourishment. But, if
he is to survive, his strength must be
built up and that speedily.