Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-19

Doctors.
 THE PRESIDENT.
 Symptoms of Blood Pofsoning-The Par otid Gland Inhamed-NO Alarm Felt by
 the Doctors-They Deny that it Indi- cates Pysem1a-Improye ed Power of the l Stomach-Story of the Bulletins.
 WASHINGTON, Aug. 1s.-The Presidents s
 stomach behaved itself so well during the
 entire day that hope increased to such an ex-
 tent that many begin to believe the crisis
 entirely past. There was an acknowledged
 improvement in his general condition over
 yesterday, which with the improved state of
 his stomach gave genuine ground for encour-
 agement The only disagreeable feature of
 the day has been the appearance of infam-
 nation of his right parotid gland mentioned
 in the noon bulletin. The mere mention of
 this fact, unaccompanied by any explanation,
 was almost alarming to the public and ex-
 tremely unsatisfactory to every one. Inquiry,
 however, drew out plenty of assertions that
 there was nothing alarming in the infamma- l tion, but it's cause was not so easily discov- ! cred. The gland affected is that which is I located between the base of the jaw and l the ear, but will be most easily identified by the public as the gland which
 is always swollen and enlarged by humps. The development of this feature of the case
 was jumped at by croakers as an evidence of pyamia, and that idea soon gained wide cir | culation and belief. In refutation of this idea all the attending physicians have spoken. I Dr. Bliss reiterated his denial of the exis- | tence of pyemia in the case, which was sent I earlier in the day. Dr. Hamilton has not ! thought it best to enter into any detailed ex- planation of the character of the inflammation, 1 but he has given repeated assurances this af- | ternoon that it is not such as to alarm the physicians. Dr. Barnes, after the issue of I the noon bulletin, said that the President ! showed marked improvement as compared with the same hour yesterday, and that the ! inflammation was of comparatively trifing nature. Dr. Woodward stated to friend at 2 o'clock this afternoon that the case was pro- gressing satisfactorily. DENIAL FROM DR. BLISS. The agent of the National Associated Press sent note to Dr. Bliss this afternoon, ask I ing if he wrote letter credited to him in the Chicago EUe7ai7g Journal of August 18th, in which he was said to refuse all conversa- ton with correspondents, and in which also all reported interviews with him were char acterized as pure inventions and the invent DTS were said to be ''press gang'' trying to I make fools of the physicians. The doctor replied in writing as follows
 reply to your note requesting to be informed if
 the enclosed slip from the Chicago Eoeaiaag Journal
 is an entire fabricaton and is only one of the
 false and cruel attacks upon made since have ident have not heretofore thought proper to make
 any public denial of these heartless attacks upon my
 of this date, because you seem to think it of suf. cient importance to call my attention to it. THE PRESENCE OF PYEM1A DENIED. | At about half-past in the afternoon the | attention of Dr. Bliss was called to the re- mark that the inflammation of the Presidents | parotid gland was an evidence of pyamia. ! ''It is strange, :" said the doctor, Swhen pyae- l mia is such specific disease and it's symp- | toms are so marked, that we have been able l to discover no indications of it, and yet peo- pie say the President has it. This infamma- | ton is nothing unusual in cases where pa- tients have become greatly debilitated I | have seen it many times in cases of gunshot | wounds , 'It is not pyaemia then?" ''Oh, | mo-" And 1t does not indicate some new fever, typhoid or other ?" ''No, we do not l look upon it as in any way alarming"
 DR. AGNEw CONFIDENT OF RECOVERY.
 Dr. Agnew returned to Philadelphia this l morning Before he left the White House | he assured Mrs. Garfield that she need have | no fear for the President, all danger having | passed away. He told her that he could al- l most assure recovery, provided the President l met with no more relapses. Giving the sick man natural nourishment was resumed this morning, and while the greatest care is being taken, it is thought that a foundation will be | laid on which more can be built.
 DOCTORS THEORY OF THE INFLAMMATION.
 Ina rv1r1 hi %1,okI the condition of the Presidents body indi- cated generally bad condition of the blood | Another was that prominent surgeon had
 predicted that the morning would show general outbreak of pyaemia. A prominent l physician who had developed some opposi- | tion to the doctors earlier in the case says | tonight that the attending physicians are | right in their assertion that the Inflammation II is not pyemia He says that he has had sev-
 eral cases in his practice where such infam-
 nation has resulted where circumstances of | the cases have not allowed the patient | to take nourishment through the mouth. l He explains it by saying that the parotid | gland secreting as it does much of the saliva, | must necessarily infame if the secretion be- | comes too great as the saliva has no demand l upon it unless food passes the vicinity of it's | secretion It does seem natural to believe l that the continued abstinence of the Presi- | dent from taking food may have resulted in | sufficient lack of saliva to have provoked in | fammation. The theory is further encour- l aged by the fact that now, since the resumption | of natural nourishment has been better es- l abolished, the inflammation has already sub- | sided greatly, and at 10 p. was causing | comparatively slight annoyance.
 ALARM AMONG THE DOCTORS.
 Towards evening one of the surgeons talk | ing by telephone said the inflammation was | result of the extreme debility of the patient. l It should cause no alarm. The same sur l geon stated that the President had not only 1 partaken of koumiss several times during the | day, but had partaken of milk gruel prepared l by Mrs. Garfield. This nourishment was all | retained without the slightest nausea- In | conclusion the telephonist stated that the | President was doing fully as well as could be | expected, and was in fact getting on admira- ! ply. At p. m Dr. Reyburn said, 'sHe is | improving' s'How about the infamma l tlon ?" ssIt now causes less pain than earlier I in the day" ssWhat will be the end of it ?" | ''We hope to scatter it, but it may suppurate l In either event it need not cause any alarm. | Of course it is source of worry to the Pres | ident, but the pain will not be severe after | the first several hours. It pains him less \ ton something in the nature of septiloemia l not that it is an indication of blood po1son-
 ing, but of bad state of the blood, brought l about by long prostration, and which asserts i itself now on account of the patients debili l ty. Despite these assertions as to the char | acter of the new trouble, local outside phy- | sicians are filling the town with statements | that it is pysemic indication, and consider | able alarm is caused thereby.
 RETAINING MILK CRUEL ON HIS STOMACH.
 The President retained still more of the 1 milk gruel this evening and says it is the best | thing he has taken in many day. His wife | madeit He fell asleep naturally at D. m. and l did not awake for an hour. At 10:30 p. m. the house was closed and Secretary Brown | went home. Half an hour later the surgeons | reported the President resting comfortably | and the prospects encouraging for satisfac- l