The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-04-12

10 eSUdDllSn, therefore, the ticofy OF
fluid extract being the poison, the testi
mony of DR.. Mallet, that there were .S47
of grain of the alkaloid in the stomachof
Adams, must be thrown out; the testimony
of the same gentleman when he said that
the remains of the medicine prescribed
were found and that there was an absence
of color which the fluid extract would have
produced, must also be thrown out; the
testimony of the attendants as to the ap
pearance of the mugs; the testimony OF
the physician as to the quantity of medi-
icine in the mugs when they left the dis
pensary, in short every scintilla of evil
dence that has been adduced in the inyesti-
cation must be discarded, and the mugs
thrown out of the case, in order to val
idate the claim of our contemporary.
And now as to the general charge OF
want of care resulting from ineXperlence.
The Tindicator tries its velvet paw on the
physicians at the Asylum, but the tickling
sensation of the fur does not render the
sting of the claw less acute. The we'll
turned compliments which it pays to the
general qualifications of the officers serves
as a blind from which the most vital blow
at reputation can be struck. From our
knowledge of .our contemporary we can
hardly think he so intended it, but what
ever the intent might be the effect is the
same. Nothing so throws the reader off
of his guard as q semblance of fairness.
Under cover of deprecating party action he
manages to reflect most seriously upon the
capacities for the positions of the officers
in charge. His theory, as announced, is
based upon this ground. To our mind
there is little difference between gross care
lessness and incompetency. The results
are practically the same where a physician
is concerned. If this poisoning can be
traced to either the omissions OF COM
missions of the physicians in question, we
want to see it done. but we do not want to
see them condemned for an act over which
they had no control and which is just as
apt to have occurred under any other adj
ministration. 1t is clearly shown that the
poison was not procured from the dis
pensary. 1t seems a generally admitted
fact that the deadly drug was placed in the
mugs after they had been prepared in the
dispensary and placed in the hall. Was
this disposition of the mugs an innovation?
1t had been the custom for years, and il
Superintendent Hamilton and his assistants
are to be charged with carelessnesS there
for. then with equal propriety might the
same charge have been preferred against
their predecessors from DR.. Stribling down.
The fact that the custom had so long pre-
vailed created Il sense of security, and no
one dreamed of any unpleasant conse-
quences resulting until that fatal Saturday
morning.
Our contemporary seems to have for
gotten that Dr.. Wm Hamilton remained
in the position of first assistant physician
for three months after DR.. RO. Hamilton
assumed the duties of Superintendent.
But even if this had not been so, it was
shown in the trial that a daily record of
each case in the Asylum is kept. The dose
given, the condition of the patient, and
any symptoms worthy of note are noted
in book kept for that purpose, SO that a
physician entering the Asylum for the first
time could look over that record and ascer
tain the treatment of every case for years
back. If the patient had improved under
the new physician could continue in the
course of his predecessor. Throwing out
the question OF politics, we do not regard
changes in the management of these insti-
buttons as unmixed evils. The introduction
of new ideas and new methods is apt to
bring improvement with it. Men, even
the best of them, performing the same
round of duties day in and day out for
years will almost invariably get into GER
tain ruts, and more than an effort is re-
quired to get out This is demonstrated in
the business life of nearly every man. ItnOt
unfrequently occurred that an old and val
ued employee whose services were regarded
as well nigh indispensable, is removed and
the employer finds that instead of sustain
ing loss, he has actually been benefited
by the change. The world moves rapidly.
Improvement and advancement mark all
avocations, and the infusion Of new blood
into the channels of thought and action
are necessary in order to keep pace with
progress.
From the evidence elected before the
jury in the Asylum cases it cannot be
demonstrated that thp least shade of Sis
picion rests upon the competency OF care
fulness of the physicians in charge, and
we hazard nothing in saying that neither
the interests of the patients, nor the in
terest of the State have suffered in the
least by the change. The present admins
tration, so far as we can judge, is doing its
full duty, and will not suffer by comparison
with any of its predecessors.