The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-10-03


mile of cots with the sleeping, groaning,
moaning, dying old men; worn out the in
eyltable awaits them. They are certainly as
comfortable as it is possible to make so many
poor wretches in so small space Physically
comfortable. But mentally? l wonder if
they are thinking about being cut up by the
students of Harvard in their instructive de-
yotion to science. They know this awaits
them. The law OF the great State of Massa-
ehusetts gives the bodies of these old men to
the students of Harvard. The whole row, alb.
civilized. distinguished Protestant world has
not been about that at all. To put it briefly,
the question has not been as 10 whether they
should be cut up, but as to how they should
be cut w. l wonder if these dying old men
take so very much interest in the question of
how as the politicians? And l wonder if
that honest old Swedish sailor, G. J. Eek
land, who had the cross and body
If Christ tattooed in India ink on
his breast, did not think this all
over as be lay dying there? l wonder if he
did not pray and hope and pray agsin that
the cross Of Christ might keep his body some
how sacred when dead? We'll, poor old
Christian Eckland, whatever you may have
hoped or prayed as you lay dying here in
this awful plane, that cross and image of
Christ did not protect you. On the contrary,
it was precious prize to the rising medical
student of Harvard. They skinned off that
cross and image of Christ from above your
heart in the interest of science and advanced
thought, your name and all on it, poor Chris
tan sailor, dying here in strange land and
they said it looked beautiful, and they boast
ed of it. and they showed il about until it
ans other like things became the topic of
the country. Let us pass on quickly from
this scene and this subject. Bus let me tell
you this. students of Harvard: have a pro-
found reverence for learning. / have always
felt like lifting my hat to Harvard man
when i met him. Hereafter | shall never
meet a Harvard man without an irresistible
desire to lift my foot.
Passing through the bowling house for the
insane, we come to where many young moth
eTs, baby-mothers, bend down their faces in
shame over their fatherless babes For a State
of great culture, and a city that boasts to
have the advanced thought of the age, tell
you these poor, pitiful mothers, who could
not and would not hold up their heads as
we hurried on, are numerous, fearfully nu-
merousl Ii this is what advanced thought"
leads to, say stop! But whatever has put
this state OF things at your doors, look into
1t. Call home some of your reformerS, your
human rights teachers and your woman's
rights preachers, and let them look into this
thing, and try and help these poor shamed
mothers TO higher life. Let them, for the
sake of pity, please give up other peoples
business for little while and look TO their
own. tell you, Massachusetts, YOU
have got mote in your eve
bigger than Mount Shasta. Call home
some of your carpet-baggers and try little
to take it out, and see yourselves as others
begin to see you. And here is the place, in
this narrow little room, on that bed there,
where the screw-driver and the file were used
In case OF craniotimy by DIR. Lothrop, the
surgeon" of this place. Some Of the citi-
zens of Boston said to me that it was all
right, as the girl got well: One gentleman
inc tod hQf no IL
credit for his skill in DESTROYING the child and
saving the woman's life with these instru-
mentsi A screw-driver and a file, And this
operation took place only the other day and
within almost a stones throw of Harvard
where the poor are cut up, skinned and
tanned, in order that surgery ana medical
science might be advanced Well, it has not
advanced very far if The Massachusetts, doc
tors within twenty miles of Harvard have to
use such implements. And yet, how can you
expect these young men to learn much when
they arc so busy making tobacco pouches out
of the skins of their mothers bodies, slippers
out OF the skins of their mothers breasts.
boots for their delicate feet from the skins of
brave old seamen cast at their door to die?
spoke to several shoemakers yesterday as
to the quality of this new kind of leather,
and they did not seem to have high opinion
of its durability as an article of wear. They
all agreed that it is very soft and fine. One
ola shoemaker, however, INSISTED tldt IL
would make splendid leather if we could
only kill the men or women whose skin we
wish to tan, as we do cattle and other ami
mails. The rotUenness of the leather made
from human skins, he urged, was due main
ly to the varied diseases of which people die.
He agreed with me that this new line Of in
dustry could never be very prosperous till
one could kill the men and women and little
children and skin them first, as we do
of
all this is question of time in
this great city of advanced thought. No, he
had never made a pair of dhde shoes for a
delicate Harvard boy out of baby's skin.
THAT" he said, was a downright lie; but
he knew of a fashionable doctor of
Boston who had pair of kid gloves made of
negro baby's skin" 'Women's skim" the
old shoemaker went on to say, lis better
than mans skin; it is tougher and finer;
and these gentlemen prefer to wear women's
skins to mems skins" find wide difference
in quality between the dozen or two white
skins have seen here, and that of the me-
gro. The latter is as course as pig skin.