The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-01-11
What Eminent New York Physicians
Think of the Faith Cure.

What Eminent New York Physicians
Think of the Faith Cure.
DR.. w. A. Hammond, who has Civ
en- much attention to these cures, was
seen at his home, in West Fifty
Fourth street. He has published a
number of articles on miracles and
faith cures, the last of which, in the
International Review, has been trans
lated into Spanish and Italian. Faith
cures of all kinds" he said, ARE in di-
rect proportion to the ignorance and
consequent credulity of the people,
but the number of these miracles is
decreasing as our knowledge of natu-
raj laws is increased" He had read
the recent article in the Tribune, de-
scribing the faith work of Mr.. Simp-
son, with much interest. 1t was, he
said. manifestation of the same kind
as other alleged cures, containing,
when sifted down, nothing especially
remarkable. A faith cure could beef
fected by any man, whether a thor
oughgoing scoundrel or the
most religious man who ever
lived. The faith did not
consist in nor was it necessarily a be-
lief in a supernatural power. 1t was
simply confidence in the person or
the means of etfecting the result. He
related recent incident of a lady, a
devout Roman Catholic, who applied
to him for some LOurdeS water, by
which so many miracles have been
said to have been performed of late
years, and which she knew him to
have. She was suffering from a con-
traction of the muscles of the neck, so
that her head was twisted to one side,
and she could not turn it, but she was
confident that the Lourdes water
would cure her. He gave her some of
the water in vial labeled Aqua Gro
tones" saying it was just as good as
the LOurdeS, but she returned several
days after, no better from its applica-
ton. He then gave her some croton
water, labeled ''Lourdes, Feast of the
Annunciation." In few hours she
came back rejoicing and thoroughly
cured by the application of what she
believed to be LourdeS water.
allow do you account for the fact,
doctor, that the cures of Mr.. Simpson
embrace so wide variety of diseases 2"
said the reporter.
1t is easy to understand. A non
professional man cannot recognise all
diseases and assign them their proper
names. Even the best physicians are
frequently deceived. Hysteria, found
in women so often, arising from the
troubles they are most subject to,
stimulates all diseases, such as paraly-
sis, stomach troubles, ague, and even
cancer and consumption. But con-
sumption often passes away of itself,
as we now know. A conSumptive
will experience relief at every change
of treatment; very few persons can
tell when they have cancer; ague has
been shown comfortable by the will,
and scores of limbs have been ampu-
tated by ill-informed surgeons that
might have been restored through a
proper treatment for hysteria, which
is no more than nervous derange-
ment of the system. There is a
Catholic priest now over in Jersey
City who cures paralysis, or claims to
cure it, laying on hands,"
HAS not magnetism something to
do with these cures 2"
mo; it is simply such confidence as
in former years led to the preparation
of the most nauSeouS mixtures, such
as cobwebs and vermin, to- effect such
cures; liquors drank from human
skulls, ETC., and the believers in these
cures quite as often apply to the devil
as to the Virgin Mary or a higher
power. 1t may be just as well in
many cases, if the means can cure
anybody or effect any relief from pain,
that they should do it; but the more
people become acquainted with these
things the less frequent will such
miracles become. If they were genuine
it would be as easy to effect a cure that
would Danish all doubt. A man has
six fingers-many men and women
are so defOrmed-let the Supert1uouS
finger be removed by faith, prayer and
amendment, and no physician would
then doubt further"
DR.. SpitZka, of East Fiftie tn street,
who was prominent witness in the
Guiteau trial, is leading authority
on the brain and nervous derange-
ments. One of the members of Mr..
Simpsons church who had been cured
of the opium habit by faith, and sta
ted in the Tribune account that she
was for some time under DR.. Spltzka's
treatment. He says, however, that he
had no remembrance of such a person,
and he thought he should be likely to
remember her, as opium eaters are not
very numerous. "Mr. Simpson is pro-
baby" he said, sincere in his pro-
LESSONS, but in that case he is afflicted
with kind of religious mOnomania.
Faith cures are frequently made in
functional diseases, but there is no in
stance on record of organic disease
being cured by faith. Organic troub-
les may be perhaps favorably influence
ed by it, so that the manifestations of
the malady would be temporarily sus-
pended, but this to very slight eX-
tent. These faith cures become popu-
lar periodically every fifteen or TWEEN
ty years and then they die away and
no one hears of them again for that
time. The only real harm they
do is to deceive persons who
may be really in need of med
ical aid with the idea that
they can obtain what they require
through faith. CSgliostro, the great
est humbug of the last century, prac-
ticed it, as have many quacks and bet
ter men since that time"
~ GU think, DOCTOR" said the re-
porter, 'that all faith cures are ex-
ercised on those afflicted with hyste-
ria?"
AS rule, hysteria apes every con-
ceivable disease, illustrating the infu-
ence of the mind over the body"
DIR. Meredith Clymer, of 65 West |
Thirty street, an eminent au-
thority on brain and nervous trouble, |
said: Il don't know much about these |
cures of Mr.. Simpson, but l don't sup
pose they differ materially from others |
Of the same character, frequent in the
history of the medical profession all /
over the world There was one JAG
ques, a great charlatan in Paris, who
claimed to cure paralysis by command.
The nervous affections he probably
did cure or help. but not the organic