Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-13
THE TRADE IN DIPLOMAS.
COnsiderate Chicago Man Who Sends
a Bottle Along With his Bid-FOIlOw-
ing Up the Advertisement of a Spuri-
Gus Widow
Fe,g York SIN.

A COnsiderate Chicago Man Who Sends
Bottle Along With his Bid-FoIlow-
ing Up the Advertisement of a Spuri-
GUS Widow.
Eel0 York Sun.
81 fear that only too often after a doc
tors DEATH" said an old physician to
reporter Of the Sun, 'his parchment
goes on-under another name, of course
licensing the quack to cure or kill, as the
case may be-"
The doctor opened drawer in his desk
and took out newspaper, so folded as to
give prominence to the following short
advertisement, marked with blue pen
ell:
A WIDOW will dispose of her late hus-
n bands medical diploma, books, and in
struments. WIDOW, box $50, Herald up
town office.
II showed this" said he, sto a Young
member of the profession and asked him
to answer 1t. | wanted to get at the mar
ket value of property of this nature. and
also to discover whether the article offered
was genuine or not. l thought It would
be interesting to know whether our
widows were selling our diplomAs-name
and ALTO common quacks; or whether
the bogus diplOma-mill men were adopt
ing new and quiet method of doing
business at the expense of our widows
regulations for prOpriety. Well, our
young friend answered the advertisement,
with letter pretending that a druggist
about to move to a Western State was
ready to enter into negotiations at once,
and asking as to it's price and where the
paper might be seen. He got this reply a
few days later:
NEW YORK, wednesday.
EdlCdrd Jackson Esq.
DEAR SIR: l will say that will take one
hundred dollars for the document. 1t is in
nFda md Tod 2 = ( I,xro I 81
lege in an Eastern State. / leave to- day for
Philadelphia, but if you wish it at that price
Will send IT to YOU by express, Z. o. D., or
send il to some firm in your city, and Won can
get it from them. / should erase the name,
and you could place in any name. l sold all
the books and instruments last week. 1t is an
old school, and in as fine condition as when
received. Let me know at once if you desire
1t. Very respectfully, w.
Address W., care w. V. II. Lelght, Gene
raj Delivery, New York city, and it will be
forwarded to me if | should not return to-
morrow.
''This letter was somewhat puzzling,
containing, as it did, marks both OF genu-
ineness and deception. The date, for in
stance, OF the document, as given in her
letter, is constructed with the first two
figures, l and 8, and the last figure, 8, in
the usual manner, and they are properly
spaced; but the place of the third figure
of the date is occupied by curious look
ing pOthOOk, which seems to be and a
I crowded together, or a with a long
flourish from its upper extremity. AS a
consequence the date of graduation may
be taken for 1858 or 1878, or easily chang
ed to one or the other. The date of a di-
plOma is an important matter. 1t would
be absurd for young man of twenty-five
to have a diploma giving his date Of
graduation as 1858, or a man of fifty to
possess document showing him to have
been graduated in 1878, only five years be-
fore. Well, as the dates of diplomas are
heavily inscribed, and sometimes even
printed on them as a means of protection
against fraud, the question arose which
person was most likely to know of this
special fact and provide for it so ingeni-
ously, widow or a man of sin engaged
in the bOgus-diplOma business? My con-
clusiOn was that the article was genuine,
and had been offered to us by a specula-
tor.
1T remained to discover how the specu-
latOr obtained his stock in trade. The first
lady whom | addressed on the subject, the
widow of a respec able New York physi-
clan, told me that during the week which
followed her husbands burial she re-
ceived two carefully written letters ask
ing whether she desired to dispose of her
husbands professional effects, and saying
by way Of postscript that, although the
writer's needed only the parchments' at
present, they would buy the surgical in
st uments and books as soon as they
could find storage. Another widow lady
told me that gentlemanly appearing
man called upon her soon after her hus-
band died and introduced himself as Doc
tor Blank, an old friend Of her husband in
hospital days. He inquired most deli
catelV into her circumstances. stating
that he mad heard She needed money and
Offering her his assistance, which he
l. IF 4
he arose to depart, he begged for some
small article by which he might remember
his friend, anything said he, seven his
old diploma Will do He was dsap-
pointed. Doctors wives are not ignorant
OF human nature. Another one said that
the buying Of diplomas was often done by
women; two of them of quiet, respecta-
bic exterior had called upon her and made
Overtures in a simple, matter-of-fact way,
which seemed to show that they were not
too often disappointed in such neg0tia
tOns. They seemed hurt at the widows
cold refusal.
''The fact is beyond question that a
large number of secondhand diplomas
are in circulation. A professional friend,
now settled in Missouri, writes me that
the State is full of quacks practicing I'M
der Eastern diplomas. He knows them
to be genuine, but they are in the hands
the tibula. BY the way, he says that there
is a diploma dealer in Chicago who
watches the Eastern papers for notices of
the death of doctors, and sends the widows
autographed letters, making offers for the
documents, and forwarding at the same
time a small bottle of erasing fluid with
which the rellct may remove the name of
her dear departed. Thoughtful of him,
isn't it? or course most of us know well
enough that our widows preserve our di-
plOmas with great reverence, and yet we
are obliged to account in some other way
for the enormous number Of these dOcu-
ments to be found in INSCRIPTIONS hands.
think we must allow thai our widows
sometimes sell them. In a body Of at
least 70, 900 men there must be certain
number who leave their wives in such
desperate circumstances as to make it
necessary for them to turn everything into
money. At other times diplomas pass TO
near relatives, who prefer $20-fOr that is
the Dealers rate-to a useless piece of
parchment. Many of them have been
stolen from our offices. | know of three
or four such cases. On the other hand, |
have known doctors to destroy their di-
plOmas after they have made their reputa-
tion, for fear the parchment would fall
into the hands of some quack. Doctors,
however, do not like to do this. 1t is,
nevertheless, | think, the better plan.
Either that, or to have a law that it shall
be destroyed, within three days after the
Doctors death, by the Board Of Health.
THE COMING RAILROAD.
Operated by Electricity-2OO Miles an
HOur-Packages to be Transported