The Portland daily press., 1885-04-18
Gen. Grants Condition.

The improvement in Gen. Grants condi-
tiou within the past few days which his ply
sicians pronounce phenomenal has evil
IDENTITY raised high hopes in the minds of the
general public of his ultimate recovery. Of
course it is no uncommon thing for a pa
tient afflicted with fatal disease to rally
and for time grow better. Such cases are
common enough in every physicians prac-
tice, and il the improvement in Gen.
Grants condition is all the basis there is for
hope, if his disease is still admitted to be in
durable, then the public which is beginning
to believe that there are yet years Of | fe be-
fere the General is doomed to bitter disap-
pointment But there are signs that the
public may have far better grounds for hope
than that.
Yesterday was published dispatch said
to emanate from intimate friends of the
Grant family in which it was declared that
the suspicion was growing that the doctors
had been mistaken in their diagnosis of
Gen. Grants disease and that he was not
afflicted with cancer, and yesterday morn
ing's New York Sun at the head of its edi-
torial columns published the following state
ment: The italics are the SUMS:
The improvement in Gen. Grants condition
steadily continues 1t is ascersaifsed that his
disease is not cancer. and there no reason in his
physical organization why he should not recover his
health entirely.
To be sure no medical authority is given
for this announcement, but its position in
the paper and the positive character of it in
dictate that the Sun had very high authority
for making it.
Physicians are not infallible; the best Of
them sometimes make great mistakes, and
1t must be remembered that Gen. Grants
attending physicians have already confessed
that they were in error 10 one of their dag
noses or at least thought they were. On
the 2Ist of February the Medical Record
which is edited by DR.. Shrady, the physician
who has signed all the bulletins that have
come from the sick room, published the fol-
lowing announcement:
''There have been SO many sensational stories
concerning the precise character of the disease Of
Gen. Grants tongue and throat that it will be graf
hyAAB W lid AAfug AAA0AuS " AchtA kuhb al tLO
more serious and alarming symptoms connected
with them have virtually disappeared. 1t was at
enc time feared, in professional circles at least
that the alterations of the tongue and fauces were
dependent upon malignant dlsesse,a not uncommon
occurrence at his time of fe the result of local
irritation from troublesome toeth. The focus of
the trouble the side of the ogan the usual site
Of cancer, and the induration of the base of the
sore ominousy con6rmatory Of ouch suspicion.
We gratiGed to learn from his attending pbysi-
clan that all those signs Of epithelioma have passed
away, that the liberated surfaces have healed and
the adjoining tissues have regained their natural
suppleness."
Two weeks later DIR. Shrady had changed
his mind as will be seen by the following
announcement which appeared in the Record
of March z:
ut is matter of deep regret that the grave sus-
pcions entertained Of the serious nature of General
Grants disease are confirmed by diagnosis of
spithehona of the tongue and fances."
To be sure when the second diagnosis was
made, the disease had progressed further,
and SO furnished, perhaps, more trustworthy
evidence OF its precise character. Besides,
adiagnosis of such grave import as was the
second, would be likely to be scrutinized
more closely before it was made public, than
one that pointed to a favorable termination
as did the first. The liability to error in The
second, therefore, was not so great as in the
first. But it cannot be positively asserted
that error was absolutely out of the question
and the improvement in the PATIENTS con-
dition which DR.. Shrady himself pronounces
phenomenal" justifes suspicion at least
that an error did occur.
The weight of medical testimony, it must
be admitted, is still very largely in favor of
the correctness of the second diagnosis, yet
the SUMS announcement indicates that there
are some dssenters from this opinion.
Should General Grant continue to steadily
improve few days longer, the ranks of these
dissenters will be greatly augmented.
Everybody, his physicians as sincerely as
anybody, will hope that it may.