The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-10-16
ATALK WITH DR.. sERcMANN.
What the Germans Say In Reply to
Mackenzie.

NEW YORK, Oct 15.-The Herald prints
an interview between its Berlin CORES
pondent and DR.. Bergman, the eminentGer
mah physician, who was in attendance upon
Emperor Frederick during his illness. When
asked what he thought OF Sir Morel Mac
kenzie's defence, published in last Fridays
papers, he explained with brusque gesture:
1T is arrant nonsense. As long as the En-
peror Frederick was Ill we would not give
details of his case to the public. By we,
mean the German physicians. This course
was made difficult to us, as the English po-
lltlcal and medical newspapers covered us
with abuse. When the. Emperor Frederick
died the minister of the royal household
asked to publish the reports made by us dur
ing the Emperor's illness. This is how the
German doctors report came to be published,
and am happy TO find that 1t has been trans
lated into English. Here is copy. Every
English-speaking man or woman can now
judge the case on its merits. What Macken-
zie now brings forward is SO trifling that it
scarcely seems to deserve an answer. Against
the remark OF Mackenzie, that he keenly
feels the unseemliness of controversy caus-
ing additional suffering to hearts already
sorely, tried, have nothing to say; but. in
regard to the charges amounting to malprac-
tice that Mackenzie says were brought
against him by the German doctors
sicians, do not hesitate in saying
that Mackenzie's treatment of the Emperor
did amount to malpractice, inasmuch as both
diagnosis and treatment displayed gross ig-
norance of medicine in general. His whole
knowledge OF anatomy and pathology begins
and ends in the larynx. In his defence he
overlooks the fact that his accusations
against me fall to the ground, in the presence
of the testimony OF Professors Virchow and
Waldemeyer's post-mortem examination
Mackenzie's defence casts doubt on the ca
pabilities of his German colleagues, but Vir-
chOw's post-mortem clearly established
the fact that Tobold, Gerhardt and | had
all been quite correct In our diagnosis of the
Emperor's malady. The one who allowed
the 1fttest time and opportunity of arresting
the Emperor's disease to slip away was the
famous laryngologist, Mackenzie. He may
pen whole libraries to escape this reproach,
but in vain. Had the operation been made
on the Crown Prince in May, as wished,
His Majesty Frederick Ill might have, Just
as well as not, been alive now, as are the
four patients referred to in Jour report, upon
whom the operation was so successfully per-
formed. Science shows US today tnat every
cancer that is small and operated upon In
Lime, can be permanently removed, but IL
sne cancer becomes larger, the operation
.Lst must iail. 1t is entirely MackenZie's fault
.nat the operation was delayed until the
Gnahancer Ghiai cancer bad grown into a large one.
rot to aiut and Iobold we're were quite right
Enono W. use the folceps, as the history of the
ed by IN, NJ Ease shows that the piece remoy
10y o5 mackenzie led to false deductions. The
piece was pronounced heaIthv while the
post-mortem revealed cancer. Mackenzie's
tdDo .acA VI general pathological knowledge was
tne cause ci TINS mistake, and of his not
hhoWlnS why Professors Tobold and Ger
hardt would not remove n nieoa "o of 49,,
growth. P'00e Vi Wv