St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-11
A PLAIN STATEMENT
OF What Occurred at the
Trial of DR.. Blair Before
the State Board.
Mr.. Broulette Tells the Result
Of His Experience Under
Dps. Mccoy & Blair's
Treatment.
minneapolis Times, Oct. 10. 1891.

Minneapolis Times, Oct. 10. 1891.
The state medical board yesterday, at
st. Paul, began an investigation into
the charges preferred by DR.. Asa r.
Goodrich. of st. Paul, against DR.. w. F.
Blair, of Minneapolis, and DR.. Terry j.
Hutton. of st. Paul. for alleged unpro-
fessionaI, dishOnorable, dishonest prac-
tees. These two physicians have been
representatives of DIR. j. Cresap McCoy's
treatment for catarrh. 1t will be re-
membered that several years ago DR..
Mccoy opened offices in the two cities
and a prosecution was begun against
him for practicing in this state without
license. He was a regular
graduate of a college and had
abundant testimonials as to his
qualifications, but he advertised
extensively, and thus incurred the hos
tilfty of the local physicians, who think
that advertising is hideous crime.
Pc was driven from the state by the
crusade against him. Last spring,
however, his offices were reOpened.
charge of DR.. Blair, and the st. Paul
office was ran by DR.. Hutton. The
present investigation virtually amounts
to a renewal of the trouble of several
yealS ago. The charges against the two
physicians are the same, except in the
fact that DIR. Blair is accused OF being a
member of the firm and practicing un-
der the firm name. Dr.. Hutton Is
charged with dishonesty, as it is claimed
lie impersonated Dr.. Mccoy in the St.
Paul office.
The examination began yesterday
morning at II o'clock, upon the arrival
dent OF the board. The state was rep
resented by Attorneys ID. w. Lawler
and j. c. Michaels. while Judge j. P.
Rea, of Minneapolis, and M. ID. Mum,
of st. Paul, appeared for the defend
| ants. The examination did not really
begin until 2 o'clock in the afternoon,
when DR.. Goodrich'S complaint was
read, which charges that J. Cresap Nc
Coy, an alleged physician living in New
York, and known as an timer
ant and travelling physician, has
widely advertised himself so that
many people in st. Paul and Minneapo-
lis believe Mccoy a competent phySi-
| clan. That for two years Mccoy has
not been nor is he now practicing as a
physician in Minnesota, but has legally
been barred from doing so; that DR..
| Blair knew this, but for the purpose of
imposing upon the ignorant and credu-
lous has advertised the firm of Mccoy
& Blair, setting forth many unprece-
denied cures of catarrh, all of which
representations were false and untrue.
Judge Rea made motion to dismiss
| the complaint on the ground that the
board had not the power TO revoke
| licenses to practice granted prior to 1888,
but the motion was denied, and the eX-
animation of witnesses began.
Mrs. Elizabeth ID. Clayton was then
called as a witness. She testified that
when DR.. Mccoy was in Minneapolis
some four years ago he cured her hus-
badd permanently of bad case of ca
tarrh, and that she was afflicted with
the same disease, and that her husband
saw the advertisement of Drs. Mccoy &
Blair, and wanted her to go and be
treated. She did so, supposing that DR..
Mccoy had returned. When she got to
the Office she asked for DR.. Mccoy. but
DR.. Blair told her that DR.. Mccoy
was not there, and he would
give her the same treatment that DR..
Mccoy had given her husband. She
took the treatment and it had done her
a great deal of good. She had been
treated by doctors in Detroit, Toronto
and other places, but had never had
any treatment that relieved her as DR..
Blair's did.
Clement Boos, boy of fourteen, was
then called. He said he had suffered
| from catarrh; that he saw the adver-
tisement of Mccoy 81 Blair in the news
papers. and had his father take him to
the West hotel. When they got
there, his father asked if that
was the place where they cured
catarrh; the boy in the Office said
sit was" He received treatment from
DIR. Blair. and had been much improved.
He said he thought he was being treated
| by Dr. Mccoy, because he saw his name
OH the window, but no one told him so,
| and he did not ask the name of the
doctor. He would not have stopped
taking the treatment had he learned
that it was DIR. Blair instead of DR.. Nc
Coy who was treating him, because he
was getting so much better. He had no
reason to think Dr.. Mccoy was treating
him except the name that was on the
window.
j. A. Patton, detective under Ma
son, of census notoriety, was the next
witness. He said he went to Mccoy &
Blair's office in Minneapolis, July %.
He met man outside the Office who
took him in, and introduced DR.. Blair
to him as DR.. Mccoy; that he asked
Blair If his name was Mccoy, ana he
said no, his name was Blair. Two other
detectives of the same agency said they
called at the Office of Mccoy q Blair,
and, knowing the latter. called him DR..
Mccoy, and that he did not correct
them or say he was not Mccoy. Neither
of them asked for treatment, and both
testified that they did not ask DR.. Blair
his name. 1t did not develop who the
parties were who employed these de-
tectiyes, but perhaps it will later on.
The evidence SO far fails to show the
slightest attempt at deception by DR..
| Blair The case of Interstate closed
with the above testimony.
DR.. Blair said yesterday to a Times re-
porter concerning the prosecution
against him: Il have done nothing
but what has been above board and but
what is the privilege of any other man.
Never have l attempted to deceive any
of my patients, either by promising a
cure, when | knew it was an impossi-
bility, or acting in manner to lead
them to think that they were being
treated Icy DR.. Mccoy in person."