The morning call., 1894-08-19
IS 1T PRETENSE :?
DIR. Stratton Has Doubts
of Mrs. Martin.
SHE NEARLY DECEIVED HIM.
He Says She May Have Fooled
the Specialists.
BUT THAT Is NOT so EASY.
Other People Who Have Long
Thought the Woman's Condition
Very Precarious One.
BUT THAT IS NOT so EASY.


cles in Oakland yesterday by the news,
published exclusively in THE CALL, that
the Governor might possibly permit Mrs
Mary Martin to leave San Quentin in order
to be operated upon for the tumor from
which she is suffering.
Assistant District Attorney Church tele-
phoned in the afternoon to the authorities
at San Quentin that they should hear Drs.
SiraIton and Adams before taking steps
for granting the petition. On the other
hand. Mrs. Martins friends and sympa-
thizers rejoced that she was no longer
being minisiered to by those physicians,
and proudly remarked, I'VE told you So"
when they read that the specialists, Drs.
Mclean and G. G. Gear, considered that
the woman's slender chances of life de-
pended upon an immediate operation.
The fact is that the specialists and DR..
Man sheld of San Quentin are not of the
same mind as Mrs. Martins Oakland adj
vlSers. The former consider that an Oper-
alton ought to have been performed some
time ago, anG that the patients condition
is now extremely critical DIR. Siratton,
however. remarked with regret yesterday
that he feared Mrs. Martin was fooling
those learned physicians.
i hate TO see the public imposed upon,
and that is my sole reason for giving nv
views for publication" he continued. IT
said some time ago that if Mrs. Martin
was pardoned to-day she would be we'll
enough TO walk out of the Jail in week,
l would have said the same on the 10Th
inst, the day she left here for San Ouen-
tim" The doctor further stated that Mrs
Martin had been offered permission to go to
the County Hospital for an operation, an
offer which she had refused, and he read
40 extract from report, which the article
In yesterdays CALL had prompted him to
prepare for the warden of San Quentin
Prison, IN which he confessed to "a frac-
ton Of doubt as TO the reality of the
tumor"
1t appears that DR.. Adams must have
shared the fraction of doubt, for nei her
of these physicians. whom the Assistant
District Attorney wishes the auth orities to
consult, ever urged any operation upon
the prisoner DR.. Adams, however. when
seen yesterday did not know anything
about the offer to let Mrs. Martin go to the
County Hospital, but was quits sure she
might have had an especially prepared
room in the prison had she been so
minded.
DR.. Church. the physician whom the
sick woman had engaged upon her own
account, stated that he had considered
Mrs. Martins case very urgent one, at
tended with some symptoms IN at made it
more than usually dangerous. The Sheriff,
he added, had given him permission to
perform the operation, with DR.. Stratton
in attendance, but having only given the
patient four days to make up her mind
had Withdrawn his consent when she had
asked for more time 10 consider the mat
ter Il do not wish TO reflect upon the
Sheriff." he added, "but evidently she had
incurred the i'll will of the Sheriff's fore e."
One OF the stanchest friends possessed
by the sick woman Is Mrs. Drake. III am
lattr-n 10 nrff, 4
My sole object in helping Mrs. Martin is
that L believe she has a right to her life.
IL was l who laid the case before the Gov
ernor, and as soon as he had heard the
explanation he telegraphed to District
Charles f. SnoOks. The Gov
ernor'S secretary sent me copy Of Mir.
Snooks' reply. This is the statement made
about the prisoners health" and Mrs.
Drake pointed 10 paragraph in docu-
ment signed by the Governors secretary:
1T is true that Mrs Martin is not alto
gether we'll woman. but it is the opinion
of DR.. Adams and DR.. Stratton that she
has been deesiviDg the Jail officials
but Mrs. Martin absolutely refused to
go to the hospital, where she might have
chosen her own physician"
Then Mrs. Drake by all that she held |
sacred declared feTvently that this was not
so. Mrs. Martin offered not only to pay
her OWN expenses, but to pay for police
she was in the hospital, but the Sheriff
woulG not grant her request.
Now, can you wonder that she would !
not consent TO be operated upon by Dr. |
StrattOn? When she first fell ill he cir
culated a report respecting her condition
that was damaging to her reputation and
regarding the true state of which any old
woman in Alameda County could have
given him pointers. That was about a
year ago, and / suppose he has altered his
mind by this time. A patient, though,
might be forgiven for doubling the ability
of man who had once made such a
blunder."
That woman has had hard work to keep
even the sympathy OF her daughter" said
Welles Whitmore, Mrs. Martins attorney.
ITO the girls credit, however L can say
that sue would get up in the night and
walk from here TO San Pedro If it would
do her mother any good. But setting SYM
patty aside, it seems to me that there
should be no effort made to bring Drs.
StrattOn and Adams opinion into the case
now. There are plenty of other expert
enced physicians, and it is better to have
men who will give an unbiased opinion
from a professional standpoint only.
"When l drew up a certificate stating
the facts of Mrs. Martins case, her
daughter took it to DIR. Stratton, but he
declined to sign it. l never spoke to him
upon the matter"
There Is no Q0uDt tnat pubic opinion
has all along been strongly against Mrs.
Martin. Yesterday was. perhaps, the first
occasion when slight revulsion occurred
in her favor. This was caused. not by
any change in her case, bat by the feeling
that after all she had been honest in pre-
tending 10 be a very sick wOman-unless,
indeed, DR.. Sratton is right In thinking
she has humbugged the specialists who
examined her at San Quentin.
In the story concerning the condition of
Mrs. Martin, which was telegraphed to
THE CALL from San Quentin Prison on
Friday evening. and which appeared
yesterday morning, several words were
omitted at the close OF a sentence which
may have given TO the article wrong in
terpretation. The completed sentence ia
as follows: However, the Governor has
undertaken to act, it is SAID, in the cause
OF humanity. Though his visit is osten
sibly for days rest as the guest of War
den Hale, those who claim TO be familiar
with the case say there are more substan-
tial considerations, or at least some subtle
influences at work TO secure the woman's
release. and that the real reason of the
Governors visit is to thwart any irregular
schemes that the woman's friends NAV
have concoete1."