Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-04-12
HOW GOLDBERG ATE,
TOOK HIS MEALS THROUGH AN IN
CISlON BETWEEN HIS RIBS.

H. Had a Cancer In His Throat and Could
Not swallOw-Was Kept Alive Thirty
six Days-Now the Surgeon Sues His Is
tate For $4,000.
Morris Goldberg, who was known in
East Oakland, Cal, by some people as the
"Hcrmit of the Hills, " was evidently will
ing to do almost anything to save his life.
A portion of his history was told in the
Oakland superior court recently when DR..
Dudley TAFT pressed his suit before Judge
Ogden and jury to recover 50, 200 from
the executors Of Goldberg's estate for keep
ing him alive for SO days.
Testimony was given that if the same
operation, with the same results-that is
to say, prolonging life for a month or two
had been performed on John W. Mackay,
Coils p. Huntington or James G. Fair it
would have been worth l,000,0 900. The
evidence in this regard caused a great
deal of surprise, but the physician staid
by the statements and added that it would
be worth the sum mentioned to keep any
one of the millionaircs alive for 36 days.
Goldberg was an old man Of ~ years and
practically lived alone in a handsome home.
BY strict economy he accumulated for
tune of about $3.50, 600. When he was told
that his time had come, he was willing to
do almost anything to prolong his life.
Starvation stared him in the face, for he
could get neither food nor liquid down his
throat on account of cancer There
seemed to be only one way to save his life,
and that was for him to submit to the cap
ital operation of gastrostomy The mod
ern operation had never before been per
formed in California Goldberg, however,
was willing to take the last desperate
chance to prolong his life At that time
money was no object to him, and he would
take the chances of life or death. Any
thing was better than starving to death.
When the time came for the operation,
an incision 2@ inches in length was made,
beginning onc-quartcr of an inch to the
left of the median line, parallel to and one
inch below the border of the ribs. AS soon
as the peritoneal cavity was opened the
liver and stomach came into view
The anterior wall of the stomach was
seized by two fingers, brought outside, sur
rounded by stcrilized gauze and held by
an assistant After puncturing the stom-
ach with bistoury a rubber catheter was
introduced andinfolded by 81 stitches to
the extent of two inches.
The stomach was returned after insert
ing four silk stitches in its walls. The
tube emerged at the upper third of tho
cutaneous incision. A clamp was placed
on the end of the tube to prevent the es-
cape of the contents of the stomach.
The operation proved to be emincntly
successful. Goldberg was able to enjoy a
meal of extraordinary proportions through
his little tube without bothcring his mouth
or throat He had, however no idea that
before the operation was performed on
him it had been tried on dogs.
The evidence showed that the doctor had
taken the prccaution to try the operation
on dogs The latter stood it all right and
got their food through tube. The sue.
cess of the operation on dogs gave the ply
stefan renewed confidence
Goldberg was willing to enjoy his meals
through a rubber tube so long as he had
life. At the expiration Of the 80 days after
the operation the old man passed away, be-
ing victim of pneumonia Before he
died, however, he neglected to pay his
physician, and that is the reason of the hot
legal battle in court over his fortune
San Francisco Chronicle.