The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-07-16
EDITOR ADVANCE,
Dear Sir:

EDITOR ADVANCE,
Dear Sir;
Upon reading Mr..
Maxwell's first letter, in the Advance
regarding our local physicians was
impelled to answer it; but was re-
strained from doing 50 by the thought
that the more such matter was agi-
tated the more unpleasant it became
for those mostdeeply concerned. But
since reading Mr.. Maxwell's reply to
"Truth," who told the truth, SO far as
he knew it, it seems to me that the
whole truth should be publlshed-in
view of the fact that in the fifteen
years or more during which l have
been a reader Of the ADVANCE. l have
never read, in its columns, au article
so unfair to any individual as are Mr."
Maxwell's letters to our Wolthington
physicians. In the first appendicitis
case attended by one of our physician,
a doctor from another town was called
and the patient died. Then came
four cases in which operations were
performed by the physicians, and in
which recovery followed. In one OF the
a physician from abroad was present
but acted in serious capacity only;
and themother of the patient told me
the attending physician said that she
could send for any physician she
choose, to perform the operation' but
that she preferred he should perform
it himself. I have ascertained that in
every operation, instead of trying to
force the patient to confine himself to
local physicians, he has made the same
suggestion. After these four success
full operations came large number
inf cases in which an operation was
Mot deemed necessary, and also three
where death RESULT not = from lack
of skill on the part of the doctor, but
from causes which could be appreci-
ated by any intelligent physician. If
these three cases had come previous
to the four successful cases upon
whom our physicians operated,~ 1t
might seem less unfair to charge the
deaths to want Of qualification, and
not to the circumstances which really
caused them. As it was-we all
know that physician, who is once
qualified to perform anopeEation does
not lose his skill in that direction,
until overcome by second childhood.
In one of the cases where an operation
was not preformed, ths mistress OF the
home told me that, although two quite
noted physicians from abroad were
called, she had more confidence in
the judgment OF her local physician
than in that of both of the others.
The case to which Mr.. Maxwell says
the DR.. of Mankato was called, be-
longed to another local physician.
The Mankato doctor came, made an
incision to see if appendicitis existed,
found it did not and sewed up the
inicison. AS to DR.. Murphy's pham-
plet DIR. Murphy had the liberty to
operate Immediately in every case and
also had access to trained nurses. Ii
Mr.. Maxwell had read reports from
hundreds of physician instead OF from
one, he would know that the success
of this Worthington physician COM
pared favorably with that OF city
physicians, in these cases. 1t may
not be out of place to state in addition
that this Worthington physician has
performed other operations, also, more
successfully than some noted city
physicians, but does not 60 around
sounding his own trumpet to let it be
known. If Mr.. Maxwell asks why I
do not sign my name, 1 would say
that a desire to see my name in print
is not one of the idiosynercsi es of
ADVANCE READER.