The San Francisco call., 1896-01-16
Remarkable Statement of James
Wiley on the Hirshfelder
Treatment.
THAT CONSUMPTION LYMPH.
Saws Most of the Patients Died Under
the Injections and All Became
Much Worse.

James Wiley, once a wellknown real
estate man in San Francisco and now in
what appear to be the latter stages OF con-
sumption, has a strange story to relate
concerning the alleged wonderful cures"
that DR.. Joseph O. Hirshfelder's lymph
has effected at the City and County Hos
pital.
Two DAYS ago Mr.. Wiley came from the
hospital-''es escaped" he calls 1t, and now
he is lying in his bed in little front room
at % Minna street, almost too weak to sus-
tain the effort of lengthy conversation.
81 came away from the hospital to
escape the lymph treatment OF DR.. Hirsh-
felder," he said yesterday afternoon.
''While | was in the hospital l did not
dare to talk, but now am under my own
roof and may speak my mind freely. L
want to tell the truth about that lymph in
lection treatment Of DR.. Hirshfeider. That
article in the Examiner the other day tell
ing about the wonderful cures that had
been made was entirely untrue. Not one
patient at the City and County Hospital
who took the treatment was benefited by
it. On the contrary, it fastened the death
of several and made them all much worse.
''The Examiner reporter could have
found IT, atout for himself if he b ad wanted
to. l was there when he called and the
superintendent brought him to my bed and
said: Here's an Examiner reporter who
wants you to tell him about the lymph
treatm ent.'
Il knew what the superintendent meant
that | was TO speak we'll of the treat
ment-but it had affected me too badly for
that. simply shook my head and had
nothing to say.
~ went to the City and County Hospital
about the first of LAST October. | could
walk around then and when the weather
was good enjoyed fairly good health,
though | was far too weak to be of any use
to myself in working. About the first of
November DR.. Hirshfelder began his ex
periments with the lymph injections.
There were seven of US consumptiye pa
tients IN ward. He injected all of as
with his stuff in the feshy parts of the
| legs and arms, and thereafter our temper
atures must be gauged every hour, day and
| night. This fact alone was very trying on
| most of the patients, for, of course, we
were not permitted to sleep more than one
hour at a time during the entire twenty
four hours.
when l began to take the treatment [
weighed l25 pounds. At the end. of the
hrSt eight days treatment we were all
marched to the scales. [ had fallen down
to 113 pounds, and all the others in CORE
/ spending ratios. During all those eight
! days we vomited continually, had high
! pulses, could eat little or nothing, conld
| keep nothing on our SIomachs and were
/ very feverish most OF the time. At the
/ end of the second eight days when we
/ were weighed again, tipped the scales at
1O6 pounds. When the doctor came
around the next morning l refused to
allow him to jeCt any more of his
medicine in me. l told him how badly
/ the stuff was affecting me. Itwas killing
me. l could see and feel that, and l told
me out Of the ward and put me down into
a damp and cold room without a fire,
where | lay and Shivered all the time.
They did this so that my example would
not have bad effect on the other patients
and cause them to refuse the lymph.
Now, it's slow murder; that's all this
lymph injection is. Think of g weak and
sick man going sixteen days and nights on
8 stretch without two consecutive hours of
sleep all that time, and with high fever
and nausea that prevented ME from
eating enough to keep bird alive.
81 am glad now that | finally got ava Y
fromsthe hospital and from any danger of
that lymph treatment But [ was luckier
than almost any of the others. l think all
of them died. AT least, all of them grew q
great deal worse under the treatment, ex-
hlbitlng the same symptoms as | did.
/ There was young man there named Null
len. He was only "A years old, and when
| came to the hospital he was strong
4 enough to be on his feet most of the day,
run errands and go outside in the sun.
After his first injection of the lymph he
took to his bed and went raving mad in
the high levers that he had. One day in
his fever he assaulted the pantryman. who
was his best friend, and force had to be
used to hold him down. After while,
w hn mo Of bie haa
gized to the pantryman and declared he
/ did not know what he had done. His tenn
perature was usually as high as los and LOG
! degrees Mullen grew weaker and weaker
until he finally died.
There was another strong young fellow
there named Mulcahy. He has a brother
/ in the County Clerk s office-or had until
ne died. He was at first quite strong, and
used to go out sometimes ard smoke cigars
/ in the sun. He failed rapidly under the
4 lymph injections. His cheeks were sunk
en- and he could eat nothing, and his tenn
perature went up to LOG.
Patrick Harrington was another of the
patients. He was one of the pioneers and
a we1lknown man here in his day. The
! lymph injection affected him so badly that
| he asked to be allowed to leave the hospi-
! tai, but they would not permit him to 20
out. Twice he tried to escape, but they
caught hlm and brought him back and
maze MIN take more OF the lymph. FINALLY
he succeeded in getting away from the
place, and had at least the poor satisfac-
| ton of dying outside in peace, and out o1
the reach of his tormenters.
"lmight go on and mention all the seven
patients who took the lymph. Only mysel1
and one or two others are still alive and
that only because we did not permit them
to keep up the treatment on us. It's q
4 miserable failure. ] can say that from per-
! Sonai experience as well as from personal
I observation, and think it is a shame that
/ any physician should be allowed TO expert
ment with human beings to such an ex-
tent as that praoticed by DR.. Hirshfelder.
i have no personal interest in the matter
any more, for at last have escaped all that
and can at least die in peace. But | can
prove every word / have said, as there were
! 2leniY of eVeMitnesses 10 it al