New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-17
Mr. WYCkOFF"S TREATMENT.

II a convict were 10 he treated In one OF orr
prisons with as little consideration for his sur
ferings Of mind and body as was accorded To
Mr. George II Wyckoff by those responsible
for his car. on the way 10 the Ncw-lork Hos
Wial the evils of prison management would De
made tho subject OF general cutlery. Even n
criminals execution Is arranged with as much
regard for tine feelings OF the condemned AS
possible hat the carrlessncss and Indifference
Ia prnpriciicS shown by those called To attend
MIR Wychon can be- itly characterized as moth
ins else than brutal That an unoncndlng man
should hay. been shot down In his Office, should
have been put into nh ambulance and left 10
H. there suffering and wanting glass OF water
Tor nearly half m hour. while the surgeon was
attending 10 his would be- murderer. and then
driven to the hospital with that would-be muir
dcrer cloac 10y his side. sharing his couch. Is
something thnt II seems ncrcdbl" should have
happened la this city. The raihos of 1t Is only
Heightened 10y the noble spirit which the vie
tin showed. rs lying there In agony, after
pl, adng against delay and seeing his aSsailant
placed beside him. he asked: What did YOU
want To- do this forf never did anything 10
'you May God forgive you Then the two
men were placed near together In the hospital
ward. ana hours passed before surgeons could
be- secured 10 give the necessary treatment. and
Mr. WyckoH was meanwhile subjected to n
Coroncr's examination and asked If he was
quite sure that he was going to die.
The whole affair gives evidence Of gross mis-
management Any person whose senSlbllitcs
were not utterly buntcd would have seen the
IMPROPERLY Of keeping man In Mr. Wyckoii =
condition waiting i'm the street with Il crowd
about him while Scmpc was being treated. and
would have sent him 10 the hospital ut once
and called a second ambulance for the other
man. This should have suggested itself, even
If the men had been victims OF an accident In
common To compel an apparently dying man
To ride beside his assassin with the revolver
still i'm his pocket was houehlcssness or obcdl-
encc to routine which Is unpa rlonablc The
young man who commanded the ambulance
probably thought he doing his duty. The
known methods of the New York Hospital war
rant the belief that he was Obeying the strict
letter of the law under fear of severe penalties
If he allowed his own Judgment to lend him
away from the rule OF the house. To have
Z called a second ambulance to save n patient a
few minutes suffering or free him from unwcl-
come companionship would have required extra
work on the part of somebody. probably have
violated the rule for the conduct Of an ambll-
lance, and brought upon the offender the re-
buke Of his supcrlors Nevertheless, that Is
what the ambulance surgeon should have done.
Discipline is necessary In hospital but IL n
surgeon has not enough intelligence TO be trust
Cd TO use Judgment in such case. he Is not
! fit to be put in place where people are at his
mercy In emergency.
This Is not the first time that the manage
mcnt Of the NcwYork Hospital hns laid itself
open to criticism. 1t Is natural to expect that the
( Overcrowdcd charity hospitals will sometimes
/ fall short OF their duty. hut the NcwYork Hos
pitnl Is wealthy institution. belonging to n
private corporation, the stock Of which brings
high price and is considered a valuable hold
ing Its rcpute IL such that young physicians
and surgeons eagerly compete for n chance TO
serve on It's staff II receives for the most part
desirable class Of patients. and Is generally
able 10 hand the others on 10 the charity insti-
tutions. The hospital IL conducted with great
administrative ability. and under an iron rule
which TO the outsider appears unsympathetc
! No hospital in Ncw-York appeals more to the
business sense and less to the philanthropic in
stlnct than 1t does Mr. Wyckof's experience
reveals spirit quite I'm accord with its reputa-
4 ton. The ambulance surgeon was either too
mechanical or feared mechanical rules: the ser
wants Of the house suffered from the same trou-
bic when they kept the two men together in
a room; the house surgeon seems to have fol
lowed them In refusing to treat or allow any
body else TO treat the patient for four hours
while the superior was being sought. II they
all had been soldiers under some martinez Of
"A petty officer. they could not have shown
stricter discipline and less sense Of their higher
obligations. The New-York Hospital apparent