The morning times., 1896-10-10

| Certain Old wounds at the Emergency
| Hospital are bleeding agsin.
! The war at that institution between
| DR.. james Kerr. cbiei oi tie surgical
| staff, aud the members OF the attending
| staff OF physicians has broken out afrcsn,
and will possibly be waged all winter, as
it was all last summer.
the present. pnaSe of the fight is that
| the members of tie stair insist on invcsti-
| eating DR.. Kerr, and there are principles
| OF Moment involved on both sides. There
! were many who supposed that as The
matter had been dropped out of sight
I during the late summer and up to tie
| present. ua;e in autumn, the controversy
would die a natural death, and especially
! as Dr. herrs term of office will expire
! next April. The investigation is to he
] pursued by u committee OF five, two OF
| whom VIII be selected by DIR. Kerr, two
/ 10y DR.. Burnett, who is regarded as tie
! leader OF tie opposition, tie fifth man
10 he chosen by tie four provided for by
appointment.
| The mntter for investigation is Il long
| story, both in point of time and matter.
| 1t is said TO nave began nearly two years
| ago by personal difficulties of opinion on
| matters Of social usage between DR.. Kerr
and The members of the staff with whom
| he was brought in daily contact. This
| constraint on the part OF the staff grew
! to such an acute stage that several of
them declared that they could hot get
| along with DIR. Kerr" and these few
| words appear to contain the whole grava-
| men of the charge.
| WHAT THE ROW is ABOUT.
| The status between Dir. Kerr and the staff
/ was referred to the board of trustees or
| directors, and committee of six was ap-
! pointed to consider and report on the
| charges. This committee tanU
4 sidcratiGn, made Ro reComme ndations. and
| the strife WIS remittcd to the board ct
I directors. an election 10 ill vacancies in
j. which III the summer gave an opportunity
for the medical fraternity in interest to
| take q ha nd in ward politics.
lt wdS AN eminent success. Voters WHO
| had right 10 do so vert into the fl pht
| by bucks of five and OtEer sections, and
the election was held. Or. Kerr had al
ways consistently refused to resign, al
| though that step Lad teen asked.
He undoubtedly had grentmany friends.
II was apparently the object of the election
to recuDSutute The toard on the lines Of
the opposing factions, and il went DR..
kerr's way. Among the members who were
defeated were DR.. H. l. +. Ioh' son ara
Dr. Harrison. Immediately on the heels
of this new members were chosen Oh NE
attending staff where there were vacau-
Giles, ana 1t was alleged at tie time that
the gentlemen who were chosen among
them ieipg Dr. Moran then in New York,
were friendly 10 Dr.. Kerr. Fer various
reasGus the newly elected men did not
care to serve, and therefore the attending
| staff was reurganiZed as il was before the
election took place, new president of the
trustees being also chosen.
BROKE OUT AGAIN
There the matter slumbered, or was
supposed to be siumbering. until iG woke
up Yesterday at Il meeting of the board.
One OF Tie physicians said yesterday that
the attending staff had in the meantime
taken away from DIR. Kerr several OF his
privileges. For Instance. they took away
the accident surgery duties, which Were
assigned 10 Drs. W. C. Carr Rennsalaer
and Snyder. DR.. Harrison was also given
part of the duties formerly performed
by Dr. Kerr, and finally they cut off Dr..
kerr's Sunday clinics
None Of these evoked any public pro-
test from DR., Kerr, although it is fair
10 presume that he regarded 10 rs a method
or indicating the feeling of the staff
The status at the hospital is reported to
De strained To the Swapping point. 1t was
stated last night tnat DR.. Kerr is not on
speaking terms with any Of the attending
staff.
TIE charges have always been referred to
In u general way, the principal allegation
beng that the attending staff can't get
along wiki Dr. Kerr, and the charges are
also said to have included the statement
tiIat Dr. kerr'S professional conduct was
unDccoming an officer of the institution:
but even this had only reference to his
attitude towards the staff, or his alleged
attitude.
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE.
The function of the Committee now pro-
posed Is TO make an investigation de noyo
aratf,..
10 the board of directors by which the
ilnal action is to be taken ASH anuears
To be the desire OF both sides to get an
impartial hearing it is not ll;-.iy that the
-FOUR ph hysieians To be selected will have
any difficulty in selecting the firth mem
Der oil the loard. The only limitation in
tie proceedinssis that tile whole Committee
oi I'VE must De chosen by the end of the
present month.
IL is Of course within the power of
tle board 10 accept or eject the reDort If
tle special committee no matter what
It's recommendations may be but the reIurt
Will 20 very far toward fixing pubIic
opinion as TO the ments Of the CONTROVERSY,
The general opiuIun now is that SIX of
the seven OF tie attending staff who
asked Tor DR.. keTr's resignation have
made but very little progress toward
that end since the publication OF the points
IN issue. Tie renewal of the fight con-
siderlng The. high professional and social
standing or all concerned, has furnished
q great deal of gossip for the medical fra
ternity aud laymen who took such a de-
clded stand in the controversy when
The election for new members of the board
was held last summer
At the meeting OF the board, which was
held yesterday afternoon, nothing of pub
nc interest was done except the passage
OF me resolution providing for the com
mittee in the Kerr case
Immense Sugar Refinery,