Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-10
THE EMERGENCY HOSPITAL
New Order Of Things Went Into Effect
Without Any Friction
DIR. kerr's Letter to President Board.
man Giving His View of the
Present Situation.

The new order Of things at the Emer-
gency Hospital went into effect this morn
ing without any friction whatever and
everything was working smoothly at noon.
The assistants confirmed by the staff at the
meeting yesterday afternoon We're on duty
in the departments which were in operation
today, and the various members Of the
staff were pursuing their new lines of
work. The new classification is as follows:
Diseases and injuries Of the eye and ear
DR.. S. NJ. Burnett.
Diseases and injuries Of the throat and
chest-Dr. T. Morris Murray.
Diseases of children and orthopedics-Dr.
William H. Hawkes..
Surgical diseases-Dr. James Kerr.
Diseases peculiar to women and acute
venereal to women-Dr. H. L. f. Johnson.
General diseases, skin diseases and We
nereal to men-Dr. George Byrd Harrison.
Mental and nervous diseaSes-Dr. E. L.
Tompkins.
Dr. Burnett, who will be executive Off
Ger this month, will have assistants
Drs W. P. Carr, Arthur Snyder and John
Van Rensselaer,.
DR.. kerr's Letter.
DR.. James Kerr, who was Invested of his
former authority by the same meeting, has
addressed letter to Mr.. W. ]. Boardman
president of the board of directors of the
the differences that have arisen between
the other members Of the staff and himself
Dr. Kerr, after prefacing his statement
with the declaration that he could no longer
remain silent under the severe criticism of
individuals anG the press and could no
longer submit to aspersions and accusa-
tons that have been heaped upon him.
proceeds to state the causes that in his
opinion, have led to the present situation.
influence of the Late Superintendent.
He states that after four years service in
perfect harmony and accord with his as
sociates, 1t became necessary to select a
person head nurse and superintendent
and he selected the late superintendent
He was compelled to express dissatisfac-
ton with certain of the work and conduct
and declares this circumstance excited her
luminosity and antagonism, and led her to
make unJustifiable complaints against him.
and TO use her influence with the directors
and the other members OF the staff to his
prejudice.
"A conspicuous instance of her influence
In this direction" says DR.. Kerr at this
point, lis found in the case of one of the
staff. formerly my most agreeable friend.
now my btterest opponent, all OF whose
relations to the superintendent it is not my
purpose to go into
He says the plan Of campaign against
him was a simple one, consisting in the
first place, of appeal to the rivalry of
the members Of the staff in the other de-
Z them
against his department. The idea was con-
sequently conceived of introducing the new
ana entirely unnecessary practice OF max
ing an arbitrary division of cases and an
erbitrary distribution Of them to the
various departments through the medium
OF the superintendent administration.
The Flame of DiscOrd Famed.
DR.. Kerr, continuing says that this dis
| trrbing cause having been successfully in
tIoduced into the hospital Administered ton,
| the feeling thereby engendered was sedu-
lousy cultivated by the superintendent, and
| the flame of discord !ndustriously famed
both by her snd by those with whom she
had forced DR.. Kerr into opposition. She
| paid court to the other members Of the
staff, claims the doctor, some of whom she
| fattered to their faces and maligned be-
| lind their backs.
| At this point DR.. Kerr writes as follows
OF myself she spoke as a fool, and q
mean. sneaking blackguard. She accused
| me Of desiring to defame her character and
with being filled with envy and jealousy
keoause OF her preference for other mem
about to sever her relations with the hos
! pital that although she was about to
| leave Washington, she would not go out
| Of my life hut would have her revenge on
me. She became disasreeable in the dis
| charge Of her duties and seriously inter-
| fered with the administration Of my de-
| partment. The bitter animosity and an
| tagonism shown by the superintendent TO
| my woIk and the surgical service generally
| was suSh as to call from my principal as
| sistant protest to her that she was do
| Ing every thing in her power to injure the
| service and decrease It's efficiency, both in
| fact and in appearance.
After stating that he was constrained to
resign the chair OF surgery in the medical
| faculty Of Georgetown University owing to
| the attitude Of two of his colleagues there
| on who were also members of the board of
directors OF the Emergency Hospital, and
| declaring that an outright offer was held
| out to one Of the staff of the Johns Hopkins
| Hospital that If no would accept the va
| Gated chair In GeorgetoMn University he