The San Francisco call., 1898-10-19
WHERE THOSE
 MED|COS TAN
 HUMAN SKIN Mir. Peterson's Candid
 Admission. HE USES SALT AND ALUM DIR. TUGGLEs OF TOLAND'S IS VERY NoN-CoMMITTAL. He Denounces the Practice as Based on Theft, and Hopes The Call
 Will Succeed in Stamp ing It Out.
HE USES SALT AND ALUM
DIR. TUGGLES OF TOLAND'S IS
 VERY oN-COMMITTAL.

The expose of the unlawful use of hu- man skin purloined from autopsy and dissecting rooms has caused widespread fear In the breasts of the students of the colleges. The professors and higher med fcal men universally denounce the prac- tice of tanning the human skin. Any student convicted of the crime will be ex- pelIed from college.
 The demonstrator of anatomy of Toland Medical College, Dr. Samuel G. Tuggles, when interviewed yesterday, could not deny the truth of the statements of The Call, and said:
 What stand the university may take in the matter 1 cannot say. For my own department I can say that do not know any particular student who may have tanned or caused to be tanned human skin. The subjects are skinned before being dissected. l am not always in the dssecting room, and I suppose some of the skin gets tanned. The Call seems to know more about that than do. l have been very much interested in what 1t has to say, and 1 hope it will put a stop to this disgusting practice;
 The students are obliged to attend the lectures three times a week under the different physicians who lecture at the City and County Hospital. They do dt- tend autopsies and probably have oppor- ing and against the rules of the college, and when student is going to break a rule he does not tell the professors be- forehand.
 "Yes, l know that medical students do such things, but If they do 1t at Poland l do not know anything about 1t"
 There Is a tannery at SIP Army street, just back of the Cogswell College, run by Poetsch & Peterson. physician gave this place as the one which does the tam ming for the young physicians connected with the City and County Hospital.
 At the tannery MT Peterson described again the details of the business as revolt 4I,a IIS inh md hf- place He said:
 T have tanned plenty of human skin for the medical students and doctors who cut up the people to see what killed them before they died"
 You are sure you can do 1t well; am
 .0h. yes: I have been doing it for two or three years. It is not a hard thing to do. I just soak it one day in strong salt and water-plenty of salt. Then when 1t gets pretty soft l soak 1t for about q week in some alum and salt and water Then If it must be dark I smoke
 ''I see Can you show me a piece?"
 "I have one little piece, but 1t Is not so good. You see it was poor skin to
 'EDo you know where this skin came from? 2"
 "A doctor who was just cutting people up at the county hospital It was wrapped up in a paper and was fresh"
 Did he say he was from the City and County Hospital?"
 'On, yes. 1Hey dll say they COlllt IT OlIl there You see 1t is not so far away. Can not I tan some for you? l can do fine work"
 worked in the tannery and lives at Bry- ant and Twenty-sixth streets, said he had seen human skin in the office of Poetsch because they did not use bark.
 Wont bark tan the skin?"
 Makes 1t as rough as a bears back"
 DO they tan much skin?"
 sfYaG They try tO keeD if SeCret-Iike. but the doctors and young medical stu dents bring in pieces to tan every little the doctors don't make any secret of 1t. They want the leather for slippers or razor strops, or something like that" What do you think about this tanning of human skins?'
 Poor folks can't afford to think of any thing. 'Tain't no use"
 A shoemaker at Twenty-Sfxth and Howard streets says he has seen human skin in the office of Poetsch & Peterson.
 'The boss showed me a piece of skin few days ago and asked me if l knew what it was It looked just like pig skin, but I knew 1t was tanned human skin, because the pores are are ltg larger He HoaI9i said Hospital had brought it to him."
 The internes of the City and County Hospital are mostly young physiciansi and upon them rests the accqsati4qn @ or ,0 of Dudley, Dr. J. o. Hfrshfelder, Dr. w. W. Kerr, pr. C. N; Ellinwood and Pr. K. A. Mclean. 1eSleTudy dllerHOOH the only interne at the City and County Hos pital who was visible was D. V: Lu- chetti, who says he has no Christian name He is a young man, very young. He has an idea apparently that the au- topsy room as well as the entire hospital was founded and Is maintained for the
 He said: why, I never saw any skin in the autopsy rooms, did you? Do you want to have some tanned? I do not know anything So MT. Peterson says we give him skin to tan. l can't say. I have all of mine yet. Come down town and let's have a good talk over the matter I never have a word to say to such peo- pie as Peterson; my time is too valua- ble. just go to the autopsies and see what I want to see, but never anything else. Seer"
 "But, Dr. Luchetti. this is not joke.'