The evening times., 1899-01-28
EXPERIMENTS ON
HELPLESS INVALIDS
Excuses Made by Doctors in
Yiennese Hospitals.
Charity Patients Available for Tests
Maize to Advance Science.
Germs From DecomposinE COrpscs
Injected iRsO Newly Born Babes.
Demands for an Inquiry.

New York, Jan. 28.-The Journals" VI
emma correspondent teiegraphs as follows:
The reports that doctors in various free
hospitals of this city have been inoculat-
ing patients with germs of various dis
eases for purposes OF professional expert
ment, have aroused great excitement
among all classes, not only in Vienna but
in other cities of Europe.
The first known of these charges was
last October, when the "Deutsches Folks-
blatt' published allegations that hospital
patients were being experimental upon by
the injection of germs, so that the doc
tors operating might study the progress of
the maiadies communicated.
These charges created considerable stir
in professional circles at the time, and
reply was issued which in reality amount
ed 10 a series of remarkable admissions.
1t was practically acknowledged that eX
periments were being made, but medical
men pleaded that it was done with the
purpose of discovering some means Of pro-
: tectiug the public from contagious and in
| fectious diseases. 1t was declared that live
| bacteria were not used, but only microbes
killed by extreme heat" 1t was asserted
/ that these microbes did not produce dis
ease, but only "a slight temporary rise in
] temperature.
The ..Volksblatt, however, tas renewed
its attack and now cites numerous cases
where dangerous operations have been
performed simply 10 afford the surgeons
experience. Many of these cases resu ted
fatally, while in others the victims were
manned for life. Eighty CASES were cited
wherein young children from eight to fif-
teen years CT age were inocuiated with
contagious diseases for experimental pur-
poses.
Other similar outrages were cited,
wherein women in lying-in hospitals were
inoculated and their offspring cursed with
| disease.
One OF the leading journalists CT Vienna.
who has been making careful enquiries int
the matter, makes this report:
/ Il find that the doctors in institutions
where patients are received free have beel
| in the habit of systematically experiment.
| ing upon helpless inyalids. They have KEEP,
| records of the progress OF diseases and cir
| culated these reports privately in medical
| circles. Some of these reports have fallen
| into the hands of people outside the privil-
edged circle. They contain the paIticu ars
of dangerous experiments on newly born
children, mothers and dying patients
1t is certain that DIR. Gross took bacill
! from the decomposing coTpses Cf patients
who had infectious diseases and injected
| them into thirty-hve women and three
newly born babes. The babes were taken
| into the experimenting chamber a most
| Immediately after birth.
The same doctor inocuiated young
| man on the high road to recovery with
| the bacilli of an infectious disease. and hC
! died within twenty-fOur hours. Two pa,
! tients on their deathbeds were tortured fol
| three days by painful experiments viii
| poisonous germs, and their last hours were
! full of agony.
"A number OF men who went TO one o.
| the hospitals for treatment were inoculat-
| ed with certain contagious diseases. and il
is needless to say that in all of these case:
the patients were either lying helpless a
the mercy of the doctors or were induced
TO submit TO the operations under falst
| pretexts.
The barbarities seem to have been tol.
Grated. even encouraged, by the hospita
| authorities.
.'One doctor who received an unlimited
number of healthy children from a found.
ling hospital for experiment excused him
self by saying that animals cost money
whereas he obtained the orphan children
| free
Continuing his investigation, this same
| journalistic investigator writes:
! - have a visited a number of hospital
| doctors with q view OF hearing their an
| swers to the charge. / have, however
| not been able TO obtain any direct denialS
that dangerous experiments have beer
| practiced. One distinguished surgeon said
| TO me: of course. these things may be
! carried TOO far. but you viii find that pa
| tients in most free hospitals are made
| use of in the cause of science. The tes
| must be made on somebody, and the char
| ity hospital patients are the most availa-
| Bile subjects. You will find this kind OF
| thing carried on in Berlin, Paris, and Lon
| don
The Austrian press is clamoring for
| searching enquiry and the suppression O
the barbarous practice.