The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-04-19
ITHE PHYSICIAN At THE C0R0NER'S INQUEST.
Essay Read Before the Anderson County
Medical Society April 10, 1899.


anderson County Medical Society:
Fora the past fifteen or twenty years
our profession has been pressing for
ward with SO many new discoveries
and made so many changes, both in
the medical and surgical departments,
that we are kept at a swift gallop to
keep pace with the medical centres Of
the country; and SO anxious is the
medical man to keep abreast Of the
times shat all Of his thoughts and
studies seem to be on some new rene
I %dy, some new work, some new surgical
instrument or some new operation.
I To this I shall urge no objection );
provided We do not carry it SO far as
TO entirely discard all Of the teachings
of. our older brethren. 1t is all right
I ofar as it goes, but some times, when
We chase the butterfly, We lose yalua-
bic time and gain no headway, espe-
icially in our profession. We must
also remember that there is much to
be learned outside Of our medical
books and periodic icals in the daily pur
4 suit Of our prof We must not
forget that it is not only the college
faculty before whom we must pass our
examination, for they: have trained us
and will often bear with our short
comings, butwe have more exacting
faculty TO pass beforessthe people,
the pubnc' :, sad while they will
give. US credit for:wlat is due us they
will neither condone Or excuse our
shortcomiings Let me illustrate this
idea by an incident that occurred at a
medical college just before the final
sexami ration some years ago. ltwas
during : prof fessional visit Of one Of
! the faculty to Sthe bedside. of a sick
medical stud dent. After he had exam
ined and prescribed for the sick stu,
dent several Of his fellow students
said tothe rofessor: We are study
ing hard, Professor, for The final ex-:
animation, and We hope you will be
easy with us. We hope to get your
vote IN our favor. The Professor re-
pile wv ell, that's alright, young
gentlemen. I Ialways vote to graduate
my students. Isneyer blackball them.
send them home with a diploma, and
If they are damn fools their. neigh
borssi " will soon find itout.'
Therefore, my prof ssional brethren,
T would ask your indulgence to-day
while. Z call you back to one Of the
duties Of our prof that we meet
with almost every day. refer TO the
sss ,1Hsssicizn at. The Coroners Inquest. "
!! ,hhis. IS. d may y seem to many Of You to be
sofsyery little impo portance to the gem
eral practitioner. This, however, is a
J great mistake, as We will see further
ION. Let ne at this pointspeak Of the
Inquest and the parties concerned
from a legal standpoint. In all civil
ized countries there is one branch Of
the government termed the judicial.
Among Its other duties is that of the
trial of parties charged with the COM
mission Of crime. Before, however, a
party canbe arraigned for crime it is
necessary for the crime to exist, espe-
scially that Of death by violence or
from other than natural causes. Now,
in order to bring this matter in q
proper manner before the Judicial
Court for trial, a department of the
Judiciary, called the Court of the
Coroner, is provided, consisting Of the
Coroner and his jury. I will not go
into the details of che duties Of the
y
Coroner in other countries, but will
;confne this essay to the Coroner and
the Inquest as it exists in this State.
The Coroner is an elective officer, and
before entering upon the duties Of his
office he takes solemn oath to per-.
form the duties appertaining to his
Office to the best Of his ability, and
also gives bond Of several thousand
dollars for the faithful performance Of
the same. Under the old law twas
the duty.of the Coroner, upon being
notified Of the death Of any person in
the County from other than natural
cause, to Immediately investigate the
cause Of the death and to summon his
jury to assist. At recent session Of
our Legislature, however, this law was
amended so that when death occurs
sother than from natural causes, the
Coroner can only hold an Inquest upon
the request Of two or more reputable
citizens or after personal examina-
tion Of the matter by himself. The
Coroner on such notice and request
:a1:ato1v ordarc tho sheriff mr.