The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-09-19
The Presidents Surgeons.

In its current issue, the New York
Medical Journal says that medicine
and surgery have made wonderful ad-
vances within recent years. but they
have not yet reached mathematical
precision From this premise the
Medical Journal argues that. in the
light of present knowledge and expert
euce, the physicians and surgeons who
attended the late President Mckinley
in his last days, appear 10 have acted
intelligently. and thinks that. on the
whole, they were JUSTIFIED by the symp-
tomato features Of the case during the
first six days in predicting the pa
tents speedy recovery.
As we have said before. no one for a
moment doubts the ardent desire Of the
medical stah TO exhaust every resource
al their command to save a life emf
nently useful and dear to the American
people. II controversy there is TO be
over their methods. or any alleged sins
a commission or omission. in the nature
Of things il viii be professional and
technical. The point that interests the
public has nothing TO do with such q
discussion. except as it may possibly
develop ideas concerning medical ethics
which it may be important to consider.
American laymen principally want 10
feel sure that the attendant physicians
and surgeons were as frank in the con-
struction OF their bulletins. ana in their
individual expressions from day TO day.
as In both they frequently assured the
country that they We're.
There Is an unavoidable lay tendency
10 wonder why the eminent surgeons
who performed the first operation.
should have assumed a priori that no
uneasiness need be felt as 10 where the
bullet had lodged or what injury il
might have inflicted. after il made the
wound Of exit in the pOsterior wall II
the stomach, and disappeared. nobody
knew where, and perhaps does not to
day. What was the reasonable basis Of
this confidence The post morten ap-
pears 20 have shown that II was in the
track Of the fatal missile. outside Of
the stomach, that the deadly gangrene
developed Why should il have been
assumed, apparently with absolute con-
Viction, that nothing Of that kind might
happen, or that after a bullet passes
beyond probing distance il becomes
negligible
There Is no reason 90 doubt the i'm
possibility of an exploration. prepare
tory 10 sewing up the stomach wounds.
more thorough than was made That
very impOssibiiity, it would appear 70
the uninitiated should have created a
serious If not an alarming question as
10 the course and final position OF the
bullet, and what conditions did then. or
might thereafter. obtain in the unex-
plored region, above mentioned II the
slightest doubt on that score existes on
She day Of the shooting. or at any time
afterwsrd, in the minds Of the sur
EeOns. the American people feel that
they had o right 10 know H. Did such
q doubt exist That is a question
which the American people very much
want 10 have answered not perfume
tOrily but satisfactorily.
There is another in which they are
almost equally interested On the
Tuesday evening following the as
sault when the wounds were IN
stitched. dressed. and reserved. and
'sOme slight disturbance Of the tissues
was reported by bulletin, did the ply
sicians and surgeons who signed it. or
any one of them, discover indications
OF cangrene2 There is a widespread
Impression that at least one Of them