The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-29

Some Large sums Charged for
Treating Famous Men.
From the PHILADELPHIA Press.


Sides. IL, as DIR. Browning AYERS. a bill
on this scale was presented monthly and
accepted without protest the case would
present one aspect. II no such bills were
found in Senator Magee's papers 1t would
present another In this, as in all claims
for professional attendance, it is not the
general impression. often erroneous. as to
what is fair payment. but the precise
facts surrounding the individual charge
which determine it's justice and decide it's
payment.
When Samuel j. Tlden died his physi-
clan, DIR. Charles E. Simmons. presented
bill for daily attendance during seven
years and eleven months which the pa
pers of the day said aggregated $4,000,
a report which neither DR.. Simmons nor
the trustees would contradict and which
a private settlement gave no opportunity
to verify. Vice President Wheeler's estate
faced post norton charge of $14S0O for
medical services and as he had left his
estate to missions and charity, the pay
ment of the bill was opposed, President
Garheld's death caused the most serious
revision of medical estimates of just fees.
The surgeons in attendance, most of them
continuously for some ten weeks, asked
$65, $40 and received SGT, 500 DIR. ID. w.
Bliss presented bill for $4,000, and was
cut down by Congress to Sc, 500, while DIR.
Agnew's claim for 1900 was reduced to
5000. This was twenty years ago, when
the fees of physicians were more moder-
ate than to-day; but the charges made
by these physicians, while ruthlessly raz-
ed by the Board of Audit" made up of
William Lawrence. first controller; w. w.
Upton, second controller, and James Gil
fillan, treasurer, were no larger than us
age justified.
Jay Gould was at this time paying his
physician, DIR. Mum, $4,000 a year, sick
or we'll frugal arrangement comparable
with that which led Mr.. Gould to have
his monogram on his yacht, the Atlanta,
made removable whenever 1t appeared to
facilitate a sale. DIR. George f. Shrady,
who had an unpleasant experience In col
Letting his bill from Gen. Grants estate,
records, 1894 in a magazine article, ply
sician's fee Of $S7, 600 for attending a mil
lionaire's daughter for two months, an
other OF $50, 900 for attendance on "A yacht
ing cruise of less than six months, and
$25 900 for a flying trip from New York
to San Francisco.
If this bill had been rendered 70 Mr..
John W. Mackey he would not h. : paid
IT. as he contested in 1898 a bill of $1250O0
from the surgeons, DR.. Keeney and Dr.
Morse, who took a 3S-caliber bullet out
of his back, though the first thing he
did after he was well was to present his
accounts as executor of brother million
aires estate, in which he had paid law
yer $26, 800 for plotting the will through
the various pitfalls which sundry matri-
monial eccentricities of the testator hed
put in the way of a successful probate
Perhaps the banner medical fee was paid
in 1858 by Empress Catharine of Russia
to DR.. Dimsdale for noculating her with
smallpox, $50 900, 10000 for expenses and
a pension of $500 for life, worth at his
age, Sc, about $4,000 more. Prof. Zachar-
inc of Moscow had 10000 for a two days
visit on the Car. The physicians fee
who attended Edward VII through ty-
phoid fever while still Prince, was $4,000
for four weeks visits. This is trife by
$50, 900 paid by II. r. III. the Nawab Ram
pur TO an Anglo-Indian surgeon for three
months work on his rheumatism.
BY the side of this $500 and expenses
which DR.. Charcot charged the Emperor
of Brazil for going to Milan or $1,000
charged by DR.. Peters for visiting the
King of Portugal in Brussels seem small
Sir Morrell Mackenzie was said to have
received 100000 for his care of the EN-
peror Frederick, but this report was mere
guesswork. When Sir Andrew Clark Wis
tied a millionaire at Nice he charged $780,
900 for the trip and made the matter
known by announcing that he had kept
but one-f1fth and given the rest to two
charitable institutions connected with his
profession. In 1886 a discussion which
found it's way into English medical jour-
nails estimated the yearly returns OF Sir
William Jennes, Sir William Gull and Sir
Andrew Clark at an average of S6O,OOO
London physicians fees are, however
lower than our own. A suit in 1888 snow
ed that the head of the West London
Hospital, Mr.. Keetley, charged but $SWo
for a surgical trip to Burgos and the jury
cut this to S1,750 DR.. Shrady in his ar
ticle quoted put the income of three ply
sicians in New York at over slOO,OOo OF
five or six at from $4,000 to $4,000 and
of fifty from $4,000 to $4,000, far re-
move from the semi-annual payments
made by Henry III In 1916 to his ser
eeant apothecary," Nicholas Ferneham'
May 16, ESQ 12s Cd, and Oct. ID, f2S Is lO1.
The growth and increase of physicians
fees is far from over. DR.. Shrady's esti-
mate of New York professional incomes
would be higher to-day and the charge
for single operations and visits has risen
still more. Dr. Il. l.. Robinson of Mac
lean New York, a man not widely KNOWN
charged a wealthy resident 81. 900 for each
of ten visits in July, 1893. A distinguished
surgeon in a neighboring city, after I'M
nosinR a round sum for an operation,
charged. by previous arrangement, 250O
a day for each of three days of special
attendance In a family where means were
not large. Fees from $1,000 to 5000 for
a single operation are no longer unusual
though the physicians who can charge
them are Nor must 1t be forgotten that
those who made these charges give a
larger share Of their time 20 unpaid hos
pital work than any other class In the
community. No man or woman unable 10
pay " may safely be said, has ever been
wit bout the best medical or surgical ad-
vice available in any American city mere
ly for lack of means. II such case
needs such advice ID can always be OBJ
tanned without money and without price
Large as some Of these fees may sound
to the lay ear, there Is nothing In the es-
tates physicians leave, after long years Of
arduous labor, which shows an income
disproportionate TO the higher prizes OF
the community. When the appraisers or
the estate Of DR.. ID. Hayes Agnew filed
their inventory II was $l7,1W, and the
final adjudication OF the estate Of Dr.
william Pepper was announced In the
Orphans Court as 1896. 1886 The estates Of
the two eminent physldians whose deaths
occurred In the past four years were one
somewhat smaller ana the other some
what larger than the last OF these hg-
ures.