Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-30
Alleges that Dr.. Bailey is to Blame for
Questionable Operation.
LATTER WOULD WITHDRAW FROM CASE
Lively Time in Hearing of Doctor
Matthews at Lincoln, where
He t. Accused of
Serious Crime.
CFrom a stan correspondentl

charged with having performed a criminal
operation upon Edith Short which resulted
in her death at the Swedish hospital in
Omaha last November.
During the proceedings this morning a
motion was filed by John o. Yeiser. attor-
ney for Mathews asking that the case be
dismissed and Directing to the competency
OF the board 20 try the case. This motion
was fled after DR.. Bailey had been called
to the stand by the state. which antici-
pated the defense, which expected to call
him
As soon as Yeiser had filed his motion Or.
Bailey. who had previously called Vice
Chairman johnson to preside said:
This is the first time my reputation has
ever been attacked and therefore l will no
longer sit in the case. In view Of what
has been said, however, I want the board
to continue taking testimony and probe
the matter to the bottom"
DIR. Bailey then took his place among the
spectators. DR.. johnson overruled the mo-
ton and the case continued.
In his testimony DIR. Bailey said Miss
Short had been employed as a nurse in his
hospital for some twenty-five months prior
to her trouble and that she had told him in
the presence of the head nurse at the in
stitution that she was in a delicate condi-
GRAFTON performed.
Upon cross-examination Yeiser started a
little interest in the proceedings by asking
a question of an insinuating character OF
Or. Bailey and he desired to know II the
latter had been in Omaha October IS, at
which time II is presumed the operation
had been performed. Dr. Bailey said he
did not know, and then Yeiser produced
the register of the Paxton hotel with the
name OF Bailey written on 1t upon the date
mentioned Still Dr. Bailey could not re-
member why he was in Omaha. DR.. Sward,
a member of the board of secretaries, re-
freshed his memory by remarking that on
that night he had delivered address at
a meeting of the State Medical society, held
at the Paxton. On the same day DIR. Sward
and other physicians had registered at the
same hotel DIR. Bailey further testified
in answer to questions he had never treated
the young woman and that he had urged
her to go to her home in Fremont and tell
her mother of her troubles. He informed
her also that she would have TO leave the
hospital. He had not seen her. he said,
since that time and did not know when she
left.
Text of YeIseF Motion.
1t was at this juncture that Yeiser made
his statement and filed the motion. 1t was
as follows:
Comes now DR.. ]. T. Mathews, at this
time, after a partial hearing upon the
charges in the above entitled matter. and
again objects to the continuation of the
above trial, for the reason that the evil
dence so far introduced has disclosed that
the secretaries before whom the said COM
plant is being examined are disqualified
from hearing the same for the following
reasons: f.,, i
l. Because It is now apparent that the
| IL - 81 Nw.Nl ENa1 IL. 10
suit of the said hearing to protect a MEM
Der OF the said secretaries from suspicion
that DIR. BENJAMIN F. Bailey is guilty of a
particular offense of abortion committed
upon a person whom Il is charged that
the abortion was committed by Dr.
Mathews.
poye I'm the sanitarium OF DIR. Benjamin
| +. Bailey and the circumstances OF tho
said case would indicate such an interest
| as would disqualify him and the board
/ from making a fair and just examination
Of the charges preferred against The said
| DR.. ]. T. Mathews
8. THAT the said offense is criminal
| charge. upon which the guilt or innocence
/ of the person committing the same, IL such
was committed, can b. be , determined before
| fairness and business to any person ac-
cused.
Defense Has an Inning.
c. S. McCandess of Colorado. representa-
tive of a mining company who formerly
had his office in that of DR.. Mathews,
testified he was in the ONCE when Miss
Short came to see DR.. Mathews. Thinking
he was Mathews, he said the woman told
him she was in need OF medical attention
and that an operation had been performed
! by a physician who had instructed her later
to come to Omaha for further treatment.
DR.. Mathews who was in the private office
at the time was appraised OF the woman s
|
examine her unless she waited until another
physician could he summoned. Mathews
then telephoned DR.. Neistrum, formerly
of the Swedish hospital, VINO came to the
ONCE.
Dr. Nsistrum said he and DR.. Mathews
examined the woman and found an opera
ton had been performed. One of them
asked the woman why the physician who
operated upon her had not finished the
work, and she said he had been intimately
associated with her and could not do any
thing more for her because II he did owing
to his position In the matter II would
likely become public. The doctor had Sc
Mathews testified the woman said, told
her what to do when she came to Omaha
and he said further she had told him Dr.
]. +. Summers had sent her to hts Office
This fact, he said, first aroused his SUE
pcion as he and Summers were not or
good terms and he refused to have anything
to do with her except to recommend thai
she go to a hospital On two other occa-
sions Mathews said he had been called to
see the woman, once at 1913 ST. Mary.
avenue and once at 2ls North Seventeenth
street. On each occasion, he said, he did
not know who he was to see until he had
reached the house. Each time, he said, hs
had told the woman he would not treat her
Mathews, Neistrum and McCandless told
eorroborative stories Of DR.. Mathews con
nectiOn with the case.
As the defense had a number of NOR,
witnesses to examine the board adjourned
until May y when the case will again b,
taken up.
University DebateFs Selected.
Prof. Fogg today announced the names
OF the university students who will max,
up the team to debate against Wisconsin
The students were selected after Drelimi
nary debates. The speakers are: Alvah c
Hough. law student 'OS Lincoln; Earl NJ
Marvin, O6. Beatrice; Charles A. sunder.
lin. o. Tekamah. The alternates are: Al
bert NJ. Levy, '0, Lincoln; Joseph NJ Sven.
son, ee, Omaha; Mason Wheeler. O6. lin
I