The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-06-17
BATTLE OF EXPERTS.
Counselor Egan Shows Medical
Skill in Questioning
Physicians.

Dakota against Emma Kaufman, of
Sioux Falls, on the charge of murder
They were uttered by the prosecutor,
George w Egan, this afternoon, when
Judge Aikens, counselor for the de-
fense, accused Counselor Egan of try
ing to impeach the testimony of DR..
German by the testimony of DIR.
Spafford
This great human interest story, the
seeking to place what caused the death
of the household drudge at the Kauf-
manns, the little Parkston girl, Agnes
Polreis, lis wearing away the red blood
corpuscles of the attorneys in the case.
They have been working twenty hours
a day for more than a week, and the
defendants counsel is worn out to the
extent that at 4 p. IN, Judge Alkens
asked for an adjournment until morn
ing.
DR. Spafford was on the stand to give
expert evidence for the defense
Judge Aikens was in deep water
most Of the time when it came to form
ing the medica Hypothetical question.
One after another had to be withdrawn
because counsel for the state claimed
they were not proper in form and the
court sustained the contention.
When DR. Spatford was turned ever to
Counselor Egan for cross examination
he was very adroitly questioned and
was handled with gloves. Dr.. Spafford
is the family physician for more than
one of the Jurors.
Counselor Egan caused him to go on
record as having no other interest in
the case than that of an expert witness,
and then proceeded to get the doctor
to agree to each of this contentious
Dr. Spafford testified in his direct ex'
animation that ne knew of such dis
ease as diabetes mellitus, and de-
scribed It's general causes. 1t is not
uncommon to find it in the young. and
has developed and caused death in a
very short time. Continuing the doc
tor described the symptoms and stated
that he had treated between forty and
fifty cases.
Going into the ma tier of the blood
clot, the counsel for the defense got
Dr. Spafford to tell what the symp
toms of person would be suffering
with clot on the brain; and the doc
tor answered the hypothetical question
which his honor assisted in forming for
the counsel fol, the defense, to the effect
that death resulting from blood clot
would be preceded by period of pro
found coma and insensibility.
Answering hypothetical question
which embodied all the injuries on the
body of Agnes Polreis, and assumed
that her death was caused by the blood
clot, DR. Spaoffrd was asked as to her
condition before her death. He said
that if death was the result of the
blood clot there would be more or less
paralysis and coma would pIecede
death
When turned over to Mr.. Egan for
cross examination the Flandreau ply
sican looked bit worried, but the stu
dent of law and medicine stroked the
doctor as one does velvet collar.
II see that counsel has been reading
a list of questions here. Did you assist
him in preparing the questions II
did.
"How long have you been interested
in this caser' About nine months.
Then Mr.. Egan got from DR.. Spafford
that in making diagnosis for diabetes
he would make examination of the
urine He testified that no diagnosis
for diabetes is complete and accurate
without an analysis of the urine for the
presence Of sugar. Asked to define the
symptoms of diabetes mellitus, DIR.
Spafford said they area large
amount of urine. high specific grayi
ty, and the presence OF sugar.
1t will be recalled that the nurses of
the Sioux Falls hospital testified to
Agnes having passed but little urine,
and that but little was found in her
body at Parkston and that in its analy-
sis there was no sugar.
With about the same hypothetical
question as he asked his own expert,
notifying Or. Spafford to exclude from
his mind any presence of diabetes mill
tus. Mr. Egan drew out of the doctor
that with those conditions and with no
evidence Of other disease, he would say
that the patient died from the blood
clot on the brain
This answer pleased the state s
counsel immensely. That exactly
right. doctor You and l kLow it's
right
DR.. Spafford admitted that he had
never seen a case of diabetes that ex-
hibited such multiplicity of wounds as
were found on the body of Agnes Pol
reis.
Mr.. Egan, who conducted the cross
examination, has demonstrated his
ability, so far as technical knowledge
goes, to dissect cranium, take out the
brain, remove its enclosing membranes,
call the various tissues and parts by
name and tell the symptoms of the dis
ease to whicn this important part of
the human organism is subject. He
kept three of the best physicians OF the
state on the rack for hours, seeming to
gain confidence as he progressed and
never nesi tating for an instant for the
proper word and technical term with
which to desi gnate the portions of the
scalp, Uranium or its contents. His
work was brilliant and it is doubtful If
a case involving technical medical
knowledge was ever conducted with