Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-30
TO LEARN OF
NO-DRUG CURE
TESTIMONY OF NURSES MAY BE
SENSATIONAL
WOMAN SAYS CONDITIONS ARE
REVOLVING
Miss Rachel Golden Says Milk and
Toast viii Not Sustain Life In
Every One, and Meal
Was Relief

Today the health board will hear tes-
,ronv in the drugless sanitarium case,
Dr. r. j. Kurpiers being accused Oh prac-
ticing medicine on patients at his Boyle
11e,obts retreat and incidentally treating
them to a starvation diet.
Sensational testimony is looked Tor from
nurses and relatives of patients, the issue
rsing whether or not the board shall
revoke It's permit TO hurpiers " 'oA-
duct a sanitarium.
Detective H. c. Mckenzie has assisted
IN getting at the facts, his sister-in-law'
Mrs. A. Wegner being one of the patients
whose treatment is a subject or inquiry.
sifted and collated the testimony Of
former nurses indicates that Kurpiers
fed his patients mostly on apples ana
tosst. varied with milk, occasionally IN
Producing olive oil, lettuce and schmier-
kaese.
Sun Baths and knelpp Walks
On the roof of his place he kept
mattress and here at times patients were
treated to sun baths, wearing the ie"est
clothes the law allows.
Others would be told to prance Dare
footed through the grass.
Most of the patients were women ana
the poor creatures were charged 1ees
which the nurses say left a considerable
protit. to say the least, for the manage
ment.
The most sensational feature in the
case of Mrs. Wegner is the charge tnat
she was once plunged into a tub Oh ICY
water-an operation which sent her tenn
perature up to alarming heights.
No disinfectants were in the establish
ment. and one of the nurses, Miss Rachei
Golden finally went out and at her own
EXPENSE got carbolic acid, lysol and other
purifiers, she claims.
some of the former attendants say that
Kurpiers promised them $25 for each
patient they brought and out of this some
civil suits will probably grow If no set
tlement is made with them.
Prefers to Stay
Detective Mckenzie first learned of his
relatives condition through outsiders.
She mas wasted away to eighty pounds
She lived there on milk, which doctors
say should not have been administered
in half-hourly intervals, as was done'
for she is suffering from intestinal tuber-
culosis.
She has paid all her means to the In
stitution and is, it is alleged, practically
held as hostage for the debt, though the
woman herself declraes she wants to
stay. One of the nurses had prepared
place of removal for Mrs. Wegner, but
enfeebled as She was she declined to go
away.
Two other patients, a mother and
daughter, were treated to sun baths ana
barefoot walks and cash commissions are
claimed by one woman for sending these
two to the drugless emporium.
Expert in Disguise
Kurpiers hired an attendant some time
ago who, it seems, is skilled physician
Aof Vienna. This man is. relied on py
the board of health to state facts from
an experts standpoint.
Mrs Wright, one of the nurses who
remained a week, said yesterday:
81 have a claim for $50 for which l
made formal demand today. 1 am pre-
pared to take this into court If necessary.
"One of my patients was being fed on
unboiled milk and was rapidly getting
worse. surreptitiously boiled the milk
and gave her an occasional boiled potato
in small pieces or some grapenuts to
vary her diet, and she began improving.
III was hungry all the time, and now
that I am out 1 certainly feel sorry for
the patients
Oh, for Square Meal!
Miss Rachel Golden, who returned to
San Francisco after giving her deposition
to City Attorney Hewitt, said that con-
ditions at the place were revolving.
"A DIR. Dietz, who was seldom there,
was supposed to look after things, as he
has a license to practice, while DR.. Kur-
piers had no certificate, but things were
left to us largely to do what we were
told.
milk and toast will not sustain every
body, and it was a relief to get square
meal somewhere for me-"
Kurpiers has retained counsel and will
probably make spirited defense that
his manner of treatment is legitimate and
that he gets the consent of all his pa
tients first