The San Francisco call., 1908-07-31
TO FIX BLAME FOR
WRONG DIAGNOSIS
Dr.. A. j. Remnef Made Brief
Examination of S. P. Middle
ton and Said Apoplexy
Attendants Call Attention of
Surgeon to ChlofOform 0dor
on Patients Breath


Golden Gate park, was probably gone
when he was taken to the central emer
gency hospital Tuesday night, DR.. Wal
lace I. Terry, chief of the emergency
hospital service, is conducting rigid
investigation to fix the blame, If any
there be. for the wrong diagnosis which
was made in the case.
Middleton was taken to the hospital
Tuesday evening In dying condition.
He was attended by DR.. A j. Remmel,
relief surgeon, who was acting at
the hospital in the absence Of the reg
ular hospital surgeon. DR.. Remmel
made brief examination and dag
nosed the case as apoplexy. The pa
tient fingered until midnight, receiving
no other treatment than that given him
during the first examination. The
autopsy performed Wednesday proved
beyond any doubt that he had COM
mitted suicide by taking chloroform
DR. Terry is now looking into all the
details of the case and it is probable
that more exhaustive inquiry will be
made at the inquest, though Dr. Terry
speaks In the highest terms of DR..
Remmel and declares his utmost belief
in the latter's ability and Judgment.
FOUND IN PARK SHRUBBERY
Middleton was found in a clump OF
shrubbery in Golden Gate park by two
4AlSAl W AlO LGdA u MS SiOdilS' L O4iSSiAiehh
Norton of the park police station took
charge of the case and the dying man
was brought in a patrol wagon to the
central emergency hospital by Police
man Thomas Hyland. Norton and Hy-
land say that they found Middleton was
lying in such place and so screened
by the brush that any number of per-
sons might have walked within foot
of him without discovering the body.
.Hyland became convinced that the case
was a suicide and so reported when he
reached the hospital
When DR.. Remmel came into the
room after we had been there several
minutes 1 told him that no man ex-
cept a suicide would have gone into
such a place as that in which we found
Middleton and that on the way down in
the wagon 1 had smelled chloroform on
his BREATH. said Hyland. He asked
me If we had found a bottle and L said
that we had not, but that 1 was sure it
was a suicide. He said No, it's apo
plexy. The autopsy viii show
thought it strange for him to speak of
an autopsy and after he had the man
put to bed 1 asked him again if he
couldn't do something. He said, No,
! he's gone. He can't live more than a
few minutes All he did was to feel
the mans pulse, and even after 1 told
| him I had smelled chloroform he didn't
smell the mans breath"
REMMEL CALLS CASE APOPLEXY
William Burns. driver of the patrol
wagon in which Middleton was taken
/ to the hospital, corroborated Hyland' $
! statement. He helped carry Middle
ton into the hospital and was there
/ while the case was being discussed.
| He said yesterday that he heard Hy-
/ land declare that no one but a sui
I eide would have x9ylad n q
as Middleton had done; that he heard
! DR.. Remmel order Middleton put to
! bed, and that DIR. Remmel merely felt
the mans pulse and then declared
that he could do nothing, as the patient
was dying.
II started to help the steward with
! the stomach pump" said Burns, be
cause I felt sure they would use it,
and was surprised when the doctor
said ii was apoplexy."
Stewart McCarte heard Hyland say
that he thought the case was one Of
suicide, and says he himself smelled
Middleton's breath, but failed to dis
cover any odor. He also heard DIR.
Remmel remark that Middleton was in
| dying condition. Miss M. T.. Maher,
| the nurse who was in the room when
Middleton was brought in, said she
| heard little of the discussion, as she
was called away to the telephone in the
! hallway outside the room. However,
/ she heard DIR. Remmel ask if a bottle
4 had been found and heard Hyland say
| that search had been made. Miss
/ Maher was also in the room some time
later, when Mrs. Middleton reached the
hospital, and heard her say in the pres
ence of DR.. Remmel that she believed
her husband had taken poison because
| of financial troubles +. Hillman a
newspaperman who was in the room
at the time, also asserts that Mrs. Mid
dleton made some remark about a
stomach pump and that Dr. Remmel re-
sponded that it was mo use.p
The testimony of every witness who
was present at the time Middleton was
taken to the hospital is to the effect
that the suicide suggestion was promi-
| nently made several times, but that the
| stomach pump was not used nor any-
thing more than desultory effort made
to ascertain the real cause of death.
TRIES TO BLAME REPORTER
The Examiner yesterday morning at
| tempted TO lay the blame for the failure
properly to diagnose the case on a Call
reporter who secured a note which had
been in Middleton's possession. In this
note Middleton expressed his views on
the subject of life and death. 1t CON
tained no reference to contemplated
| suicide, no reference to chloroform. nor
in any way did 1t tend to throw light
on the cause of death. With charac-
teristic malice and mendacity the Ex-
| aminer, which has already been con-
victed of thefts in efforts to obtain
news which it cannot Iegitimately Sc
cure, charged than it's own methods had
been adopted by The Call
The Examiner deliberately lied The
note in question, which was published
in The Call Wednesday morning, was
obtained In perfectly legitimate man
ner. That the Examiner itself failed
| to learn until day late that the case
was one of suicide was due to fragrant
newspaper stupidity. The Calls ac-
| count of the suicide was based entirely
upon the statements of Policeman
Hyland and Mrs. Middleton and what
otherwise transpired at the hospital
the note being merely an incidental to
the story.
To make matters worse, the Exam
iner has not scrupled to misuse the sor
row of a stricken household in it's en-
deavor to injure the reputation of a
Call reporter. 1t carefully misquoted
and distorted statements made by both
DR.. Remmel and DR.. Terry concernine
the affair and put into their mouths as
sertions which they positively aver
they did not make.
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