The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1909-06-07
WHERE GREAT
men DIFFER

Washington. June with two emf.
nent specialists insisting on exactly
opposite opinions, Washington is rip.
ping with excitement over the qucs.
ton of whether John Early is leper.
DR.. l.. ID. Bulkley, of New York. a spe.
cialist of wide renown. has visited
Early twice recently and made ex.
haustive diagnosis of his case. He in.
sists that there are no Indications of
lcprosy. DR. Edward Ehlcrs. of Den.
mark, a noted leprologist of Denmark.
has made an examination and is equal.
ly positive that Early mas pronounc.
ed case of leprosy. The people of
Washington are daily treated with eX-
haustivc statements upon the subject
until even the layman is beginning to
consider himself something of an ex.
pert in the matter. In the meantime
rarly and his wife and children are
Kept in confinement In "A ashington
suburb near Anacostia.
Early was interested In the Saliva
tion Army. For that reason the Saliva
tion Army people are taking an active
interest In his case. Nearly year
ago Early became Ill in a cheap hotel
A physician who was called believed
he had discovered a leper. He left
the patient In his room. locking the
door behind him as he went out and
putting the key in his pocket, the doc.
tor hastily reported the case To the
health officers and in fifteen minutes
the suspect was in an ambulance on
the way TO a detention hospital All
Washington was agog over the affair.
Early was installed in a comfortable
brick house under n strict quarantine.
and kept under observation. The
statement that he was n leper was gen
orally accepted. He was married and
had one child. His wife and child
were moved out TO tho detention hos
pital. few months later another
child was born. While Mrs. Early
and the two children are quartered
in the same house as their husband
and father. they are kept separated
though allowed TO communicate with
each other
Springtime came and Early cheerful.
" went to work making a garden. He
works most of the time and seems to
Ike it Newspaper men visit the place
and the scare the people had at first
seems to have worn off. The case has
developed into scientific study now.
Early has and still does insist that
he is not ? lepcr and that he Is suffer.
ing with form OF skin disease total
ly foreign TO leprosy He thinks ne
he is being prosecuted by the health
board of Washington. He has employ
ed an attorney 10 look after his legal
rights as well as a physician 10 dag
nose his case.
Through the assistance of his al
| tOrney Early succeeded in getting DR.
I Buckley TO come down from New York
and make diagnosis of the case and
this was done without the knowledge
OF the health officers or anybody else
except Early's friends. The publica
tion OF Or. Bulkleys report created
n sensation. Immediately DR. Ehler'
was brought on and his diagnosis oi
the case was exactly contrary 10 that
of DR.. Bulkley's.
And so the controversy wages
Early does not seem to he growing any
better or any worse. He was a sol
dier in the Philippines and 1t Is sup
posed that II was there he contract
ed lcprosy. He is drawing n pension
Of s72 per month. In addition, when
he was sent 10 the detention hospi
[ tai one of the Washington newspapers
started a popular subscription for the
family and nearly 81 900 was collected
In this way and turned over TO the
/ Earlys. II IL understood that the Sal
walton army is putting up the money
/ 10 pay the specialists who come tC
examine Early, and are giving him as
U gt ct a ut hnr %