Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-25

was correct And quickly learned that
ii was.
! In the outer office. I met a bright
sunny faced young man who proved TO
be the son. When | made myself known
he said he knew that his father WOULD
be glad to see me- and when my pres
ence was reported to the elder man l
was invited to an inner room, where
he was engaged with a doctor from the
western part of the state whom he had
lust treated and cured within the per-
iod of half an hour of an aggravatlng
case of hernia. When the patient had
departed leaving his hideous truss be-
hind him, as hundred others had evil
IDENTIFY done, judging from the pile OF
such devices that lay in a corner of the
operating room, it was my pleasure TO
make the acquaintance of one of the
dearest, kindliest gentlemen that nave
ever met. To describe his appearance
1 would have to refer you to the picture
that hangs in almost every physicians
office, showing the noble figure OF
"The Doctor of the Old School," ten
derby regarding a sick child.
Eyes, they are after me" he said,
in response to my inquiry. Il am cited
to appear before the state board OF
medical examiners next Tuesday, and
the charge is Incompetence and gross
unprofessional conduct. / have been
getting ready for my defense. and II
YOU would be interested / should like
to have you sit down at my desk there
and look over those stacks OF affidavlts
and letters" And this l did most will
ingly. My attention was directed to
g. dozen or more affidayits of persons
who testified that they had come to
this doctor for treatment, and that at
ter examining them he had informed
them that their cases were beyond his
power to heal; and that he had abso-
lutely refused to accept cent of their
money. That confirmed my measure
of this man as taken at my first
glance, and as / conned these affi-
davits, I wondered haw many other
physicians in Des Moines let patients
escape from their office without leaving
behind a piece of their money. Then
there was another stack of perhaps a
hundred affidavits OF persons VINO
vowed that they had been absolutely
cured, and bunch of letters foot
thick, In which his former patients,
some of them treated as far back as
five years ago. pathetically described
their awful suffering and futile efforts
to be cured until they met this master
of their awful affliction who gave them
relief, the joys of which they recite
in veritable paens Of praise and
Thanksgiving. And again l wondered
was there ever another man In this
state so rich in the worlds gratitude
as this one-this one, whom the med
ical malta is conspiring against to the
end that he shall be compelled to lay
aside the Instruments of his own great
minds contriving and let future dis
heartened and world weary sufferers
knock at his door in vain? Oh! the
pity of it all. Oh! the downright
iniquity and meanness Of 1t all!
And what is the charge against this
man? One of his patients died-one out
OF three hundred he has treated here
with almost uniform success. Patients
OF other doctors die, and it they oe
members Of the organization, that Is
generally all there is to it, for IT by
any chance a. malpractice suit Is
brought against them, they have at
their disposal without cent of ex-
pense to them personally, the services
of one of the greatest lawyers in Iowa
who is retained by the organization on
a yearly contract. Moreover. they are
apt to have the advantage of a COM
pact that is recorded in the book Of
more than one county society in this
state which prevents it's members from
testifying against each other. But, be-
ing beyond the pale of the organization,
this doctor had no such advantages
and the manly course he pursued
shows that he would not have resortsd
to them if he had The patient in whom
complications arose after his treatment
was in pitiful condition, and he was
treated for nominal fee out OF pure
sympathy. Without relief his life would
have been q life of misery and unpro-
ductiveness. A truss had ceased to
avil him A hunchback and otherwise
malformed, on account of his extreme
deformity, the arteries were out OF
their usual course. and on this account
the circulation of the blood vessels was
INSTRUCTED and gangrene of the leg
followed. Now, If the doctor had been
regular" he would have amputated the
leg himself and if need be. written the
death certificate himself. He had ample
experience and skill, having served as
a surgeon in Grants army. But he was
square instead of regular, and called
to his counsel two of the most skilled
surgeons officing with him in the same
building, one of them member of the
state board Of medical examiners. The
latter cut off the mans leg on the in