Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-09-22
PUBLIC OPINION
Editor EVENING W

Editor EVENING NEWS:-
In a prominent position in your pa
per of Sept. 18th, you have made one or
more errors of statement and as my
name is connected Herewith | am going
to ask you to give this letter, embody-
ing a correction, an equally prominent
position.
In your paper you speak of a note in
my possession concerning a cunning
trip in which DR.. Fithian makes some
remarks concerning DR.. Ramsay. AL
low me to say that note does not concern
q cunning trip, but does make some re-
marks concerning DR.. Ramsay and if as
you say, DR.. Fithian's friends think
those remarks ga small matter for DIR.
Ramsay to create such a rumpus over'
suppose you ask DR.. Fithian to grant
you permission to publish those remarks
and let the public pass judgment.
Again you say, DR.. Ramsay "persuad-
ed other members to join in his
grudge." You must consider those
other members very weak in their minds
or else very amenable to suggestion. AS
a matter of fact I can assure you there
were reasons why association with DR..
Fithian was not considered very desira-
DlC ptloIC ~ hdAIpdJ wv cav bh"b
note in question.
Again speaking of DR.. Fithian and
DR.. Silk, you say cit is well known that
several members Of the medical staff
are bitterly opposed to these two men
and have threatened to resign from the
staff if they were named.' This state
ment shows a dire lack of knowledge
as DR.. Silk is, as | think he realizes,
very highly esteemd by every doctor on
the staff and / can assure you when
the hospital is large enough to make it
advisable to appoint more men on the
staff, DIR. Silk will be the first mar APP
pointed, if the medical staff has any
thing to say in the matter, as he would
come under the class that the bylaws
make eligible, that is, such doctor or
doctors) as are suitable and "can be
suggested by the medical staff
You even speak Of resignation on the
staff. if DR.. Fithian or DR.. Silk are ap-
pointed. I can assure you no one
would resign if DR.. SILK was appoint
ed and that there would never be any
resignation, no matter who was appoint
ed. If the board did not (innocently)
make the mistake Of appointing some
one who's conduct was, or had been,
unbeeoming that of a physician or one
whom the staff had reason to believe
either through lack of ability or some
error in practice, to be liable to bring
the hospital into litigation.
In your editorial of Sept. 10Th you
say HDid the people contribute their
money and work hard to build the hos
pitaI only to turn it over to six doctors
to be run as if they owned it and for
their own profit" In answer let me
say if they did they did not make a
very great success of it as there has
been but little profit. Every doctor on
duty having performed at least 500
worth of work every month, yet no doe
tor has averaged as much as $500 per
month, and I do not think any one OF
the doctors have averaged over $1,000
per month. Then again none of this, to
the best of my knowledge, was obtain
cd from any patient that had previous
ly been attended by any other doctor
than the one whom obtained the fee.
If, as you state, it was Resolved,
that it is the sense Of the Board OF
Governors that the number of physl-
clans constituting the medical stan or
the hospital be increased to e1ght III
number" I would like to state L be-
lieve this to be an unfortunate error
in judgment. Any doctor who has kept
in touch with hospital methods of the
day knows the tendency all over the
country to cut down rather than IN
crease the number of men on the hospit-
al Staff and the board s resolution to
increase the number of the staff, while
no doubt made with the best of inten-
tions, can only Through the medical
i~ournals) show to the country at large
that we are retrogressive in III meth
DDS rather than progressive. You be-
lieve in being progressive. Mr.. Editor
then why favor retrogressive steps IN
this particular matter.
Very truly yours,
G. w. TYRRELL.