Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-04-21
WHOSE NEGLECT WAS TT

Dear sir: A recent issue Of your
valuable paper under caption, Are
Charged With Neglect mentioned the
case OF the Messenger family Of La
Junta, Colorado.
Commenting on this case. Tray
Montgomery Of Denver states as fol-
lows:
%. D. Messenger Of La Junta, who
is not Christian Scientist, lost three
little girls. Rose, Eta and Mary, all
Of whom died under the care Of med
ical doctors. In the case of the child,
Eta. the court record shows gross
neglect on the part of the attending
physician. He was called on January
s and given full charge of the case.
He diagnosed the disease to be Group
and prescribed medicine. The med
icine was given according to his
orders. The doctor announced that
nothing could be done for the child.
beyond the giving of his medicine and
he did not visit the patient again for
four days, when he did so upon the
urgent request of the father Although
he found the child in a critical condi-
ton, he left the case to go to another
city, returning on January 13, to find
the child had died during his absence.
He had diagnosed the case as Group,
but signed the burial certificate as
pneumonia, afterwards declaring in
court that he thought the child had
had diphtheria. The court record
shows that the doctor was negligent IN
not making culture, in not quaran-
timing the case, in neglecting to visit
the case for four days, and in leaving
the city at the time of the child's most
critical illness, admitting on the wit
ness stand, that he knew the child to
be dangerously i'll. Also that very
probably due to his failure to make a
correct diagnosis and his neglect In
not warning the parents to guard
against contagion that the parents and
the other children became Ill with
diphtheria.
"All the foregoing facts are shown
in the court record, a copy of which
I have on file and any one desiring TO
corroborate the facts, is invited to ex-
anime the record.
"The parents, after losing three chill
dren under the care of physicians,
finally. in their extremity, their other
children stricken with the dread dis
ease. turned wholly to Christian
Science treatment and forsook ma
terial remedies.
"rwo children, Martha and Mabel,
and the parents were healed by Chris
tian Science treatment. The remain
ing child, Arthur, was under Christian
Science treatment when the local OH
Ger of the bureau Of child and animal
protection, learning that Arthur was
not receiving medical treatment, and
being somewhat stirred by the gossip
of the street, called upon the district
attorney and had an action brought
against the parents charging them
with neglecting their children, where
by, under the Juvenile law of Colorado,
the children become dependent. This
neglect as alleged, consisted Of failure
to employ proper medical attention.
An order was secured from the court
forcing the parents to admit ply
stefan and nurse to attend the sick
child, Arthur.
sThe defense was that nothing IN
the laws of Colorado required the en-
ployment of a medical doctor. hence
the failure to employ one could not
constitute neglect under the Juvenile
laws.
christian Science was not mention
ed in the action brought by the dis
| trict attorney, in the court order. nor