The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-21


| l. E. Johnson. in charge of ward
at the hospital was next called. Ae
was the superior officer while ROBERTS
was in the same ward. He corrobora-
| ted that statement of DR.. Cooper relat-
| ing to the Green case. The records
of the ward and daily reports show
that Green took nourishnens on three
days after suffering the stroke OF apo
Johnson gave Green milk from a cup
on three days but after that he could
not get Green to take the milk nnd
this continued the two days until Green
died. johnson also said that he had
heard Roberts tell DR.. Cooper that
| Green had taken food.
| William Holt. supervisor of the at
| tendants at the east building at the
Topeka hospital. was the next witness
He has been at the hospital three years
| He asserted that DR.. Biddle had never
| mistrusted an employee or patient as
| far as he knew and that DIR. Biddle
never refused to hear complaints. Holt
was the supervisor over the ward when
Green was confined. He said that Rob-
| erts had reported at least once and
possibly twice that he had given Green
milk.
The Case of McNoun.
| William Holt, supervisor of the Z.
| building at the hospital, was called to
1 testify regarding the treatment of in
mates in the building. He was the first
witness of the morning. F. L. Phelps,
| one Of the discharged employees, had
| testified that William McNoun, a pa
tient, had been burned with a lantern
| in order to quiet the patient Phelps
| said McNoun had ten or fifteen marks
! on his body and that the burns were so
! deep that the letters Lamp company
were burned into the spine. Holt had
| never heard of the burns. He frequent
ly saw McNoun while the patients were
being bathed and he never saw any
| burns or scars on McNOun.
| Phelps had never reported any
cruelty to patients to Holt.
| DR.. Cooper was recalled to tell about
| the lanterns used by the night watch
man when the burning of McNoun
| was supposed to have taken place last
July. The lanterns are still in use and
none of the lanterns had any words on
the top corresponding to those supposed
to have been burned into McNoun's s
skin.
James EIlzins, a cottage attendant, a,
present, but in July Elkins was night
watch on the ward where McNoun was
kept.
did you ever sea any sores. burns Or
scars on McNouns back?' asked Mr.
Doran.
Mo-
Did you ever burn McNoun to quiet
him?''
NO.
How frequently did you see McNoun
without any clothing on?''
Every night. Sometimes several
times"
Never saw any sores or burns?'
Never"
His testimony was flat denial of
practically everything Phelps had tes-
titled to.
DIR. Scott Testifies.
DR.. T. P. Scott, one of the hospital
physicians, was next called. He cor
rOborated the statements of DIR. Cooper,
Holt and EllxinS regarding the burns on
McNoun. He asserted that if the burns
alleged by Phelps had been made that
the scars probably would show now,
and an examination this morning
showed the skin smooth
D. F. Thompson, head attendant on
! McNoun's ward, was next called. He
had never seen the burns and Phelps
had never reported any burns to him.
c. w. Jackson, for four years an
attendant at the hospital, was next
called. Phelps had testified that Louis
Friedberg, a patient, had suffered to-
bacco juice being spat into his eye by
an attendant Jackson, who had
charge of Friedberg: asserted that he
had never seen or heard of any at
tendant splitting into the eyes OF
any other patient.
Moore Has an AIibi.
| w. L. Moore, an attendent, was call
ed to testify regarding Bert McKibben
An employee named Grubbs had testi-
fed that Moore kicked McKibben in
the stomach one day and also stomped
on him. Moore was able to show that
at the time Grubbs was talking about
Moore was member of the police
force in Kansas City, Mo-, and on
June %, the day he was supposed tc
have kicked McKibben, he was walk
ing a beat in Kansas City. He had
, never heard of the McKibben case ex-
cept what he had read in the news
papers.
e. Ringy, another attendant. was
next called. He was in McKibben'.
ward.
ssDid you know McKibben?"
Eyes, he was under my care
did you ever hear that an attend
ant had kicked McKibben while the
patient was exercising on the lawn?'
mo-
How long was McKibben confined
to his bed before he died?"
| "At least five days.
Grubbs had testified that McKibber
had been kicked one day and died the
next.
DR.. T. P. Scott was recalled to tel
as to the cause of McKibben's death
DR.. Young, the ward medical attend
ant, reported to DIR. Scott that McKib
ben had peritonitis several days be-
fore the death and the records of the
board show that McKibben died o.
peritonitis.
"Was it possible for one to be kick
ed in the stomach one day and die o.
peritonities the next day?" he wa.
| asked.
mo-
''Do you know anything about tn,
habits of McKibben %
Eyes. McKibben was a very de
structive patient, so much so that hi
hands were kept in restraint in hand
muffs. I have seen McKibben ca
grass and sticks and his clothing. H
lwould tear his own clothing and th'
bed clothes. He was able to reach hi
shoulder and would tear his shirt will
his teeth. He swallowed considerabl
lof this stuff. These foreign bodie
lprobably caused a perforation of tn
1bercular ulcers in the intestines ant
Ithis caused Deritonitis"