Evening star., 1912-09-02
Sixth and Seventh floors.

lay in determining whether a patient was
hopelessly insane. The proposition to put
an end to incurable patients found no
friends at the institution, though it was
admitted that physicians elsewhere had
advocated such plan in the past.
DR.. Simon Baruch of New York. who
has given his approval to the plan of Mrs.
Harris. has had this to say about 1t:
sufferer I regretted that I had deferred
the advocacy Of euthanasia. which the
sad observation of half century at the
bedside, involving the most narrowing ex-
periences. had long led me to contemplate.
Whether the unfortunate paralytic who
so eloouently pleads for relief from the
suffering would be proper subject for
euthanasia I am unwilling to say.
Il should not favor so radical a meas
ure for persons suffering mental distress.
no matter how great, because in q large
proportion of cases this may be amelio-
ated by religious ministration. prayer and
other modes Of consolation, Of the efficacy
Of which I have no doubt in such cases.
when on the other hand the sick per-
son is suffering agonizing pains which
anodyne fails to relieve. the disease being
incurable and the patient demanding re-
lief, the disinterested physician should
be legally authorized by law to consider
the case from every point Of view and to
object they should have the privilege of
appeal to q higher court. / hope that the
good sense Of legislators may some day
emancipate them from the narrowness
which forbids the catholic view that the
incurable are entitled to something more
than maudlin sympathy.
Cannot Judge.
"No sick individual, however, is COM
petent to judge fairly of the necessity or
proporiety Of such radical relief, for even
physicians are incompetent to form cor
rect judgment OF their own cases. That
pain is demoralizing / have had fire.
Quent opportunity of observing in the
battleeld hospitals of the army Of north
ern Virginia.
'Tt is capable of changing completely
mans nature. For instance, an officer
who had so distinguished himself in
battle that he was brevetted and made
the youngest brigadier In the army, re-
ceived at Gettysburg bullet in the
hand which disabled him from holding
his sword. Nevertheless. he led his men
in a charge and fell exhausted from loss
Of blood only after the opposing lines
had been routed.
When he was brought with q tempo
rary dressing to the field hospital he was
fairly calm and asked that his wound be
attended to as soon as possible. Then
seeing that was operating on moro seri-
GUS cases he walked away without pro-
test. In about fifteen minutes he re-
| LuTIlCO Will u IHOT0 uISCuS ACQuC6t AOA
treatment, saying he was suffering great
pain.
'T again was compelled to decline. Re-
turning the third time, he insisted with an
oath. good Presbyterian though he was,
that the wound was too painful to endure
any longer, and he threatened me with
court-martial IL I didn't attend to it i'm
mediately. This brave man, Of whom it
was said that he was so generous that he
would give a soldier his last bite. was
evidently completely transformed by the
pain Of his wound.
'tSuch incidents demonstrate the i'm
portance of disinterested Judgment in de-
Gliding upon euthanaSia for incurable suf-
fering. and they prove that those who de-
mand the latter are not always towards.
IT have for q long time thought that
many cases of insanity demanded eutha
nasia. Our asylums are overcrowded with
absolutely incurable cases Of long stand
Ing. some violent and q menace to those
who are near them. others hopelessly