The Washington herald., 1913-02-11

The claims Of DR.. r. P. Friedman, of
Berlin. for the curative powers OF his
new remedy for tuberculosis are branded
| as "extravagant'' in the authorized re-
port Of the District Medical Society made
public yesterday.
The advice OF the society 10 sufferers
is to refrain from "squandering their
money on this remedy or on the fraudu-
| liant limitations that undoubtedly will
appear to profit by the advertisement 1t
has received. Hew to the old line, and
wait till proofs arc offered instead Of
claims"
The report. written at the order Of the
District Medical Society, by a noted
specialist. whose name Is withheld
makes no bones OF the incredIbnity OF
the society in the worth OF Dr. Fried
mann's remedy. The report says that as
there have been great advances made
recently in the cure OF other diseases,
1t Is not impossible that DR.. Friedman
has devised a remedy that will be an
advance over our present methods" but
goes on that reasoning from the an
| alogy OF the past, the chances that the
remedy OF DR.. Friedman will offer any
very great advance are small. That Il
will fulfill the eItravasant claims he Is
reported to have made for it is unbs-
lieveable"
The incredible sometimes does hap-
pen." the report concludes, but 1t il
apt to be otherwise"
Little Told of Treatment.
The report follows:
The daily press has for the last few
weeks contained frequent reference TO the
claims Of German doctor named Fried
mann to cure for tuberculosis. This
especial cure owes its extensive adyer
tisement In this country TO a munifcent
offer by one of our wealthy countrymen
to DR.. friedman. II he will make good
his claim by curing g5 out OF 100 1vsIr-
developed cases of pulmonary tubercu
losis. A years time is to be allowed.
and II at the end of this time IS Of the
IoO cases are restored TO health DR.
Friedman is to reap his reward.
We are not acquainted with the de-
tails OF the proposed procedure but un-
derstand that the principle consists IN
the injection into the circulation of the
human sufferer from tuberculosis Of a
Serum or vaccine 1--WE are not informed
which, derived from the inocculation Of
cold-blooded animal. the turtle. with
tuoercle bacilli. 1t is understood that
the Department OF State, through its
consular agents abroad. is collecting ALI
the available Information regarding tho
Friedmann treatment. with a view to its
publication for the beneft OF the Ameri
can public.
Publicity Feature Bad.
1t Is not impossible that DR.. Fried
mann has discovered a treatment that
Will furnish an advance over our present
methods of dealing with this disease ~
ne has done so, the boon he will baya
conferred on humanity will be worth
many times the 81 10000 fee said to have
Deen contingently offered by Mr.. Finlay.
sPh
oHerinG so large part of his fortune 10
the liberation of the human race fron,
the scourge OF tuberculosis is adrnirahIe
though the wisdom Of the publicity thai
mas attended the offer may be ouestion.d
Already we heard Of a multttude ~ on.
piicants Tor membership In the chosen
Ioo, and bitter disappointment and suf.
fering must attend the selection.
In the meanwhile, as We ewaf, ,ha
arrival of Dr. Friedman. the y.a- .sne ne
must elapse before the test Is comnIetad
and the additional time required 10 place
the remedy on the market should the
test be successful, let us reflect IL NC
review the history of medicine we will
see that there have appeared in success
sion innumerable so-caIIed cures for
tuberculosis, some advanced sincerely by
honest and competent investigators, 9TH
ers skilfully advertised by chariatans.
obvious frauds, designed to procure un-
worthy profit. We can scarcely remember
a time when there was not being ex-
plotted some final sure cure for tubercu-
losis and cancer. The continued ravages
Of these diseases show how these claims
have been discredited. As witty
Frenchman said. apropos OF a new rem
edy: Hurry up and take 1t while It yet
cures; tomorrow 1t will be something
else
Pathetic Side shown.
THE pathetic side Of these new dis
coveries is seen when We come into con-
tact with the sufferers from these dis
eases. When tuberculosis is so advanced
as to doom to invalidism or death, they
naturally grasp at any straw that seems
to ofrer salvation. They hurry to squan-
der their remaining resources and those |
Of their families, in procuring the new
remedy. They neglect the slow and i'm |
perfect methods that nature has pre- |
scribed for the repair of injury and dis |
ease. In the hope OF a miracle they |
cast aside the restraints to which they |
have hitherto submitted. The realiza- |
ton of failure comes. The bitterness of !
hope deluged. the conviction of folly, the |
exhausted resources, the time lost from |
the use Of less dramatic methods, and |
the actual damage done by the remedies |
themselves all combine to produce dis |
appointment, despair, and death.
Ne uho