The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-01-27
TWO OUT OF FIVE
PATIENTS DIED
UNDER RAO|UM
Element Not Established Cure
for Internal Cancer
WARNING BY PHYSICIAN
director of Radium Clinic at Phila-
delphia Says Treatment is in
Experimental Stage
WARNING BY PHYSICIAN

Washington, Jan. 27.-Radium as
cure for cancer is still in an expert
mental stage, and its use in the treat
ment of internal cancer results fatal
" in large percentage of cases, ac-
cording to the testimony before the
House mines committee yesterday OF
D.. William II. Campbell. director OF
the radium clinic of Pennsylvania
De. Campbell told the committee that
so far as the deeper canies are con
cerned, 1--WE cannot tell today what
the outcome of the radium treatment
will be"
I'VE can tell" he said. that there
IS difference of the tumor, that the
radium causes the disintegration OF
the tissues OF the cancer, but some
thing is created in that disappear
anoe which is absorbed by the blood
and which kills many patients.
cannot tell, nobody can tell, for four
o. FIVE years, just what the result
viii be-"
fiUN many VI pohi H"h'NfA'Ns' 'ff''
died as result of your treatment!
asked Representative Byrnes oil
North Carolina. DR.. Campbell de-
INJURED at this, but finally said that
two out of five of the cases treated
ended fatally. He added that all
were in cases where the disease
would have resulted in death In
few months without Treatment. y
simply FEEL he said, that I've Just
showed those patients over little
bit quicker
DR.. Campbell said that at the pres
ent price of radium the cost TO pat
lends ought not to be prohibitive. II
can treat patients at four cents per
milligram of radium per hour, on an
investment of $4,000 and double my
money in year" he declared. Dr.
Francis b. Donoghue of Boston urged
that the committee include in any
legislation for protecting the radium
supply, substitutes for radium. He
said that meso-thorium, much
cheaper product than radium, was
equally effective.
James c. Gray. general counsel for
the Radium chemical company told
the committee that radium treatment
had relieved him of cancer after sew
e-al ineffective operations. He op-
posed government interference with
the production of radium and urged
that private development of the in
dustry be encouraged. DR.. John 7.
Anderson. director of the hyGienic
laboratory Oh the United States public
health services. declared that the pub
lie health service was in a position
to take charge OF the production OF
radium for the benefit of the entire
country.
Secretary Lane told the committee
that Congress should break up the
monopoly that keeps radium at a TAB
ulously prohibitiye price and enact
legislation to put the curative miner
nj on the market cheaply for large
numbers of sufferers. Secretary
Lane combated arguments against
withdrawal of lands, saying there
was no intention OF setting aside a
vast area nor to lock up the mineral
or lands indefinitely, but simply 10
get radium out for public use where
it would not be in the hands Of a
monopoly.
Secretary Lanes proposal was TO
divide a certain area into tracts Of
800 acres. allow exclusive licenses to
prospect and If q prospcctor found
radium, to allow him all the usual
rights except that the government
would take % OF IS per cent OF the
radium obtained. lie would also
give the government absolute control
over a certain definite area for the
development OF radium on its own in
! itiative.