South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-05-17
DIR. HAISELDEN IN
DEFENSE Of STAND
Tells Knife and Fork Club to
Himself Only Normal Life
Is Sacred.

TO some all life IS sacred; TO me
life somewhat near normal is sa-
cred"
This is the way in which DR..
Harry ]. Haiselden Of BOlHnger baby
fame. chief surgeon Of the German
American hospital. Chicago. charac-
terized his attitude towards the
mentally unfit in an address given
last night at the oliver hotel before
members Of the Knife and Fork
club. The meeting OF the Organiza-
ton was the last before the sum-
mer recess.
DR.. Haisc16en. tie man about
whom the country seethed end
serged because Of his refusal 10
operate on the Bollinger baby. when
an operation might have prolonged
fits life. opened his address by tell
ing now ne became connected with
the nov famous case.
Describes the Baby.
IT was cailed out Of bed at night
BY woman physician" the speaker
said. who told me that she wanted
me to see a baby. I saw the Bollin-
ger baby just a few hours after it
was born ANY annoyance that l
felt at being called from my slum-
hers was dispelled when ] first saw
the baby. noticed that it had only
one ear. that 10 had no auditory
canal that the face was paralyzed.
that the shoulders were so elevated
that they were on a level with the
point where the ear should have
been. The head was also connected
with the shoulders by tissue; il had
no neck. the chest was deformed.
and we found that when we gave il
water. TIE fluid returned through
the nose I also found that the in
FAINT had no opening in the lower
intestine. and that without an oper-
alton the infant must necessarily
have died from bowel obstruction.
The question of whether it were
best TO perform this operation TO
save the life OF a child hopelessly
deformed arose in my mind. II Oc-
CURED 10 me that il was an easy
matter for a healthy person 10 buffet
the world. but that for hOpelessly
defective man it was nothing short
Of hell.
Muscles Missing.
I'm six days the child died. A
pOstmortem examination revealed
certain things which were impOssi-
BILE TO determine earlier For in
stance. il was found that certain
stomach muscles were missing. that
valve in the gastral cavity prevent
ed the proper functioning OF that
organ. that there was a hemorrhage
of the brain. the body was covered
with an abnormal prOfuse growth
OF hair that there was but one
kidney in place of two and one
uthera that there was "A curvature
OF the spine and no trace of the
muscle controlling the bowel action.
Had that child lived. he would be
social outcast He would not he
welcome at such "a social gathering
as this, as far as physical defective
ness was concerned. Besides. there
were signs of almost undoubted
mental inferiority.
shortly after 1 took this case in
nand there came rumors to the
effect that "A baby was dying from
neglect. L called in Il physicians
10 consult with me- All but one
heartily approved of the stand 1
took. AS my next step in order to put
the matter before the attention of
the public, / called up reporter on
Chicago paper. The newspaper
woman came down and looked at
the baby and agreed with me hearth
~. She went back and wrote per
haps a column. and IL was a very
modest story In an incredibly
short time there was an extra, and
i'm an incredibly shorter time tele-
grams began pouring in about the
matter. The Associated Press alone
had 500 messages wanting TO know
details about the fool doctor who
didn't have enough sense to operate.
and who didn't have enough sense
TO prevent a life from being snuffed
out.
Tribute TO Reporters.
Criticisms came pouring in from
Maine 10 san Francisco. from Lou
isiana Co Minnesota. I was beseiged
with telephone calls. Reporters were
everywhere. And Of an the report
ers who saw this baby there was
not one bat wha. said / did abso-
lutely right. I bcucve that the news
paper man or woman knows more
about life. knows life better than
any other class OF people You can
fool them part OF the time but not
for long
II have now $4,000 clippings on
the Bollinger baby AFFAIR In all
those clippings. 1 never once found
that reporter had wilifuuy mis-
quoted anything . said. / want TO
speak word here for the veracity
Of the reports printed by the news
paper correspondents.
by and by 7 began 20 get mess
axes from clorgymen. leading men
and women from an parts of the
country Here in South Bend I re-
Ceiyed letters from Mrs ". r. Mill
or. Mrs Alma @. Ware and DIT.
Henry l. Davis And then with these
assurances I began 20 feel encOur-
aged Some gentleman from Iowa.
on other hand, wrote that il was
too had that physician Of the