Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1920-10-05
|NHUMAN NEGLECT
CHARGED DOCTORS
YARD WORKERS, DISCHARGED
HOSPITAL WHILE SUFFERING
FROM FRACTURED Skull l.,
COMMISSION FINDS.

A few months ago healthy,
robust lad of Is years, working from
early morning until late afternoon in
the shipyards with men years Older
than himself that his mother and lit
tie sister might not be forced to toll
for a living, Wendlow Seablom, now
boy of 16 years, is a helpless, dis
abled invalid. facing what may be a
life Of torture and pain, and all be-
cause of the inefficiency and lack Of
care upon the part of physicians, who
were negligent and careless about
their work and allowed young Wend-
low to leave their care in poor con-
dition.
Wendlow started working for the
Todd shipyard people in Tacoma
when 13 years of age and drew the
goodly salary of $4.4O per day, work
ing at heating rivets. The boy was
forced to leave school and go to
work through the death of his father
years before and his mother having
married a second time, with the step
father deserting her finally and leav-
ing the mother and two children
without means of support.
December 2S. 1919. just after the
meager Christmas which the mother
and her two children spent together,
thankful at their fortune in being to-
gether and the splendid manner in
which life was progressing, Wend-
low met with an accident which ren-
dered him unconscious, wrench
falling on his head.
The boy was taken at once to St.
Joseph's hospital, where the doctor
pronounced him coming arund fine
and the accident of no serious i'm
port. Three days later Wedlow left
the hospital and went to his home.
His head bothered him at times. He
stayed home for seven days, when
the financial status of the family de-
manded his return to work. He
worked for two weeks. During that
. time he was subject to fainting
spells and his head hurt him
lawfully" as he manfully put 1t,
finally compelling him to stop work
, altogether on January 20.
A big brother, who had been away
for years. returned to Tacoma and
undertook the support of the family
, in Wendlow's place. All spring the
, boy was unable to work and this fall
he started to school at the Central
Avenue school, in Summit View
Wendlow couldn't stand it in the
school room. At times his head got
hot and hurt more than ever.
The other day he was talking tC
some older men and their advice was
to see the industrial insurance com
mission at Olympia.
Monday morning, with a nickel ir
his pocket, a brave heart and de
termined little mind, Wendlow start
1 ed for Olympia. He got as far a.
Camp Lewis on bus and theI
HOOkeu Iluc lho i0"H~~A '"
Il the way.
n He marched into the Offices Of tn'
t commission and asked to see th'
"boss." To H. l.. Hughes. chairman
I of the commission, Major Gill and f
s A. Seaborg, members Of the commits
I sion. he told his tale. An examina
e tion by Doctor F. A. Bird examining
: physical for the commission. fol
lowed with the result that he wa
: pronounced to have bad fractur'
: of the skull. which in time Nigh
render the lad useless and is havini
y a serious effect on his mind.
: Had this been attended to at tn
: time of the accident, Doctor Birt
d stated, the entire affliction woult
Il have been done away with AM
e Wendlow would have been today tn
d same as other boys, a future of un
d known qualities. An operation ma,
II save the lad, though this will not b
y known until specialist in Tacom
= has examined the fracture.
"This is the most inhuman case o
rank negligence that has come DC
y fore our commission" stated III
d Hughes yesterday land we will d
IS everything in our power to right tn
l. wrong that has been done this smal
lad"