The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-02-16


as a teacher, the Medical Commits
sion declared, in the presence of the
chief physician of the Central Com
mittee, of another Communist doctor,
and of A. j. Konnely, chief physician
of the Kremlin Hospital, that the
Russian sanatoria could by no means
help me, but that l could hope to be
cured abroad, seeing that hitherto |
had never been treated abroad for
more than two or three months at a
time, whereas now they must insist
on hospital treatment of at least
half a year, without prescribing any
maximum duration thereof; in such
circumstances they did not doubt that,
if not definitely cured, / could at
least hope to be restored to sufficient
! health to be able to work again for
considerable time.
Some two months after this consul
tation, the Medical Commission of the
Central Committee, which had itself
j invited me to the said discussion, had
not yet undertaken single step,
either in regard to my journey abroad
or in connection with my treatment
here. On the contrary, the Kremlin
! pharmacy, which had been won't to
make up my prescriptions for me, had
been forbidden to do so any further,
so that was deprived of the gra-
tuitous medicaments / had been ac-
customed to use and was forced to
provide myself at my own expense
with medicines from the city apothe-
carries. Obviously the leading group
in our Party had about this time be-
gun to fulfil their threat of hitting
the Opposition blow in the stom-
ach," threat also applying to the
other members of the Opposition.
Grew Worse.
| AS long as l was still healthy to
work, l did not trouble much about
this. But as I grew worse and worse,
my wife commenced to take steps
with view to having me sent abroad,
and applied not only to the Medical
Commission of the Central Commit
tee but also to N. A. Semashko in
person, who had always been loud
in advocating the principle Of "pre-
serving the Old Guard" The ques-
ton, however, was shelved again and
again and the only thing my wife
could attain was that she was given
the medical diagnosis in writing. This
diagnosis enumerated my chronic dis
eases and pointed out that the coun-
Gil of doctors insisted on my going
abroad ito a sanatorium of the type
of Professor Friedlander's, for stay
of about one year."
In the meantime I have now been
for about nine days in bed, since all
my chronic ailments have aggravated
and increased, as / suppose is only
natural, and, worse than all else, my
old inflammation of the nerves has
entered upon an acute stage, so that
i / suffer excruciating pain and can
no longer walk.
i AS a matter of fact / have during
these last nine days been without any
medical assistance, and the question
OF my going abroad is being dis
cussed. Of the doctors of the Central
! Committee not single one has been
to see me. Professor Davodenko and
DR.. Levin, who visited me, prescribed
some trifles which were naturally of
no avail, but themselves confessed
that they could do nothing" and that
it was essential that l should 20
abroad without delay. DR.. Levine ex-
planned to my wife that the matter
was presumably being delayed in the
Medical Commission for the reason
that the latter was under the i'm
preston that my wife would accom-
pany me and that would naturally
cost very much" If non-oppositional
comrades fall i'll, they, and sometimes
also their wives, are sent abroad, ac-
companied by our doctors or profess
sors; / myself know many such cases
and must also admit that when first
contracted my nervous disease / my
self was sent abroad together with