Evening star., 1941-03-06
Medical
CONTINUED From First Page.)


hospital follows the recommended
ton of its medical board and acts
and rejects-does that make hos
pital a conspirator? MOI
1T may have been that the hos
pital was imposed upon but it must
act as a part Of the conspiracy to
be charged as conspirator."
Referring to the evidence that
Young was a member of the Exec
utive Committee at Casualty Hos
pital, which passed on DR.. Selders,
Mr.. Leahy pointed to the fact that
this institution for so years had a
regulation that doctors In order to
practice there should be members
of the Medical Society.
Macdonald on Committee.
On that same committee, the de-
fense explained, there also was DR..
A. Magruder Macdonald, the Dis
trict coroner, who was not indicted
and is not a defendant. Mr.. Leahy
raised the question as to whether
DR.. Macdonald might have had
some other reason than DR.. Selders
connection with G. H. A. for the
exclusion of DR.. Selders from
courtesy privileges.
Referring to DR.. Young's answer
ing questions about staff members
at his hospital and their member
ship in the District Medical Society,
as shown in a QUESTIONABLE intro
duced in evidence, Mr.. Leahy said:
u hope we have a right to answer
questions; we don't have to play
dumb about G. H. A, to sing hymns
or sit on q cloud, like cherub, and
sing praises to G. H. A. Notice
the stretch to which the prosecu-
tion puts the court to prove evil
dence. They say he answered Ques-
tions to further the conspiracy to
destroy, impede or do away with
G. H. A. That's long jump in
the line OF logic or reason"
Defends Right to Criticize.
Declaring the prosecution would
not grant to single defendant
honesty of purpose in criticizing
G. H. A." Mr.. Leahy charged the
prosecution was "beset, overwhelmed,
befuddled with the idea that any
one who criticized G. H. A. was
crook, a criminal, actuated by the
basest of motives when he criticized
G. H. A. Perhaps they did find out
something about Selders, perhaps
they found they could not in justice
to the hospitals and to patients ad-
NIT him to courtesy privileges"
The Government, Mr.. Leahy con-
tended, had failed to prove ''combi-
nation, confederacy or common un-
derstanding in regard to this con-
spiracy" in regard to DR.. Young.
He added that the same statement
also applied to these other defend
ants: DR.. Wallace Mason Yater, DR..
Edward Hiram Reede, DR.. Martel,
DR.. Leland and DR.. Fishbein.
In regard to DR.. Fishbein, the de-
fense counsel charged the Govern
ment had failed to introduce any
evidence that he even knew Of the
District Medical Society.
Denies Fishbein Link.
so far as DR.. Fishbein is con-
cerned,' Mr.. Leahy asserted, "the
District Medical Society might be
swept out of existence. He never
talked to any one, he never wrote to
anv one. he never did any act to
connect him with the conspiracy as
shown in the evidence"
DR.. Fishbein had been editor OF
the Journal when the Journal pub
hshed an article by another de-
fendant, DR.. William c. Woodward
former director Of the Bureau OF
Legal Medicine and Legislation OF
the A. M A., criticizing G. II. A., Mr.
Leahy said, but he could not be
held responsible for that as this
article had come to him as editor
like any other contribution to the
magazine"
Turning to the case of DR.. Arthur
c. Christie, Washington X-ray Spe-
cialist one of the defendants, Mr..
Leahy said DR.. Christie is now
seriously i'll He pointed out that
all the evidence against DR.
Christie submitted to court was that
he had seconded a resolution OF
the Medical Society offered by
another defendant, DR.. Prentiss
Wilson, regarding the hospital
situation. Mr.. Leahy said that
resolution, which is part of the
indictment, returned in December,
1888, went no further than to ask
a committee for IAN examination,
study and report back" to the so
ciety
Discusses Surgeons Action.
On the strength of that resolu-
ton, Mr.. Leahy said, the Medical
Society couldn't take anv steps to-
ward the conspiracy or even buy q
dozen eggs"
The Washington Academy o.
Surgery, one of the four corporate
defendants. was discussed by Mr.
Leahy at some length. The only
proof offered by the Government
he said, in this instance was that
when the application Of DR.. selder,
to practice in hospitals had been re.
ferred to it, the academy recon.
mended back that he did not have
the qualifications necessary"
The American Medical Association
case was taken up by defense coun.
sci shortly before court adjourned
for lunch. The Government charge.
against the A. M. A. were char.
acterized by Mr.. Leahy as smear.
When court convened this morn.
ing, prosecution counsel, headed by
John Henry Levin and Grant w
Kelleher, introduced q few more
documents and then formally restec
the Governments case at 10:40 am
They had Professionally" restes
Tuesday afternoon. Justice jaime.
M. Proctor then dismissed the jury
and defense counsel opened its arsu'
ments,