Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-03-11
Cutter Quizzed
nDoctors' Trial;
Denies Threat
Admits He Urged
Hospitals to Adopt
A. M. A. Standards
BY HAROLD B. ROGERS.

lengthy correspondence with Mill
waukee and Washington hospitals,
urging them to comply with the
American Medical Association rec
omnlendation that only Medical So
ciety members be on hospital stats,
DR.. William D. Cutter, A. M. A. Of
ficiai today told the jury in the
medical antitrust trial that he
never "exerted a threat" against
any hospital.
DR.. Cutter, defendant. and Sec
rotary of the Council on Medical
Education and Hospitals, WIS sub
jected to sharp cross examination
by John Henry Levin of the prose-
cutiOn staff.
Under questioning by Mr.. Levin,
the witness admitted that his cor
respondence had some effect" He
identified many letters written to
eight Milwaukee hospitals and five
local institutions, but, in some in
stances, he denied having dictated
the letters and even disagreed with
some of the contents over his own
signature.
Mr.. Levin was attempting to
build up the Government charge
that DR.. Cutter was among the de-
PENDANTS who conspired in violation
of the antitrust act to boycott
Group Health Association, a medical
cooperative here, and to keep G.
H. A. doctors and patients out of
the hospitals.
Associations Acts Explained.
Under redirect examination by
William E. Leahy, defense counsel,
Dr.. Cutter insisted that none of his
letters or acts regarding any hos
pltal had ever constituted a threat"
He attributed the acts of the Amer
lean Medical Association and the
Medical Education Council to a de-
sire to uphold the standards of hos
pitfalls for the education and train
ing OF internes and resident physi-
clans. To do this, he explained, the
A. M. A. applied the so-caled "prins
ciples of medical ethics" which he
traced back to the time of Hippoc-
AoVcSB EfVU years ago,
DR.. Cutter had been on the stand
most of yesterday, and when court
adjourned for lunch today, he was
still being examined by defense
counsel.
During the morning prosecution
counsel read at length from pro-
ceedings of the House of Delegates of
the A. M. A, which pointed to CO.
operation between the Medical Edu-
cation Council and the Judicial
Council of the A. M. A. for strict
enforcement OF medical ethics"
Among the things which were de-
sired to be eliminated, the record
showed, were many harmful and
obnoxious practices"
Asked by defense counsel if this
plan OF cooperation had anything to
do with group practice, such as G.
II. A, contract practice, or anything
OF the kind, DR.. Cutter said it had
not, but was directed toward an en-
tirely different thing.
These plans" the witness testi-
fed, had to do with some hospitals
going into medical practice-they
had exploited radiology."
Radiology Practice.
He said there was a situation
where hospital would make $50 900
to $4,000 on radiology and employ
a doctor at 5000 to do the work.
These doctors appealed to the Judi
cial Council to stop the practice, he
said.
DR.. Cutter spent several hours
on the stand yesterday. His ap-
pearsnce was interrupted briefly
by Senator McCarran, Democrat,
of Nevada, who took the stand
as a witness to bring a mass
of documents which he identified.
These papers. which are to be
offered in evidence later by the de-
Tense, included correspondence be-
tween the Senator and the then Act
ing Controller General R. N. Elliott
and officials of the Federal Home
Loan Bank Board.
Although contents were not dis
closed to the jury, it is believed the
correspondence related to the $40
900 advanced by the Home Owners
Loan Corp. to start G. H. A. in
operation. This advance had been
questioned by Senator McCarran.
DR.. Cutter went over a mass of
testimony regarding his activities at
the A. M. A., but denied that he per-
sonally directed anything against
G. H. A. He said that examination
of five Washington Hospitals by an
inspector of the Medical Educa-
ton Council in 1887 and the
use of the controversial so-called
"Mundt" resolution of the A. M. A.
in this connection had nothing to
do with Group Health Association.
The Mundt Resolution.
The Mundt resolution had been
circulated among hospitals of the
country, he said, as far back as 1884,
long before G. H. A. had been heard
of. 1t declared the policy of the
A. M. A. to be that physicians on
the stats of hospitals approved
for inferno training by the Med
ical Education Council, should be
limited to members in good stand
ing of their local county medi-
cal societies and hospitals" Rea-
sons for the resolution were out
lined in letter from DR.. Cutter
read to the jury. DR.. Cutter wrote
that many young Americans who
could not get into medical schools
here had graduated abroad, were re-
turning to this country and seeking
appointments as internes at the
same time that there was a shortage
of interneships, and graduates of
American class A medical schools
had been unable to get such posts
in hospitals. The resolution was di-
rected principally at this situation,
the letter said.
Prosecution counsel earlier had
placed much stress on this Mundt
resolution, named from doctor
who introduced it in the House of
Delegates Prosecution had charged