Evening star., 1941-02-27
Medical Trial
Shown Letters
In Se|ders. Case
Surgery Academy
Urged Hospitals to
Bar 9. H. A. Doctor
BY HAROLD b. ROGERS.

The Washington Academy of Sur
gerry, enc of the "a defendants in
the medical antitrust case, recon-
mended to four local hospitals that
the application Of DR.. Raymond E.
SelderS, Group Health Association
surgeon, for privileges to practice
surgery in those hospitals be dis
approved, according to evidence in
District Court today.
Letters from the academy to this
effect, signed by its secretary, F.. c..
Fishback, were read to the jury by
prosecution counsel as the trial went
into its fourth week. The Academy
of Surgery heretofore had appeared
| only in minor roles as one of the
defendants, which include Or
ganizations and 20 doctors charged
with violation of the Sherman Anti
Trust Act.
Meanwhile more documentary ev.
idence from other hospitals, includ-
ing Emergency, Garfield and Provi-
dence, was introduced into the rec
ord early today by prosecution coun-
sci.
Documents Identified.
B. B. Sandidge, Emergency super
intendent, and DR.. Francis j. Else
man, Garfield superintendent, identi-
fled the documents from the witness
stand and Mr. Sandidge underwent
some sharp cross-examination by
Defense Counsel William E. Leahy.
The case of DR.. Soldiers, which is
one of the hotly disputed issues, was
carefully considered by the Academy
of Surgery before the academy
recommended against him, accord
ing to documents read by Govern
ment Counsel Walton Allan and
Grant w. Kelleher.
The Washington Academy of Sur
gerry, according to another document,
had disapproved the application of
DR.. Allan E. Lee for courtesy privi-
leges at George Washington Uni
verSity Hospital. DR.. Lee was
formerly of the G. H. A. staff, but
resigned from it after charges had
been brought against him by the
District Medical Society.
1t was disclosed during cross
examination of Mr.. Sandidge that
Emergency Hospital had a require
ment that all of it's staff be members
of the Medical Society, which had
been in effect since April, 1896, long
before the G.. H. A. issue arose.
COURTESY Staff Checked.
Mr.. Sandidge testified that this re-
Quirement had not been strictly car
ried out, although the courtesy staff
had been checked from time to time
to keep 1t up to date on this point.
+ While Mr.. Sandidge was on the
stand the prosecution read to the
jury part of the minutes of the ex-
ecutive staff of Emergency showing
that action had been taken on the
courtesy issue June l., 1888, about
seven months after the Group
Health Association clinic had opened.
Defense counsel, reading from the
annual report Of Emergency Hos
pital, drew from the witness that
although such a rule concerning
membership on the staff was in
effect, the institution never refused
to take care of emergency cases.
Outstanding development of yes
terday afternoon was the testimony
of Col. Joseph F. Randall, United
States Army, retired, former preSi-
dent of the Board of Trustees of
Homeopathic Hospital. He testified
that he favored treating G. H. A.
patients in Homeopathic Hospital,
but that the Board of Trustees had
overruled him.
On crosS-examination by Mr..
Leahy, Col. Randall said there had
been generous discussion of the prof.
ect, that there had been a differ
ence of opinion in the board, and
that the board had voted to 2 in
favor of exclusion of G.. H. A.
Forced to Change Rules.
"I was in favor of accepting G. H.
A. patients because it would pay"
Col. Randall said.
Because the District Medical So
ciety had insisted that all staff
members of hospitals be members
of the District Medical Society or
nearby medical societies, Col. Ran
dali said the hospital had to change
its rules to conform. Otherwise, he
said, DR.. Custis had told them if
G.. H. A. doctors were accepted to
practice in the hospital "the doc
tors who did belong to the medical
society would have to resign from
our hospital staff .
On further croSs-eXamlnation by
Mr.. Leahy, Col. Randall remem-
bered DR.. Custis raising the question
of "illegality" of G. H. A. and the
fact that G. H. A. took no charity
cases, "but throw the charity cases
back onto the doctors in private
practice"
George w. Dingle, an expert from
the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
was put on the stand by the prose-
cution and identified some writing
by DR.. j. Ogle Warfield, one of the
defendants.
Other witnesses called to identify
documents were Mrs. Edna H.
Treasure, superintendent of Homeo-
pathic Hospital; Miss June Ann
Grubb, secretary to DR.. V. J. Dar-
dinski, who is secretary of the
Executive Committee on Hospital
Administration of Georgetown Uni
versity Hospital.