The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-12-16

HIS
but very real humor. Those Of US
who lived out in the wilds of Mis-
souri, and Kansas did not need to
be introduced to the author, DR..
A. E. Hertzler, Of Halstead, Kan
sas.
He posed as a commonsense
horse and buggy doctor, practic-
ing in the country. He had COM
nonsense all right, but those of us
who knew him disregarded his pose
because to our knowledge he was
one of the best informed, most
brilliant and learned surgeons Of
the country. He chose to practice
in a small town because he chose
70 practice in a small town.
Now he has published a book
entitled Ventures In Science OF A
Country Surgeon. As fronts
piece he has a photograph of a
wooden shack "The laboratory of
experimental surgery" 10x12 feet
which he built in his back yard.
The plumbing a bucket and dip
per: heating radiation from the
occupants; sterilizing room the
family kitchen.
Important Researches
Yet here he made some Of the
most important researches in
America in our generation. They
have been recorded in a series of
books on Wound Healing; The
Peritoneum; Treatise On Tum-
Ors; Local Andesthesid; a series
of Surgical PdthoIogies of differ
ent parts of the body and numer-
Gus papers in scientific journals.
1t is a terrible lesson to those
who have to have ten million dol
lar laboratories to turn out any
research.
DR.. Hertzler still exists. He Wis
its me now and then. He is not ex-
actly a handsome man and his
worst enemies could not say he is
a foppish dresser. But can
imagine no one except DR.. Samuel
Johnson that | would rather have
q talk with.
About chronic appendicitis -
chronic mind you, not acute-as q
cause Of indigestion-he says
"To discuss a disease that never
existed would needs be a satire on
medical credulity." About it h.
coined the phrase -"Surgica
operations for revenue only"
He once encountered a surgeon
who said he could tell from look.
ing at the microscopic slides of q
cystic ovary exactly what symp-
toms the patient had. Il do not
mean a big tumor Of cystic
ovary: just ordinary sized ovaries
with cysts.) DR.. Hertzler showed
him a slide. The surgeon described
the patients sufferings-a gosh
awful pain in the groin referred
to the back and down the leg, even
ending in convulsions. Then he
turned to DR.. Hertzler and asked
-"Am right" DR.. Hertzler said
he didn't know: he got the speci-
men from a pig at the slaughter
house.
When he was approached to
compile his treatise on tumors by
Mr.. Lea, the distinguished Phila-
delphia medical publisher, he got
some good advice about how to
write. 1t will do for young aspir-
ants yet. Gust imagine" he was
told, that you are going to send
the manuscript by telegraph, and
you are going to pay the bill"
DR.. Hertzler's rhetorical style
Is, in my opinion, the best of any
medical writer in English in our
time. 1t is a delight to read and
keeps the reader going. He never
uses q stilted word when a COM
mon one will do. My suggestion
for an epitaph for him is
Whenever he was tempted to
write sis not" he changed it to
"ain't."
The great and imp57eg s;ist4esson
Of this career is that a man can
do as good work in medical science
in rural community as in a city,
If he wants to. Probably the
greatest problem of American
medicine is to get the doctors back
on the farm. That is why the
Wagner-Murray bill is making so
many friends, in spite of the doc
tors opposition.
In Dad Hertzler we all have an
example and an inspiration