The Batesville Herald. (Batesville, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 1907 Page: 4 of 4
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CHAPTER II.—Continued.
I did not argue with hitu, for, after
that Saturday'*) out burnt, 1 had made
up tny mind to avoid stirring Bob up
unuecessarlly. Also, 1 had to admit to
myself that the thing*) he had then
aaid had rained Home unucomfortable
thoughts in me, thoughts that made
me glance less confidently now and
then at the old sign cf Randolph &
Randolph and at the big ledger which
showed that I, an ordinary citizen of
a free country, was the absolute pos-
sessor of more money than a hundred
thousand of my fellow beings together
could accumulatet in a lifetime, al-
though each had worked harder, long
er, more conscientiously, and
perhaps more ability than I.
As to how Beulah Sands' code had
affected my friend, I was Ignorant
For the first time in our association I
was completely In the dark as to what
he was doing y^pckwlse. Up to that
whose plans he might upset should
try to shake down the price to drive
him out of their preserves. Bob
knew how I looked at his proposed
deal and ordinarily would not have al-
lowed me to have Ihe short en.l of It. *>ome, a Virginia home, for Beulah and
but so changed had he become in his
ly. be got to a pitch where it seemod1
as though he must take off the lid, and
before Kate or I realized wbat was
coming be placed himself la front of
us and said:
“Jim. Kate, I cannot go into to-mor-
row without telling you something
that neither of you suspect. I must
tell some one, now that everything is
coming out right and that Beulah is to
be saved; and whom can 1 tell but
you, who have been everything to me?
—I love Beulah Bands, surely, deeply,
with every bit of me. I worship her,
I tell you, and to-morrow, to-morrow it
this deal comes out as it must come,
and I can put 11,500,000 into her
hands and send her home to her fa-
ther, then, then. 1 will tell her I love
her, and Jim, Kate, if she'll marry me,
good-by, good-by to this hell of dollar-
hunting, good-by to such misery as 1
have been In for three months, and
anxiety to make that money for the
Virginians that he grabbed at my ac-
ceptance.
"Thank you, Jim,” he said, fervent-
ly, and he continued: “Of course, I
see what’s going through your head,
but I'll accept the favor, for the deal
Is bound to be successful. 1 know
your reason for coming in is Just to
help out, and that you won't feel bad-
wltb j ly because your last 50,000 shares will
j be used more as a 'guarantee for the
deal’s success than for profit. And
Miss Sands could not object to the
part you play, as she did at the un-
derwriting, for you will get a big profit
anyway.”
me." He sank into a chair and tears
rolled down his cheeks. Poor, poor
Bob, strong as a lion In adversity,
hysterical as a woman with victory In
sight.
The next day sugar opened with a
wild rush: “25,000 shares from 140 to
152.” That is the way it came on the
tape, which meant that the crowd
around the sugar-pole was a mob and
that the transactions were so heavy,
quick and tangled that no one could
tell to a certainty just what the first
or opening price was; but after the
first lull, after the gong, there were of-
ficially reported transactions aggre-
gating 25,000 shares and at prices va-
rying from 140 to 152. I was over on
Saturday I was the first to whom he
would rush for congratulations when
he struck It rich over others on the
exchange, and he Invariably sought me
for consolation when the boys "upper-
cut him hard," as he would put It.
Now he never said a word about his
trading. I saw that his account with
the house was Inactive, that his bal-
ance was about the same us before
Miss Sands' advent, and I came to
the conclusion that In- was resting on
his oars and giving Ids undivided at-
tention to her account and the exe-
cution of his commissions. Mishand-
ling of the business of the house show-
ed no change. He still was the best
broker on the floor. However, know-
ing. Hob as I did, I could not gel It
out of my mind that his brain was
running like a mill-race in search of
some successful solution of the tre-
mendous problem that must be solved
in the next three months.
Shortly after the October 1 state-
ments had been sent out, Bob dropped
in on Kate and me one night. After
she had retired and we had lit our
cigars in the library he said:
“Jim, I want some of that old-fash-
ioned advice of yours. Sugar is sell
Ing at 110, and It Is worth It: in fact
It is cheap. The stock is well distrlb
uted among investors, not much of
it floating round 'the street.' A good
big buying movement, well handled,
would Jump It to 175 and keep it there.
Am I sound?”
I agreed with him.
“AH right. Now what reason Is
there for a good, big, stiff uplift? That
tariff bill Is up at Washington. If it
goes through, sugar will be cheaper
at 175 than at 110.”
Again 1 agreed.
“'Standard Oil’ and the sugar peo-
ple know whether It is going through,
for they control the senate and the
house and can Indttco the president to
bo good. What do you say to that?”
"O. K.,“ I answered.
"No question about it, is there?”
“Not the slightest.”
“Right again. When 26 Broadway*
gives the secret order to the Washing-
ton boss and he pass-'s It out to the
grafters, there will be a quiet accumu-
lation of the stock, won’t there?”
“You've got that right. Bob.”
"And the man who first knows when
Washington begins to take on sugar is
the man who should load up quick
and rush It up to a high level. If he
does It quickly, the stockholders, who
now have It, will get a juicy slice ol
the ripening melon, a slice that otlifer
wise would go to those greedy hypo
crltes at Washington, who are always
publicly proclaiming that they are
there to serve their fellow country
men, but who never tire of expressing
themselves to their brokers as not be
ing In politics for their health."
“So far, good reasoning," I com
mented.
"Jim, the man who first knows when
the senataors and congressmen and
members of the cabinet begin to buy
sugar, is the man who can kill font
birds with one stone: Win back a
part of Judge Sands' stolen fortune:
increase his own little pile against the
first of January, when, if the little Vir-
ginian lady is short a few hundred
thousand of the necessary amount, he
could, If he found a way to Induce her
to accept, it, supply the deficiency:
fatten up a good friend’s bank account
a million or so, and do a right good
turn for the stockholders who are
about to be. for the hundredth time,
bled out of profit rightfully theirs.”
Bob was afire with euthusiasm, the
first I had seen him show for three |
months. Seeing that 1 had followed
him without objection so far, he con
United.
“Well, Jim, I know the Washington
buying his begun. All I know I have \
dug out for myself and am free to use ]
It any way I choose. I have gone over i
the deal with Beulah Samis, and we
have decided to plunge. She has a
balance of about $BJU,U0U. and I am
going to spread it thin. 1 am going to I
buy her 20.000 shares and take on 10,-
OOo for myself, if you went in for 20,-
000 more, It would give me a wide sea
to sail in. I know you never specu-
late. Jim. for the house, but 1 thought
you might in this case go in person-
ally.”
“Don't say anythin? more. Bob," I
replied. "This time the rule goes by
the board. But 1 will do better; I'll
put up a million and you can go as
high as 70,000 for me. That will give
you a buying power of 100.000, and i
want you to use my last 50,000 shares
as a lifter."
I had never speculated In a share
of stock since I entered the firm of
Randolph & Randolph, and on general,
special, and every other principle was
opposed to stock gambling, but I saw
how Bob had worked it out, and that
to make the deal sure It was necessary
for him to have a good reserve buy-
ing power to fall back on it, after ho
got started, the "System" masters,
Next day sugar was lively on the ex- | the floor to see the scramble, for it
change. Bob bought all in sight and
handled the buying in a masterly way.
When the closing gong struck, Beulah
Sands had 20.QU0 shares, which aver-
aged her lift; Bob and i hod 80,000 at
an average of 125, and the stock had
closed 122 bid and In big demand.
Miss Sands' 20.000 showed $.140,000
profit, while our 20,000 showed $210,-
was noised about long before ten
o'clock that sugar would open wild,
and then, too, I wanted to be handy if
Bob should need any quick advice.
A minute before the gong struck,
there were 200 men jammed around
the sugar-pole; men with set, deter-
mined faces; men with their coats
buttoned tight and shoulders thrown
PASSING OF
“CANFIELD”
Interesting Personality of the
“Biggest Gambler in the
World”—Man Who Pro-
vided Palaces and Luxur-
ies for Devotees of tlid
Goddess of Chance—Like
Others of Prominence, He
Had HL.t Day, and It Is
Over.
New York.—Soldiers and statesmen
of international fame this country has
produced in numbers; artists, invent-
ors, lawyers, athletes and—let it not
be overlooked!—golf players have
sprung from tills country into world-
wide fame with gratifying frequency.
But of that class in distinction we
have produced only one gambler,
Richard A. Canfield. He is passing.
Last week the “For Sale" sign was
nailed upon his Saratoga place, and
“I Have Gone Over the
Deal with B eulah
Plunge.”
Sand:, and We Are Going to
000 at the closing price. All the
houses with Washington wires were
wildly scrambling for sugar as soon
as it began to Jump. And it certainly
looked as though Ihe shares were good
for Ihe figures set for them by Bob,
$175, at which price the Sands' profits
would be $1,200,000. Bob was beside
himself with joy. He dined with Kate
and me, and as 1 watched him my
heart almost stopped beating at the
thought—"if anything should happen
to upset his plans!” Ills happiness
was pathetic to witness. He was like
a child. He threw away all the reserve
of the past three months and laughed
and was grave by turns. After din-
ner. as we sat in the library over our
coffee, he leaned over to my wife and
said:
"Katherine Randolph, you and Jim
don't know wlmt misery I have been
in for three months, and now—will to-
morrow never come, so I tnay get Into
the whirl and clean up tills deal and !
send that girl back to her father with
the money! I wanted her to tele-
graph lit)' judge that things looked
like she would win out and bring back !
the relief, but site would not lieur of
it. She is n marvelous woman. She '
has not turned a hair to-day. I don't
think her pulse is up an eighth to-
night. Site lias not sent home a won!
of encouragement since she has been
here, more than to tell her father she
is doing well with her stories. It
seems they both agreed the only way
back for the rush to which, by com-
parison, that of a football team is
child's play. Every man in that
crowd was a picked man, picked foi
what was coming. Each felt that
upon his individual powers to keep a
clear head, to shout loudest, to forget
nothing, to keep his feet, and to stay
as near Ihe center of the crowd as pos
sible, depended his "floor honor," per-
haps his fortune, or, what was more
to him, his client's fortune. Nearly
every man of them was a college
graduate who had won his spurs at
athletl-s or a, seasoned floor man
whose training had been even more
severe than that of the college camp-
us. When it was known before the
opening of the exchange that there are
to be ''things doing in a certain
stock, it is (he rule to send only the
picked floor men Into the crowd.
There may be a fortune to make or to
lose in u minute or a sliver of a min-
ute. For instance, the man who that
morning was able to snatch the first
5.000 shares sold at 140 could have
resold them a few minutes afterward
at 152 and secured $00,000 profit. And
the man who was sent Into the crowd
by his client to sell 5,000 shares at the
"opening" and who got but 140, when
the price would be 152 by the time he
reported to his customer, was a man
to be pitied. Again, the trader whe
(he night before had decided that
sugar had gone up too fast, and whe
had "shorted” (that is, sold what he
to work the tiling out was whole | did not have, with the intention of re-
hog or none,' and that she was to say | purchasing at a lower price than lie
nothing until she could herself bring j sold It fori 5,000 shares at 140 anil
the woril 'saved' or 'lost.' I don't know who, finding himself in that surging
hut she is right. She says If she j mob with sugar selling at 152, rould
should raise her father's hopes, and j only get out by taking n loss of $<i0,
then he compelled to dash them, the ] 000, or by taking another chance ol
effect would be fatal.” later paying 102—such a trader was
Bob rushed the talk along, flitting also to be pitied,
from one point to another, but Invarla- I t*"2i> Broadway" Is tlie- w.-dl street fix-
of speech for "Standard 011,” will
•tin* there.)
fhe owner has announced that he has
"turned his last card."
Bearing In mind that the Monte
Carlo gambling establishment is con-
ducted by a stock company, It is per-
missible to say that for the past dozen
years Richard A. Canfield has been
the biggest gambler in the world, says
the New York Times.
It was inevitable that romance
should have mixed many of the colors
in which Canfield has been painted:
he has been pictured as a scholar of
more than ordinary intellectual abil-
ity; as a judge ot art who would be a
valuable aid to a Paris Salon hanging
committee; as a conversationalist of
brilliant parts; as John Oakhurst and
a Jack Hamlin, dear to readers of
Bret Harte. Well, he is not all of
these, but he is something of each.
Canfield's Early Career.
Fiction has also been busy with
Canfield in the matter of his early
career. It may be said that he never
did for study for the church, the law,
or medicine; nor did he begin a prom-
ising career in banking. As a matter
of fact, he was a young man when, in
1879, he opened a gambling house in
Providence. This he seems to have
conducted with much skill in escaping
publicity for half a dozen years. But
in July, 1885, Canfield was arrested
in Providence and charged with being
a common gambler. Possibly a loser
at his game experienced a change of
heart as to the wickedness of playing
for gain (and losing) and complained
to the authorities. Canfield pleaded
guilty to the charge. He has always
asserted that he entered the plea on
an agreement that he would be sen-
tenced only to pay a fine. But he was
sentenced to, and served, sue months'
imprisonment in the Cranston jail.
After that Canfield came to New
York, and within a short time the ven-
turesome began to hear of a safe,
quiet place w'here undivided surpluses
could be invested at roulette or poker.
A suave and responsible man was in
charge; he preferred to play at a rea-
sonable limit, but could be persuad-
ed to raise the limit, or, if one came
panting to part with his surplus, a
private game could be arranged un-
hampered by any limit whatever.
Along these agreeable lines the fame
and fortune of "Dick" Canfield grew
in Gotham.
Whistler, the famous artist, was
painting the famous gambler's por-
trait; select upper Bohemian circles
in London and Paris delighted to en
tertain the modern combination of
John Oakhurst and Jack Hamlin.
LAPPS ON THE DECREASE.
bly returning to Beulah Sands and to-
morrow nnd its saving profits. Final-
lire of spt>e
j has ii5 hom
tiicii
(TO HU CONTINUED )
Keyhold Tenure in England.
The curious custom of keyhold ten-
ure still prevails at Crowland, the
ratnous abbey town in the Lincoln-
e fens, where there are a number
ii ’ os which are neither copy-
h i hold nor leasehold. They
wer origin ./ built on waste land,
and iu eacl case the possessor of the
key holds an undisputed tenancy. Al-
though some of the occupiers have re-
placed the mud and thatched dwell-
ings ot itlqulty with brick and slated
wbosa game he was butting In to and J buildings, they have no power to sell Macdonald.
| or will them away, for they have no
deeds. On a tenant dying the first
[ person to cross the threshold takes
j his place, if he so desires. Many de-
! vices have been resorted to to obtain
| the keys. The properties carry a
i county vote, but the poor law guar-
; dians always refuse to graut relief to
! the tenants.—London Globe.
Preparation for the Future.
The best preparation for the future
is the present well seen to.—George
And with Them the Reindeer iq Grow-
ing Constantly Scarcer.
The. Lapps are decreasing In num-
ber, says the Philadelphia Record.
The most sanguine estimate of the
numbers of the entire race In Nor-
way, Sweden and Russian does not
place them above 54,000. By some
the number Is paired far lower on the
strength of trustworthy data. In Nor-
button the number of Lapps Is 3,000,
of whom 2.500 are nomad Lapps, and
500 families have abandoned their
wandering habits, have built habita-
tions here and there and have endeav-
ored. with more or less success, to
Imitate the life of the Swedish set-
tler.
That the race must die out even-
tually is certain, and its diminution
may be very speedy, though its com-
plete extinction may be still far off,
since there is no race that can pos-
sibly take its place on the reindeer
fjaell. Yet even here we come upon
a factor which has, perhaps, hardly
Also: in New York, first in the
clubs, then along Broadway, stories
were heard of almost fabulous sums
won and lost at Canfield's games.
At first there was nothing scandal-
ous—nothing considered so. at least—
in these stories. They were told and
re-told simply as illustrations of the
way life was lived in little old New
York. It a young man could afford to
celebrate his twenty-first birthday by
losing $60,000 at Canfield’s, why what
a very rich young man he must be,
and how lucky Canfield!
But some one cut the string. On
the evening of Dec. 1, 1902, Police In-
spector Brooks, aided and directed
by District Attorney Jerome, smashed
In the doors and windows, most of the
other wood and glass and some of the
stone and brick of the front of Can-
field’s place In search of evidence upon
which Canfield could be convicted of
being a common gambler.
The outcome was, as most readers
will recall, that the court said that
Banker Lewlsohn must be nice to
Mr. Jerome, and answer his questions,
and if Reginald Vanderbilt wanted
ever again to enjoy the glories of New
York, he, too. must submit to a con-
* ersation, not all questions, with Mr.
Jerome. Then Canfield showed that he
had the principles romance ascribes
to the gambled of the first class: he re-
turned to New York, placed himself
within the focus of Mr. Jerome's eye-
glasses and said, “Stop bothering my
patrons; I'll plead guilty.” And he did.
and paid a fiae of $1,000 for being a
common gambler.”
Transferred to Saratoga.
That was the passing of Canfield
from New York city. But he was the
proprietor of the Saratoga club, the
greatest resort gambling place In the
country. This clubhouse is a substan-
tial building of brick and stone built
In 1869 by John Morrisey, who had
been a prize fighter, a member of con-
gress, politician and gambler. The
club Morrisey conducted Inherited ro-
mantic traditions, for It had been
founded in the early days of Sara-
toga's splendor. Even before Morrisey
trained for his first ring fights, belles
and gallants from the furtherest cor-
ners of the country gathered at Sara-
toga to “take the waters,” to drive, to
promenade, to flirt a little—and bet a j
little.
Only a little time before Jerome was
moved by a great wish to inspect the
inside of the house next to Delmon-
ico's. Canfield disclosed his Saratoga
plans. At that time Richard T. Wil-
son, .Jr., had newly taken an interest
in horse racing. To him and William
C. Whitney Canfield suggested the
revival of Saratoga in all its ancient
glory. Nature had done more than
her share; it remained only for art,
backed by a good-natured check book
to make Saratoga a second Monte
Carlo plus Ascot. Mr. Canfield is a
convincing talker, and he had eager
listeners. Other men prominent in
turf matters came Into the venture; a
majority of the stock of the old Sara-
toga Racing association was bought,
the old place rejuvenated and made
splendid under the fostering finances
ported ehef and 162 assistants and
servants. Dominating all, watching,
caring for, directing all, was Rtchard
Canfield. There were a few brilliant
and profitable seasons; seasons _so
profitable to Canfield that he did not
regret the $800,000 he had Invested in
the venture.
Then came the Jerome activity in
New York; came questionings by the
Saratoga authorities, came appeals to
the state legislature; questionings,
uneasiness—and a dropping off of
profits.
Something was affecting Canfield’s
business, though the fountains In his
park murmured and sparkled, the
moon shone soft on the curves of
sculptured marble, music wafted
dreamily over the gambling and din-
ing salon—but there was an oppres-
sive something hurting Canfield's
business.
Possibly, being a gambler, he called
this something “bad luck.” There
was bad luck elsewhere. Canfield had
made a fortune In Wall street as a
member of the so-called Reading pool,
but late operations in the street had
been unsuccessful. The men who
gambled heavily were not going to
Saratoga.
Its Glories Departed.
Canfield opened the clubhouse dining
room this season, but it was not lib-
erally patronized; the people who
cared to dine there wanted the fun of
looking through the opened doors at
the gamblers. But the only gambling
going on—because of the questionings
—was in a retired room on an upper
floor.
It was all outlay, little income. Can-
field could well repeat his best wit-
ticism: “I lose more money in Wall
street than I can make at my legit-
mate business.”
Canfield the gumbler was passing.
It was not In l>s nature to blink at
the fact. There was something op-
posing him he could not fight, could
not corrupt, could not call off. Did he
know what it was? Possibly it was
not in bis nature to ask questions as
to what directs fate. But one morn-
ing recently there was a black and
yellow sign nailed on the Saratoga
clubhouse, the last gambling place
owned by Richard Canfield, and It
read:
* “This plot of ground and all :
: the buildings thereon :
FOR SALE.” :
• ..................................*
Inches of Time.
Beware of losing or wasting inches
oi time—they are the little foxes that
run away with many days. So much
can be done in them, and with them—■
often the very things for which we
sigh hopelessly. Fill them, every one.
Keep something handy—something
that fits the interval. Remember a
famous law book was written because
a lord chancellor chose not to be idle
throughout the 15 minutes his wife
made him wait each day for dinner.
Recall, too, all the men, noble and
eminent, who have climbed to the
> o.AGEDY OF A BROADWAY CAR.
Truly It Is “Everybody for Himself in
New York. J
There were six in the seat of the '
Broadway surface car, which was too
many. However, everybody who board-
ed the car seemed to take a fancy to
that particular seat, so some were also
standing. A very small man sat
crouched on the end seat, a pretty girl
next to him. The small man seemed
to be very restless, and no wonder,
for all the rest were pushing the pret
ty girl, who necessarily pushed him in
a way that seemed to infer that his
room was better than his company. At„
length, unable to endure it any longer,
he all at once shoved his shoulder
under the rail and fell out, apparently.
"Mercy!" screamed a nervous pas-
senger, “has he committed suicide?"
"I don’t know,” answered the pretty
girl, “but, anyway, I’ve got the end
seat."—N. Y. Press.
MEDICAL FAILURES.
Canfield’s Establishment at Saratoga.
of the new “Saratoga Association for
the Improvement of the Breed of
Horses.1*
Made Place Beautiful.
Canfield enlarged the clubhouse, re-
decorated and refurnished it: bought
adjoining land until he had a park of
It acres, where there were paths,
bordered by thousands of plants, wind-
ing about fields and forests beautified
by fountains and statues. There was
promise of all that Monte Carlo of-
fered. Leading off from Canfield's
vast gambling salon was a magnifi-
cent dining-room patronized by those
who won—to celebrate—by those who
lost—for consolation. The great park
was kept up at a cost of $25,000 a
year; the clubhouse was made attract-
ive by the ministering care of an Im-
heights by saving inches of time. All
of us cannot hope to become likewise
eminent—but we can reasonably and
easily make ourselves happy with
things wrought In the fragmentary
moments which we might unthriftily
leave vacant.—The Delineator.
Nearer Man's Heart.
“Men are so queer. Tell them after
the honeymoon that your love is grow-
ing cold, and they never glance up
from the paper.” “No; but tell them
the soup is getting cold and they
jump about ten feet."
Uncle Allen.
“Take everything as it comes." ad-
vised Uncle Allen Sparks. "You bump
into half the troubles of this life by
trying to dodge the other half."
been reckoned with. We mean the
decrease of the herds of tame rein-
deer.
This has been going on in the last
quarter of a century with striking
rapidity. In one district alone in the
last twelve years, the reindeer have
diminished front an estimated 30,000
to an estimated 7.000. This decrease
is explained variously. The com-
monest and most plausible explana-
tion. which carries the authority of
men well qualified to jfidge. is that
the demand for reindeer flesh which
has been brought nearer to the Lapp
by the opening of the Bohemian rail-
way, has tempted them to part with
the deer at a rate too rapid for their
production.
The herd of reindeer, which are tak-
en off the high fjaell down to their
winter quarters, are now within four
or five days of Stockholm and there
is a good demand for reindeer flesh.
It is said that the Lapp, who is no
more able to resist a strong drink
than any other half-civilized man. is
piled freely with brandy, and In that
state will part with his reindeer for
a trifling sum, or even for a fresh
bottle of spirits or two. And he goes
back to his fjaell stripped of half
his herd, and with nothing to show for
it.
But there is another cause so al-
leged, and that by equally good au-
thorities. It Is said that the Swed-
ish state education is having upon the
Lapp the effect which not uncom-
monly follows the early stages of
learning. Every autumn the Swedes
and Lapps alike send down their
children to the nearest national
school, where they remain for the
winter months, the Lapps In most
cases having “seminaries" to them-
selves. And it is declared that the
case of both races alike, after a few
years *of this training the youngest
generation, when It comes to the age
of choosing its way of life, shows an
unwillingness to return to the hard
outdoor life of the homes in the in-
terior.
Arriving at the Truth.
Hear one side and you will be in the
dark; hear both sides and all will bo
clear.
An Authority Says Three-Fourths bf
Graduates Are Unfitted to Practice.
That# 3,000 out of the 4,000 gradu-
ates turned out by the Medical Col-
leges each year are whollly unfitted to
practice medicine and are menaces to
the communities in which they set-
tle was stated by Dr. Chester Mayer,
of the State Board of Medical Exam-
iners of Kentucky at a meeting of the
American Medical Association’s Com-
mittee on Medical Education, held in
Chicago not long ago. Dr. Mayer said
that only 25 to 28 per cent of the
graduates are qualified. Fifty-eight
per cent of the graduates examined in
28 states were refused licenses. With
few exceptions these failures took a
second examination in a few weeks
and only 50 per cent of them passed.
“This does not mean that deficien-
cies in their training were corrected
in those few weeks,” Dr. Mayer said.
“It probably shows that experience
showed them what the test would
probably be and they ‘crammed’ for
the examination. Dr. W. T. Gott,
Secretary of the Indiana Board said:
“The majority of our schools now
teach their students how to pass ex-
aminations, not how to be good phy-
sicians.”
At the session of the American
Medical Association held in Atlantis
City in June, Dr. M. Clayton Thrush,
a professor in the Medico Chirurgical
College in Philadelphia said: “Many
doctors turned out of the Medical
Schools are so ignorant in matters
pertaining to pharmacy that they
know nothing about the properties
of the drugs they prescribe for their
patients!” Dr. Henry Beats, Jr., Pres-
ident of the Pennsylvania State Board
of Medical Examiners, after scrutiniz-
ing the papers of a class of candi-
dates for licensure said: "About one
quarter of the papers show a degree
of illiteracy that renders the candi-
dates for licensure incapable ot un-
derstanding medicine.”
A great many more physicians and
chemists might be quoted in support
of the astounding charge that 3,000 in-
competents are being dumped onto
an unsuspecting public each year.
What the-damage (lone amounts to
can never be estimated for these in-
competents enjoy the privilege of di-
agnosing, prescribing or dispensing
drugs regarding the properties of
which they know nothing and then
of signing death certificates that are
not passed upon by anyone unless the
coroner is called in. Probably there
is not a grave yard from one end of
the country to the other that does not
contain the buried evidences of the
mistakes or criminal carelessness of
incompetent physicians.
During the last year there have
been perhaps, half a dozen known
cases where surgeons, after perform-
ing operations have sewed up the in-
cisions without first removing the
gauze sponges used to absorb the
blood, and in some cases forceps and
even surgeon’s scissors have been
left in the wound. How many of
these cases there have been, where
the patient died, there is no means
of knowing and comparatively few
of the cases where the discovery i3
made in time to save life become gen-
erally public. Reports from Sanita-
riums for the treatment of the Drug
Habit show that members of the medi-
cal profession are more often treated
in these institutions than members
of any other profession, and that a
majority of the patients, excluding the
physicians themselves, can trace
their downfall directly to a careless
physician.
How many criminal operations are
performed by physicians is also a
matter of conjecture. Operations of
this class are, unfortunately, very
frequent in large cities. Some gradu-
ated and licensed physicians, many
of them of supposed respectability,
make an exclusive practice of crim-
inal medical and surgical treatment.
Dr. Henry G. W. Rheinhart, Coroner's
physician of Chicago, estimates the
number of criminal operations, annu-
allly, in Chicago alone at 38,000. How
many resulted fatally nre unknown,
as when death results, the real cause
Is disguised iu the death certificate,
which the physician signs, and which
no one but himself and a clerk sees.
Probably not one case of malprac-
tice in 1,000 ever becomes the subject
of a law suit but in the last year ap-
proximately 150 cases vrherein the
plaintiff has alleged malpractice have
been reported In the newspapers, and
owing to the social prominence and
the favored positions of many physi-
cians not more than half the new
suits stated, probably, result In any
newspaper publicity, but it would
probably not be an exaggeration to
state that the total cases of malprac-
tice, not Involving criminal operations
or criminal medical practice, would
amount to 150,000 or more than one
ease to each physician In the country.
This estimate Is, of course, more or
less conjecture. Untimely deaths and
permanent disabilities are frequent,
and c ir within the knowledge of al-
most very oi •.>, when life could have
been sav or health restored had
the phyt an been skillful, careful
and competent.
Fite feathers may not make fine
birds, but ‘hey attract attention to
some b..ds that would otherwise go
unnoticed.
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Herman, George C. The Batesville Herald. (Batesville, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 1907, newspaper, September 19, 1907; Batesville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth974792/m1/4/: accessed June 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .