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able one, especially in view of the facts of the case.

en.

In view of the facts given, the only ones bearing on the medical aspects of the case, the conservative scientist could find but one verdict as regards the arsenical theory-not provMrs. Maybrick's immorality has no bearing on the scientific aspects of the case, nor has the amount of arsenic found strewn lavishly over the house after suspicion had been aroused by a person inimical to the accused. On the clinical symptoms, post-mortem findings and toxicological results, "not proven" would be the only justifiable verdict.-Medical Standard; Chicago.

THE MURDERER'S GUILT AND THE SURGEON'S
RESPONSIBILITY.

A legal decision of considerable interest to surgeons was rendered not long since in a murder trial in Liverpool. A man named Vaughan was tried for the murder of a Mr. Godfrey, whom he had, struck on the back of the head with an adze, inflicting a scalp-wound behind the ear. The injured man was taken to a hospital, and there developed symptoms of compression of the brain. It was thought that the skull was fractured, and on consultation the surgeons determined to trephine. This was done, and the man died in consequence, apparently, of hemorrhage from a large vessel opened during the operation. At the post-mortem examination it was found that there had been no fracture of the skull. At the trial the defense claimed that death resulted directly from the operation, and was not to be attributed to the original injury. The judge ruled, however, that this claim was inadmissible, as no culpable want of skill or negligence on the part of the surgeons could be

proven.

Such questions have arisen before, and are liable to be raised in any case in which the murdered man does not die within a very short time after the injury has been inflicted. If the wounded man is saved by timely treatment, the defense is very

willing to profit by the surgeon's skill, though seldom ready to acknowledge its agency. But if treatment is unavailing in saving life, it is the surgeon, they say, and not the assailant who has killed the man.

There is a precedent in the English courts for this ruling, which is cited by the The Lancet in its comment upon the Liverpool case. Edward Lawless Pym was tried at Southampton, in the year 1846, for the murder of a Mr. Hawkey, and had the advantage of being defended by Mr. Cockburn (after ward Chief-Justice of England). Mr. Pym had shot Mr. Hawkey in a duel and wounded him. An operation was subsequently performed, and the wounded man died. Mr. Cockburn proposed to show that the operation performed was unnecessary, and that without it the patient might have lived. But the presiding judge, Mr. Justice Erle, after consulting with Baron Rolfe, laid it down as law that "where a wound is given which, in the opinion of competent medical advisers, is dangerous, and the treatment which they adopt is the immediate cause of death, the party who inflicted the wound is criminally responsible."

This ruling would seem to be a very just one, and moreover, one that will ultimately be of benefit to the accused in similar cases. For the surgeon, assured that the death will not be laid to his door, can accept the responsibility of treatment with greater confidence, and the success of his efforts will not be jeopardized by nervous apprehension of failure.-N. Y. Medical Record.

EXECUTION BY ELECTRICITY.

The warfare that has been waged between the supporters and the opponents of the electrical execution law of New York State, has given rise to the most conflicting kind of testimony regarding the lethal force of the agent required to be used hereafter. Those who oppose the law are, at the same time, in most instances, persons whose interests lie in the more pro

'fitable and popular uses of electricity for motor or illuminating purposes. By some strange logic of their own they seem to argue that if the electrical execution law can be, and is carried into effect, there will be a stigma placed upon the commercial applications of electricity.

In spite of a variety of statements to the contrary, it is probable that a trial of the means provided by the new law must be had in due time; and we have no fear that it will not prove adequate. Professor William H. Howell, of the Johns Hopkins University, says: "Anybody who has been unfortunate enough to have a very strong electric current pass through his system must suffer paralysis of some or all of the nerve centers. This may be temporary or may be permanent. If the paralysis does not affect the vital parts of the human mechanism, the patient may live.... The descriptions of the apparatus in the infliction of the penalty which the New York criminal is to suffer, show that there is little possibility of his escaping almost instantaneous death. His head is to be invested in a metallic cap, and the full strength of a very strong current sent directly through the centers controlling the mechanism of life. These must be immediately paralyzed, and the beat of the heart, as well as the breathing, cease. The brain must also be entirely paralyzed at once, and all consciousness be lost."

Such a statement will, to the medical mind at least, carry conviction. Until the test has been made, and the facts are found to contradict these scientific propositions, we shall expect to see the new law obeyed. The contracts have been entered into, we are informed, with our State officials for the delivery of a suitable electrical plant to each of the three prisons where the extreme penalty of the law will hereafter be administered-at Sing Sing, Auburn and Clinton. These prisons already possesss the steam-power sufficient to drive the form of dynamo that is ordered. The dynamo is said to be of the Westinghouse pattern of alternating current, electric-light machine; the pressure of the current will be equal to that used in the system of electrical illumination.-N. Y Medical Journal.

MEDICAL EDUCATION.

Every year, at some of our medical associations, articles are read, addresses presented and discussions ensue condemning, in general terms, the lax methods adopted in medical education and practice. A general cry follows about the necessity of higher medical education; curriculums are discussed and certain evils condemned, but no medical Moses appears to lead the profession out of the swamps of ignorance and incapacity to the fair fields of knowledge and professional perfection. Numerous plans are suggested, and various doctors claim to have the necessary panacea; but ignorance still exists and incompetents continue to tread the avenues of the profession.

Dr. Wile, in a recent address before the American Medical Editor's Association, of which he was the retiring President, outlined his views, and suggested some methods by which the standard of medical education can be elevated. His subject was "Our Duties as Journalists, and the Reforms we should advocate." He claims that every year numerous incompetent men are sent forth from the various medical colleges in our country, ignorant of medicine and unable to use the English language correctly.

He contends that numerous institutions should not be permitted to grant diplómas to incompetent graduates; that State Boards of Health should be appointed by the Governors of each State, who should pass upon the merit, or want of it, in each applicant for graduation. He contends that as American physicians are prevented from practicing in foreign countries, so the ignorant foreigner should not be permitted to practice in this country.

There is much here that is worthy of consideration. These recommendations, if adopted, would be of advantage to the profession. The higher standard we reach, the more shall our knowledge enlighten the world. But "art is long and time is fleeting." Many years must pass ere perfection can be ob

tained. Let us build, but build slowly, that we shall not be compelled to tear down.

2. The more we consider this question, we are compelled to ask ourselves: Is our professional standard lower than that of other professions in this country? Are our members more ignorant than those of law or theology, when taken as a body? We do not believe the medical profession suffers in comparison with any other under the sun. How many lawyers are practicing who scarcely know the difference between petit larceny and mayhem? How many ministers occupy pulpits who think John the Baptist founded one or two evangelical churches and was the author of the Gospel of St. John?

This does not excuse ignorance in our own ranks, but it is a satisfaction to know that physicians have no exclusive corner on ignorance in this country.

Has the American physician any reason to be ashamed of his part in the world's advancement in medicine in the last one hundred years? Look at Rush, McDowell, Simmes, Battey and hundreds of others who are identified with medical progress, who have hewed their way to deathless fame and benefited the world by their researches and inventions. And yet it is scarcely a decade since all our medical schools were graduating a majority of their students who had attended two consecutive sessions of lectures. It will probably be said: These men mentioned were remarkable characters, and made themselves despite extraneous surroundings. This is the very application we desire to make from what has gone before. There must be an individual determination to overcome difficulties in order to insure success and ability in any profession. If this is not inherent in a student, neither three, five or seven years can make him a competent practitioner.

3. If each member of the profession were determined to elevate the practice of medicine, it would be impossible for unworthy and incompetent men to secure entrance. Every candidate for medical degrees should be compelled to furnish his chosen college an endorsement from a preceptor, whose standing in the profession should be investigated. Before permitting the student to enter upon the study of medicine, the precep

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