| Show written for or this paper eted by frank G carpenter 1896 cwashington INGTON march irth 1896 H HE E X RAYS y 7 might have saved pre president si den t gar fields life this statement has h as been fre quend y m made a d e within t he past it is said that the new pho ky could have located the bullet ii could have been taken out and garfield afield could shave have gotten well 1 very doubtful dr frank ham who was the chief surgeon in fr ot of garfield said that noone no one so led d his has ever recovered red the real of 61 the search for garfielda Gar fields bullet amlet hever ever been told it was kept out newspapers pers and it is is not general own down that a number of experiments s made to locate it by electricity results were of no value to garbut they brought out inventions 1 I have been worth much to medical sk these inventions were were made protessor rotes sor alexander graham bell bel bentor antor of the telephone it was who 0 was given charge of the matter 1 beating ting the bullet by electricity and tg a visit which I 1 made to hs ho aary dry he showed me the instrument b was used for this purpose it 9 piece bece of mahogany board of tte desize size and shape of a flatiron flat iron tp handle upon its top and the raaf the board was covered with dath b I 1 aw said professor bell is th the t with which we attempted to abe bullet in president garfielda Gar fields y i s there is an electric coil inside board aud and it is so made that when is moved over anything in ch there is lead or other metallic stances aces it will buzz now it if you yoh na a bullet in your hand and having proper electric connections should i this over the back 0 of your id yen would find that the board wiled maae a aboud loud buzzing noise and t buzz the loudest when just beethe ithe bullet ballet when garfield was tag almost atthe arthe point ot of death with bullet in his body a number of in dons were proposed for locating the position of the bullet several in trent ioos were sent here by bv electricians to be tried the matter of making the 14 i m was put into my hands I 1 t aed ed this balan balance cid and we A tested it ald how did you happen to fail mr bell said I 1 if the machine wih locate the existence of matalas metal me talas as you describe 1 I 1 will tell you replied professor bell we took the balance to gar fields bedside and dr hamilton and myself tried it upon president garfield we moved it over his body to our surprise the instrument buzzed whenever it came near him according to it he was full of lead and we gave the matter up in despair it worried me exceedingly cee I 1 could not see why the balance had acted as it had but a day ortho or two later in thinking about it I 1 came to the conclusion that there must have been something metallic about the bed upon which president garfield was lying I 1 inquired and found that hip hii mattress rested on a net of steel springs it was the steel that made the machine buzz we did not however try it ft again and the matter was allowed to drop it was not long after this mr bell continued that I 1 tested the invention again and this time successfully it was in the case of an army officer who had been shot in the neck all attempts to lot io ate the bullet failed until we attempted to do it by electricity we found through this instrument that the bullet lay under one of the ribs in the chest and took it out in locating the bullet we moved the instrument up and down the mans body until we came to the point where it buzzed we then drew two parallel lines up and ad down the chest on each side of where the noise occurred we moved the balance back and forth across these lines until it came again to the point to buzzing where we drew other lines at right angles to the first making a square in which we thought was the bullet we found the ball as soon as we probed for it A report port ot our success was pub dished in the surgical journals jour I 1 thought that the result would be a great demand tor for these thee instruments I 1 made a number of them but no one seemed to want them and they remained here until the death of dr frank hamilton dr hamilton considered the invention very valuable but he died before he could take it up at his death his chief assistant told me he would like to test the instrument he was connected with one of the large new york hospitals I 1 went to new york to see him and told him of 0 our ur trouble with garfield Garti eld and warned him that the patient must be removed from all metallic substances while the expert ment was being made soon after this continued protessor professor bell an old soldier was brought into the hospital he had a very sore leg and there seemed to be nr no apparent reason for it the man had been shot in the leg during the civil war the ball had struck his shin bone hut but it was thought to have glanced 0 off ff the wound soon healed and for twenty years the old soldier moved about on that leg without trouble then one day he stubbed his bis toe and the shock cawed caused his limb to swell it soon became its as big as two leg le gsand and the hospital surgeon said that his life could only be saved by its amputation there seemed to be the shadow of a chance that there was a bullet in his leg the doctors told him so but he insisted that there was na bullet and that he knew that it had glanced off he was as told however that he would certainly lose his bis leg if there was no bullet and thit that there might be a chance of saving it it if it was found that he was mistaken he then consented to any experiments the doctors might choose to make well they tried the instrument on him the machine acted in the same way abatt thatis it did when it was applied to garfield gargield Garli eld the man was ev evidently Wently made of lead and the electric buzz sounded out whenever the machine was brought near him they examined the bed and found the mattress had been fastened to the bedstead with tacks they took the soldier to a lounge and held his leg out from it so that it might be free from any aay metal in the lounge still the balance buzzed at last the doctor noted that he had a gold ring on the hand that held the instrument this was taken off and the buzzing stopped the instrument was then run up and down the mans leg and when it came to a certain point it buzzed the man was now put under the influence of ether and the flesh fles of his bis leg was laid open to the bone still there was no bullet them the doctors doctor then cut away a piece of the bone and lot iol there under the bone they found a bullet it had gone in between the bones of the leg and the bone had grown over it it so as to completely tely cover it it was taken out and the mar man got well the story of this experiment was sent to me continued professor bell 1 I was much pleased and I 1 asked ased that I 1 be allowed to have the bullet shortly atter this mrs bell was passing through new york she stopped over right at one of the hotels and while there she received a little pasteboard jewel box marked Ti tiffany flany she thought it was a present and opened it and therein the tein ein the center lay the bullet As mr bell said this he picked up a little lay on one ot of trie the shelves ut the laboratory he opened ifandy it and there on a little piece of cotton wool lay this battered ball of lead which bad been carried by the old soldier for twenty years without his knori knowing I 1 it I 1 I 1 the invention had most ce certainly rt ain ily saved aved hilleg his leg I 1 As I 1 looked at the bullet the great in vector picked up another instrument it was a loog steel needle with a wire attached to it he held this in his hand as he went on 1 I think said he that the electric balance I 1 have shown you is of great value but still it does not furnish positive proof when it does not buzz that there is is no bullet in a body if the bullet is very deep in the flesh it will not act if the bullet has been cut in half or flattened so that it stands with the edge n nearest earest the skin it fails to made an i impression m on the balance ta lance while it it lies flat under the skin the balance will buzz loudly in other words the noise of the balance proves r roves the tha existence of a bullet but not its nonexistence non existence this mr bell went on as he held up the instrument in his hand is another invention along the same line it is an electric needle probe A needle you know makes almost no injury to the flesh in passing pa through it it can be put into the brain without much danger its introduction into the vody causes but little pain now you can thrust this net die into the flesh and if it strikes a piece of lead it will through the influence of the electricity connected with give forth a sharp click it it strikes bone or seme other nonmetallic non metallic substance there will be no response the needle has been used by surgeons and is of value lf speaking of garfielda Gar fields last sickness there were a number of interesting inci dents connected with it which were un known to the doctors or the public one of these was told here not long ago by crump who was steward of the white house then crump had bad to give a great deal of personal attention to garfield he was wag in the sick room a large part oi of the time and he has a number of interesting reminiscences of garfielda Gar fields last days one of these relates to the orders which the doctors gave that garfield must have no water to drink except that lut lur dished byrbe physicians he was however very thirsty and during the absence of the doctors and the nurses he begged crump to get him a drink crump cramp refused and garfield asked him again and again so pitifully that he had bad to once leave the room to keep from violating orders when he returned garfield began again but crump again refused garfield then commanded crump to give him the water but crump pretended he was deaf in talking oi of this time crump said 1 1 I dare to give him the water I 1 feared it would hurt him and I 1 held out as long as I 1 could at last however he called me to him and with tears in his eyes said crump would you refuse a dying man a drink of water no mr president said 1 I but you are not dying buts but crump he added feebly if you do not give it to me I 1 will die and hereupon he closed his bis eyes he looked so feeble and sick that I 1 stand it still I 1 disobey the doctors but somehow or other I 1 just sat a glass of spring water on a table by his bed then turning my back upon him I 1 went to the window and hang me when I 1 returned it that glass empt president garfield Garfit ld looked up at me witti with a smile and asked abbed me what I 1 meant by tantalizing him by placing a glass with no water in it within his reach and him so thirsty he did not ask a k for any more water that day and I 1 am certain if he be did drink it it did him no harm p I 1 had an interesting chat with major benjamin butterworth about garfield last week we were riding together from washington to pittsburg on the baltimore and ohio railroad and major butterworth grew reminiscent he is you know one of the brightest of our public men he has had a wide experience peri ence and he was for years a close friend of james A garfield the two served in congress together and butterworth w was one of the ohio delegates to the national convention at which garfield was nominated during the conversation I 1 asked him what he thought of garfielda Gar fields character he replied general garfield was wa one of the moat peculiar of our public men he was great in many things and weak in others he had bad a great head bead and a great soul but he had no more backbone than a he could not say no and he could not hold anger I 1 verily believe that a man might have spat in garfielda Gar fields filice face without incurring his lasting enmity garfield would have promptly knocked him down but beffi e the fellow reached the ground he would have begun to pity him and would have gone and raised him up and told him that he was sorry that he had had to do it how about the convention of 1880 major with all the publications concerning it I 1 wonder whether the inside history of it has yet been told no it has not replied major butter worth 1 I doubt whether the full truth will ever be known there was some talk of garfield as president long before the convention met vie he knew that there was an undercurrent in his favor and we talked the matter over together before we went to chicago he told me then that he did not think that he ought to retain his position as the leader of the ohio delegation and of the sherman forces it was just before we got to chicago that he said to me dont you know ben that they are proposing me for the president I 1 don t want it now and if I 1 am ever to be president I 1 dont doat think the time tor for it is the present still under the circumstances it dont seem to me as though I 1 ought to go to chicago and make that speech for sherman I 1 will be looked upon there as the leader of the sherman forces arces now it this movement in my favor avor should develop into anything whatever I 1 do I 1 will be accused of being false to sherman seerman Sn erman I 1 dont like it I 1 am afraid of it and I 1 dont want to go to chicago as his manager what do you think As tor me garfield said 1 I 1 I 1 dont think about it I 1 know that you ought nut to go if I 1 were john sherman I 1 surely would not let you go you know the story of priscilla and john alden well I 1 should by be alcaid it if you went to the convention for me it might turn out in the same way as did the courtship of mues when priscilia asked alden why dont you speak lor yourself john johnf I 1 well said garfield 1 I feel somewhat the same way and I 1 wish you would go to seerman and tell him what you think snow show him how I 1 am situated and asak aby him it he won wont t relieve me from my promise and put some one else in my place weli weil major butterworth continued 1 I went at once to see senator sherman and told him about my talk with garfield I 1 put the matter just as strongly as I 1 could and urged him to release garfield from making a speech sherman said he was not afraid however he wanted garfield to present him to the convention he said he was the leading man in ohio and that as such her he was necessarily the leader of his bis forces at chicago I 1 told him that gat gai fields prominence was just the reason why he be the leader and I 1 tried to make him believe that the situation was a dangerous one I 1 could not do it it he told me that he had no fear of gar fields loyalty and that he would risk the mi es ei standish business the result was that Cr garfield arfield went to chicago was garfield Garfit ld true to sherman when he got there P I 1 asked 1 I think he wanted to be replied major butterworth but what can you do in such situations we had several conversations about the matter at chicago one was on the steps of the grand pacific hotel the night before the convention met garfield said he like the talk that his friends were ma making maningas kingas as to his availability he said that he aoud not afford to accept the presidency in any way that would leave a stain upon his personal honor he said he wished the situation was otherwise than it was and that he did not know what to do I 1 think he felt very much the same during the convention I 1 sat just behind him and when they began to vote for him I 1 could see that he was much frightened he turned around to me and asked me what he should do said he if I 1 ask them not to vote for me it will appear as though I 1 were calling attention to myself and my refusal will be a kind of a bid lor for them to vote for me on the other oiher hand if I 1 remain silent it seems tu to me as though I 1 will be faise to sherman what shall I 1 do what would you do if you were I 1 1 I 1 then said that if I 1 were in his place I 1 would state that under no circumstances |
