The Centralia Medical Scandal
Two physicians and a nurse are arrested for a 'surgical operation' that led to the death of an elderly business owner.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
CENTRALIA, Dec. 31.—For two weeks or more, the people of Centralia have been stirred up over an operation performed on an old gentleman named Alfred Wright, who died on the 23rd of this month. Wright, formerly a wealthy Ontario businessman, had moved to Washington during the 'boom' times. Advanced in age and suffering from a prior hip disease and paralysis, he was confined to his bed and employed Catherine McCormick as a nurse. On December 6, Drs. N. A. Gile and J. D. Minkler performed an operation on Wright without his friends' knowledge, attempting to stretch cords and eventually cutting off a piece of his hip bone. After Wright's death, a coroner's jury concluded that the operation was 'unjustifiable, unwarranted, and hence criminal.' Justice Wood issued warrants for the arrest of Drs. Gile, Minkler, and McCormick. Dr. Minkler is a member of the state board of medical examiners, while Dr. Gile, a Keeley cure graduate, was reportedly under the influence of liquor during the period. The accused are currently held in Chehalis awaiting preliminary examination.
“We find that Alfred Wright came to his death by a surgical operation... which, in our opinion, is unjustifiable, unwarranted, and hence criminal.”
Medical malpractice and the exploitation of vulnerable, elderly residents are issues that continue to challenge contemporary oversight boards. This case in 1892 serves as a grim reminder of the lack of formal regulation in frontier-era medical practice.
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