WHAT DR. ABRAMS CAN DO
First, as to what Dr. Abrams can do: I have been here and have seen him do all that he claims to do. Therefore, you will understand that this portion of your argument does not produce much impression on me. I merely say to you, why do you not come and see, or why do you not send some reliable representative to see—before you take it for granted that Abrams is a knave or a lunatic? This man is not merely a colleague of yours; he is a fellow of the Royal Medical Society of Great Britain [We know of no such society.—Ed.] and surely he was entitled to a little elementary courtesy from you. Why did you not at least write to him and permit him to put before you a little of his evidence on the genuineness of his work? You admit that he is a graduate of the Universities of Heidelberg and Stanford; [Dr. Abrams is not a graduate of “Stanford.”—Ed.] you admit that he was graduated from Heidelberg at the age of twenty. It happens that this was the youngest and remains the youngest age at which any man has taken a Doctor’s Degree at that University in a hundred years. If you had inquired further you might have learned that ten years ago Abrams was one of the most respected physicians in San Francisco. What has he done since to forfeit the honors of a lifetime? All that he has done is to shut himself up in his laboratory and make the most revolutionary discoveries of this or any other age; and now when he emerges and offers this work to the world, you can think of nothing to do but jeer at him.
I spent two weeks in his clinic; then I took six months to write to his physicians all over the country, and to experiment with his cures on a great number of my friends. [Italics again ours.—Ed.] Now I am spending another two weeks in his clinic, and I venture to stake whatever reputation I have, or hope to have in this world, upon the statement that Albert Abrams has discovered the great secret of the diagnosis and cure of all the major disease. [Again we must italicize.—Ed.] He has proven by diagnosing with the taps of his own sensitive finger tips over 15,000 people, and my investigation convinces me that he has cured over 95 per cent. of these who have taken his treatments. Moreover, he has taught his method to 200 or 300 other physicians, and some 80 per cent. of these have submitted to me answers to a questionnaire in which they claim thousands of cures.
You may say, perhaps, that I am not competent to judge of cures. For the sake of argument, I will grant that; but I assert that I am competent to judge of physicians, for I have tested several score of them, and if I ever knew a devoted scientist and a great humanitarian, it is Albert Abrams. In his clinic I have met perhaps a hundred physicians, and I venture to assert that a number of these are men both of integrity and capacity, and when I asked them why they came, I got invariably one answer: “Because I sent him blood specimens and I found that invariably he sent me a correct diagnosis.” Not once, but at least two score times, I have seen Albert Abrams take a blood specimen brought to him, without even the name of the patient, and heard him diagnose cancer or sarcoma, and from the blood specimen locate the growth PRECISELY TO AN INCH. [Italics fail one here!—Ed.] Then I have seen the patient, an entire stranger to Abrams, brought into the clinic and examined, not merely by Abrams, but by a score of other physicians, and the growth found precisely at the spot indicated. (This was done twice between the time when this letter was dictated and the time when it was transcribed.) Three times, yesterday, I saw a diagnosis made of syphilis and the patient brought in, and all the standard reactions demonstrated. I have seen, not once, but hundreds of times, tubercular lesions diagnosed and located from the blood specimen and the patient brought in and the condition demonstrated by percussion. All these things are going on day after day. They are being done in other clinics in several score of cities, and you may have the addresses for the asking. Why do you not ask? [We have some such addresses in the Propaganda files.—Ed.]
THE ECONOMIC ELEMENT
I take up the second criticism, that Albert Abrams is mercenary. He charges $200.00 for the clinical course, which may last as long as the physician wishes. It seems to me that that price is to be judged somewhat in relation to what he has to teach. He maintains a large establishment; he has need of many assistants, and expensive apparatus for his research work. He charges for the use of his oscilloclast a deposit of $250.00, and a rental of $5.00 per month. The former item covers the cost of manufacturing the machine, and the second item must be compared with the fact that a great number of physicians who are using this instruments are today enjoying incomes of from $1,000.00 to $2,000.00 per week. [Once more, italics!—Ed.]
A few weeks ago I visited a physician who told me he had treated thirty-two patients that day with his one instrument, and that his income was over $1,300.00 for that week, and I could name several who have given similar accounts. It may be, of course, that you will say they should not charge so much. The average charge is about $200.00 for a guaranteed cure of such diseases as syphilis, tuberculosis, cancer and sarcoma. [Italics our again.—Ed.]. Do you know anyone who will guarantee to cure a cancer or sarcoma at any price? [No!—Ed.]
I am sure you will agree with me that it would be possible to find physicians who would be willing to put up many hundreds of dollars to guarantee that neither cancer nor sarcoma can at the present time be cured except by operation. And I can recall many cases in my lifetime when I paid hundreds and even thousands of dollars to be cured of diseases by the medical profession, and I am unable to recall a single case where I was ever cured of anything. [Still this need not be an indictment of scientific medicine.—Ed.]
Finally, as regards to the subject of mercenary motives, permit me to state that I have in my possession a letter from Dr. Abrams stating that what he desires is to have established an institute for the purpose of making his work known to the world, and that if such an institute is established he is prepared to give up all his other work and devote all his time, without compensation, to the institute. Furthermore, he is willing to furnish his instruments without charge to any medical institution which requests them. Within the last few days, on account of the enormous number of blood specimens brought into his clinic, Dr. Abrams has signed in my presence, and is prepared to issue a statement to the effect that his charge for examining blood specimens is to be raised from $10.00 to $25.00 and all checks are to be made payable to a Trust Fund which is to be immediately established, for the purpose of founding the institution above referred to. I do not see how the medical profession can ask for more than this; but if you do, I should be pleased to receive your suggestions and transmit them to my friend.