CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Treatment for an 11-year old Typhoid Patient,
after Four Weeks ENDS IN DEATH.
Salem, Indiana
1898

We have often heard of the operations of the so-called Christian Science as a means of healing the sick, but never until yesterday had its manifestations been shown in this community. Little Beulah Senix lay sick with typhoid fever for four long weeks without medicine or medical attention, all this time with a burning fever and delirium, slowly but surely wearing her young life away.

Mr. Thomas Senix and wife live about a mile east of town and have only been in this community a short time. They are members of an organization called Saints and are thoroughly devoted to the faith of this organization, believing that in sickness by prayer and appeals to God that He will, because of a manifestation of such unbounded faith, heal a patient.

They are the parents of a little girl eleven years old who was taken sick some four weeks ago with typhoid fever. The parents would not call a physician but sent for a Mr. Fitzpatrick who resides near South Boston and is a functionary among the "Saints" and with his supposed aid they set about the application of the so-called Christian Science to heal their child. After praying day and night for four weeks the child continued to grow steadily worse notwithstanding the persistent appeals of the neighbors to the parents to call a physician to their child's aid but not until yesterday morning Mr. Abrose Shrum, a neighbor, seeing the little sufferer's life continually wearing away and being moved to pity took it upon himself to call a physician.

Dr. Purkhiser was summoned and went to the child but the opposition of the parents was so pronounced that the doctor was not permitted by them to do anything for the little sufferer. Thinking possibly with the help of another physician the parents might be brought to a realization of the awful situation, he called Dr. Martin to assist him, but all the reasoning and persuasive powers of the two sympathetic physicians were not successful in bringing the parents and the "healer" Fitzpatrick to a realization of the gravity of the situation and the matter was finally turned over to the county authorities and County Health Officer Voyles and an officer took charge.

It was the opinion however of Dr. Voyles, after examining the little patient, that the time had passed when medical aid would avail much and he thought it only a matter of a short time when the child must succumb to the inevitable, although with the kind assistance of neighbors and friends, he did all that human instrumentality could accomplish to save the child.

The sincerity of the father and mother is not questioned. They base their views on certain passages of the Scriptures and have been suiting their actions to what they truly believe to be authority of Holy Writ and seem in every sense conscientious. But it is the thought by many, and by Professors of Religion as well, that those particular verses and passages have been misconstrued as well as misapplied by them in the matter of healing the sick. It should be said of their credit however that they finally became resigned to the situation and tried to do all they could to carry out the direction of the attending physician.

LATER------The child died this morning at 4 o'clock.