The Cincinnati Obstetrical Society [excerpt]

     Everyone who was present on this memorable occasion said in his heart how fortunate the late President McKinley was in having such an adviser and operaator [sic] as he had when it was apparent that not only his life was at stake, but the fortunes of a great Nation. The responsibility resting upon Dr. Mann on that occasion cannot be overestimated. Seated at his right at the banquet table, Dr. Mann took occasion to say to the writer that the first person to render assistance to President McKinley was his son, who was present, and who was at the time an undergraduate in his last year of study. The young man saw the necessity of immediate medical service, and administered the necessary hypodermic injection of strychnine and morphine before anyone else had time to arrive, which no doubt had a beneficial influence in sustaining the resisting power of the President. At any rate the [92][93] young man was cool and collected and knew just what he was doing. This is always a great thing in medicine, and it was certainly most commendable on this occasion. The history of that unfortunate case is familiar to all medical readers.

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     “Another reason why interest centers around the speaker of the evening [Matthew D. Mann] is because of association. What heart is there that does not almost forget to beat at the memory of the last days of our beloved McKinley! And who now does not know at least the name of the one who was not only able, but worthy, to both serve and be in command in those dark days?

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The guest of the evening is not an ordinary man. The splendid international reputation which he enjoys has a much broader foundation than the fact that he it was who so promptly, courageously and skillfully operated upon the beloved McKinley when he had fallen by the assassin’s bullet. The surgical world was satisfied that all had been done, and skillfully done, in that awful emergency, when it was known that Mann was the operator. The ultimate fatal issue, owing to anemia, obesity and lowered vitality, rendering reparative processes impossible, in no way detracted from the brilliancy of the surgical work. How fortunate that a surgeon who was known to be intelligent, cool-headed and a master in technical skill, was at hand!