Ripley County's century-old serum scandal: Uncovering a bizarre case of fraud and deception

A criminal case out of Ripley County involving a serum used to dupe doctors and insurance companies 100 years ago promised to be “one of the biggest sensations in the history of Southeast Missouri,” while engineers were looking at two major river projects 75 and 50 years ago. A new bridge was planned over the Current River at Van Buren in 1950 and in 1975 plans were discussed to remove snags from the Black River.

100 years ago

March 4, 1925

• One person was arrested in Ripley County with more arrests expected in a case described as “one of the biggest sensations in the history of Southeast Missouri.”

The Daily Republican reported E. Gartman faced two charges of arson in connection with a serious fire at Doniphan some months ago and had been arrested again March 3. New charges, which he pleaded not guilty to, were for allegedly using the mail to defraud in “one of the most peculiar cases that has ever come to the attention of postal inspectors.”

According to investigators, Gartman was injecting a serum into the leg or arm of men, which caused the limb to swell. Such cases had baffled Ripley County doctors for months, they said. The individuals were then using the swelling to present as evidence of injury for insurance claims, including in accident cases.

“In one case, it is said, a doctor examined the victim and decided he had received a broken knee cap from a reported injury, when in fact the trouble was due merely from the serum,” the paper reported.

Officers said they had been unable to determine what was in the serum.

The investigation included postal inspectors and Missouri Pacific Railroad detectives, as well as local law enforcement.

• Work on a new hospital building to be located at the corner of Second and Elm streets was started today by A.W. Greer, the contractor. The hospital will cost approximately $40,000 and is being constructed by Doctors Hendrickson and McPheeters. The building will be one story but “modern in every particular, and modeled in a way after the Missouri Pacific hospital in St. Louis.”

75 years ago

March 4, 1950

• It is reported that 200 Malden refugees are homeless and unemployed due to cuts in cotton crops and the closure of a camp. The individuals were being sheltered at a Red Cross flood refuge camp. It was reported they would be left completely without resources when the camp closes.

The persons are members of share-cropper families who were driven from the homes they occupied on the land of others by threatening floodwaters of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

• Sportsman’s Lodge, a popular resort at Lake Wappapello, was reported burned as of 10 a.m. this morning. Described as one of the pioneer establishments of the lake, it was owned and operated by Dolph Newell. The cause of the fire was undetermined, but swept along by high winds.

50 years ago

March 4, 1975

• The first of three public hearings was held March 3 at the Carter County Courthouse to discuss the replacement of the Highway 60 bridge. G.G. McKinney, the state highway department’s district engineer at Willow Springs, spoke during the meeting. The 50-year-old bridge was designed to carry 30,000-pound loads, he said. Legislation pending would allow maximum loads of carriers to be 80,000 pounds and could increase in the future. Traffic was also increasing, he said.

He noted that after a traffic mishap on the bridge earlier this year, a pier cap was split and one side of the bridge had dropped. Repairs cost $17,000.

The present width of the bridge was 20 feet. A new bridge would be 44 feet wide.

• The Poplar Bluff City Council is backing a plan to clean the Black River. The group passed a resolution Monday in support of a proposal by the Corps of Engineers that would clean the river to the Arkansas state line. Rep. Bill Burlison has said the House of Representatives has approved a flood study of the Black River. It is estimated the study would take four years and cost about $415,000. Authorization still needed to be funded, according to the article. Previous Corps of Engineers projects on sections of the Black and other rivers have ranged from removal of snags to drastic channelization involving transformation of streams into ditches.