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Your probably wonder what Grover Cleveland has to do with Clan Lamont?  read below

In the spring of 1893, the American economy was in a panic. The stock market had crashed, hundreds of banks had failed, and investors were exchanging their U.S. notes for gold in droves, rapidly depleting U.S. gold reserves and placing doubt on the nation's currency. The economy wasn't the only sore spot for President Grover Cleveland. He also had one in his mouth.

Daniel Lamont and Dr. Joseph Bryant

White House physician Dr. Robert O'Reilly examined Cleveland and found an inflamed area on the left side of the roof of the mouth about an inch in diameter. O'Reilly sent tissue samples, without revealing the identity of the patient, to Dr. William Welch of John Hopkins Hospital, one of the nation's top pathologists, and to the staff of the Army Medical Museum. Both concluded that the inflamed area was malignant.

The nation's economy and the President's health hung in the balance. O'Reilly feared Cleveland would meet the same fate as former President U.S. Grant, who died of throat cancer in 1885, probably due to his frequent cigar smoking, which Cleveland also indulged in. After Cleveland heard the diagnosis and the recommendation of immediate removal of the growth, he required total secrecy of his condition. News of his ill health could induce more panic in the economy.

The secrecy was coordinated by Cleveland's personal physician, Dr. Joseph Bryant, and Secretary of War Daniel Lamont. On June 20th, Bryant reported to Lamont that he recruited for the operation Dr. William Keen, a Philadelphia surgeon; Dr. E.G. Janeway, a New York general physician; and Dr. Ferdinand Hasbrouck, a New York dentist. Bryant also mentioned that a cypher code was needed "in case anything unfavorable happens. If anything springs a leak it may not be amiss..."

The Oneida

On the afternoon of June 30th, Cleveland, Bryant, and Lamont left Washington D.C. unannounced, but an administration spokesman was prepared to announce that Cleveland was joining his pregnant wife at their summer home at Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts for a few days. As Cleveland made his way to New York via train with two long time associates of his, no suspicions were raised.

Meanwhile, the yacht Oneida, owned by Lamont's friend, Commodore Elias Benedict, inconspicuously picked up Keen, Janeway, and Hasbrouck, plus Bryant's partner Dr. John Erdman and O'Reilly. That evening, Cleveland, Bryant, and Lamont boarded the Oneida, docked at Pier A in New York waters, without fanfare. Cleveland relaxed- he sat in a deck chair, smoked a cigar and talked until midnight. Then he slept soundly without a sedative or painkiller.

The next day, as the time for the operation approached at noon, Bryant was still concerned about secrecy. He joked with the captain, "If you hit a rock, hit it good and hard, so that we will all go to the bottom!" The yacht would go only at half-speed on the East River during the operation. Meanwhile below deck, the main saloon was turned into a well-equipped operating room. Even the patient's chair was tied to the main mast.

As Lamont and Benedict were seemingly enjoying a summer day on deck, onlookers had no idea of the tense situation below. After nitrous oxide knocked Cleveland out, Hasbrouck extracted two teeth to make room for Bryant to do his work. Bryant worked until about 2 o'clock to cut out the tumor, longer than expected. The nitrous oxide was starting to wear off before completion, so ether was then administered. When it was done, the President's left upper jaw and part of his palate were gone.

The Philadelphia Press

With the President recovering, Lamont was still vigilant in keeping the operation secret. The plan was to keep the medical staff onboard for a few days to prevent leaks. However, Hasbrouck had scheduled another operation and requested to go ashore. Lamont relented to his regret. Hasbrouck quickly blabbed about the surgery to a patient and his dental partner. So, by July 5th, with Cleveland arriving late at Buzzard's Bay, reporters were buzzing about stories of Cleveland's malignancy. Lamont denied rumors of a serious operation- the President only had two bad teeth removed.

After follow-up surgery on Cleveland in July, the Philadelphia Press published the complete story in August of the Oneida operation with Hasbrouck as the source. The Cleveland administration dismissed the article, saying Hasbrouck had botched the teeth-pulling and was fired. He was just seeking revenge through the press. This lie, plus Cleveland's healthy appearance and the wide belief that this was Silverite rumor mongering to fight Cleveland's and Congress's efforts to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, discredited the story.

Sources:

Brands, H.W., The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890s, St. Martin's Press: New York, 1995.

Jeffers, H. Paul, An Honest President: The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland, Morrow: New York, 2000.