A fee of $35,000 was paid to a French surgeon of Epernay for
operating on the wounded German Crown Prince. There was a certain
retributive justice on the size of the fee, for $35,000 was the
precise amount the Germans demanded as a war contribution from
Epernay.
During the battling on the Marne the Crown Prince was seriously
wounded. No German surgeon was in Epernay, so the Germans asked a
well-known Paris surgeon, Dr. Veron, to operate, telling him they
would pay any fee. Dr. Veron fixed the fee at an amount equal to the
enforced war contribution, and that sum the German army treasurer
paid in gold.