Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-12-18
THE BATTLE OF THE DOCTORS.

tice of Medicine ought to be encOuragcdF' Sc
veral OF the Medical Faculty OF the city were
present, and participated in the debate. From
the account of this discussion, in the Baltimore
Gazette, il may be supposed that the grave and
learned members of the Faculty gathered put
few laurels, though it seems that the question
was decided in their favor. A Mr.. Wlliams'
who commenced the discussion, SAID lie con-
sidered the question settled In the atnTulati'e'
The Thomasonians had many patients IN cho-
lera, all or nearly all whom were cured-ma,
ny OF them, after the Faculty had pronounced
them ircurtble He visited one lady, deemed
incurabe and found her IN such conditlon
that he remained all night with her. IA laugh!)
After few days, the lady completely recovered.
He could cite other cases, all OF which, demon
strated the safety and efficacy Of the Thompso-
Man practice.
Dr.. Bond senior, made i learned and elo-
uuent speech against the practice, ridicullng
some of Thompsons principles, and concluded
by remarking that he should render himself un-
popular by the course he had adopted, but he
was past the meridian OF life, and was indifter-
ent to the consequences; he had as much prac-
tce in the profession as he wanted; and was not
afraid of its being diminished by ThompSonian-
i5m, &c. &c.
M Godfrey Never had listened to the Doc
tors Theory, all Of which was worth nothing at
all. The faculty had many theories, all OF
which were contradictory. The Galenists were
upset by the disciples ofParacelSuS, and these,
in their turn had been upset by others. From
the time when Sydenham introduced depletion
by tine Use of the lancet. things had gone still
worse till at last DR.. Rush confessed that med-
cine a practiSed by the faculty, was unworthy
ofthe name Of science Robinson, IN his Lee
lures h ID proved il completely. To rescue me-
dicine from this dsgracefu condition, Doctor
Thompson had arisen, who with nature for his
guide and with a diploma from the Almighty,
a, A than predecessors.
His disciples amounted To 2,0O00O0, who were
satisfied with his plan as his medicines never
failed, whereas the mineral medicines used by
he faculty had destroyed more persons than
he sword.
This thrust at the Faculty, raised up Dr.. Pea
therbrdge, who sent few cold shot into the OPP
Upsite ranks i'm return. A MIR. Walker next adj
lressrd The Lyceum, after the following manner:
He had lost. two of his children, when the re-
% gulfr practitioners attended lis family, but
his having called in ThOmpSonlans, he had not
lost one, and his expenses were reduced. IL
had been aScertained that more deaths had oc-
Cured in the families of the former within
given time, than in those of the latter This
was easily explained. The Thompsonans were
their own doctors; and as they used good medi-
cines they easily cured themselves. In conse-
quence too. oftheir following nature, they were
more prolific than the members at the Faculty.
CA laugh.) He wondered a any man could
be so blind to his own interest as not TO adopt
the Thompsonian remedies.
After this, Mr. Winchester addressed the meet
ing, i'm a style partaking rather more oft the pas
siOnate than the patheiic-calling the Jhomp.
sonians set ofignoramuses, and other such I'M
genteel appellatons. Mr. Robert Walker said,
Physicians attached wonderful importance to
high sounding words. just as ftheir Latin names
for horns and stools, enabled them TO un-
derstand diseases the better. He himself had
been attended by a ThompSonian, who told him.
not that the nervous tissues OF his pericranlum
were dsordered, but that he had the headache,
and he really believed il was the headache II
he were tn say, that in consequence of the cir
tlcular membrane of his digitals, having been
severed the ve;nous and arteria cylinders, had
discharged their sanguneOuS fluid, would it be
palmer than to say he had cut his finger! "a
laugh Yet this was the sort OF jargon by which
physicians had imposed on the credulity ofman-
kind, who were apt to suppose that sesquipeda-
liam words implied superior understanding
The Thompsonians, by dScardng, such non
sense had shown that they were above practic-
ing deceit For himself he was satisfied that
the Thompsonian medicine had cured his maia-
dies and restored him to health A former
speaker had spoken of old women's remedies;
but could he bring forward 500 old women who
would speak of this efficacy Of calomel2. Sup
posing he could, what would it prove, but that it
was. after all, only the remedy of so many old
women2 ca langh.)
Amir. Chandler, next took the floor, and came
near flooring all the Thompsonians and MIR.
Edward Postlethwaite Page, likewise. This Mr..
Edward Postlethwaite Page had, on the preced-
ing evening, declared, that his name OF Postleth-
waite included the title of Apostle; and that Je-
sus Christ had commissioned him to proclaim
that the day Of judgment would occur in 1886,
and he (Mr Chandler) considered this man en-
titled to as much credence, as far as supernatu-
raj gifts were concerned, as was Samuel Thomp-
son. Mr.. Chandler concluded by suggesting,
that when the question should be put to the vote,
neither the Thompsonians nor the regular Ply
sicians should be allowed to vote; since men
who were put upon trial, had no right to sit on
the jury. A very sensible remark.)
MIR. Lamb talked about his ailments, till the
President declared that he had talked out his
allotted time. And last came DR.. Yates, who
said, (ahat We have heard said by at least five
hundred men, who had spent three days in pre-
pairing a specify that when he entered the
room he had no intention of taking any part i'm
the discussion; but he felt inclined to make a
few remarks, &c. When DR.. Yates sat down,
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