Wilmington journal., 1876-07-14

| DIR. =. II. Wright-Is he Eligible tO
FIJI the Place of Health Officera
It is needless for us at this late day
serving such sanitary precautions as
experience has shown to be efficacious
in protecting seaports from disease.
In this respect ut least our readers will
Journal has done its full duty Time
and again before and since the heated
term began attention has teen called
through our columns to the condition
of our city. How these warnine have
been needed is question we propose to
make answer to in the next few days
| But this morning we propose not to
| speak so much OF the city itself AS OF
the approach to it. aud it's keeper
DR.. S. P. Wright by virtue of au-
thority from Governor Brogden is now
| aching as the medical quarantine
officer at Smithvi1le, and the question
arises is he eligible to the position
The law of North Carolina (Battle's
Revisal section 81, chapter 90 says
''lt shal be the duty of the Governor
to designate some ] hysioIan of expe-
rlence who shall act as medical gu "
tine officer for the above (Smith-
ville) station"
The law clothes the medical quaran-
tine officer with full powers, charges
him with important duties and gives
him compensation of six hundred
dollars year. Can Dr. s. P Wright
act as such medical quarantine officer
under the laws of North Carolina?
The secoEd section of an Act of the
Asse mbly of North Carolina ratified
II February, 1859, enacts
THAT from and after the 18th day
of April 1859, no person shall practice
medicine, surgery or any of the
branches thereof or i'll any case pre-
scribe for the cure of diseases, for fee
or reward, unless he or they shall
have been first licensed so 10 do ID the
manner hereinafter described"
But the statute is not satisfied with
merely prohibiting men from acting as
physicai.s for pay, it further enacts in
section Is
" That any person who shall prac~
tIca medicine or surgery in this State
without having first applied for and |
obtained license from the said BoGrd !
OF Exnln1ners as provided for by this |
act, shall not be entitled to sue for or
recover before any magistrate or court !
in this State, any medical bill for ser
vices rendered i'll the practice of medi-
cine or surgery, or any of the branches
thereof"
1t appears plain therefore, unless
DR.. ). 2. Wright has license from
the State Board of Medical Examiners,
that he is forbidden by law from per
forming any act as physician for
compensation. Has DIR. S. 2. Wright
such license? In order to settle this
question officially, we addressed a
letter to DIR. James Mckee at Raleigh,
the Secretary of the State Me,iical So
ciety, to which we received the fol-
lowing reply:
MED. So. OF THE STATE OF N. G.
SECRETAI:Y's OFFICE,
RALEIGH, n. c., July 9TH, 1876.
My DEAR SIR Yours of 30th ult. to
hand. DIR. Silas P. Wright's name
does not appear upon the rolls of the
Medical Society of the State of North
Carolina. [ have not the act of the
of 1859 before me, but am
almost positive that, unless DIR.
Wright was practitioner of medicine
IN the vlrious branches five years pre-
Vious to its passage, he cannot 1orac-
ice the profession under its provi-
sions in this State, for he has not been
before the Board of Medicll Examin-
ers. To be more certain, [ have referred
yoW letter to DR.. Chas Duffey, New
oern, North Carolina, who is the Sc
to the Board, and has the
books to refer to.
Very respectfully,
JAMES MCKEE, Nj. D.,
Secretary.