The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-07-31


at his college, the contributors to the
Eclectic journal that he conducts, and
the names Of 1000 persons to whom
bogus medical diplomas have been
awarded. In seventeen years over
II 600 diplomas were issued from his
college. about half OF which are con-
ceded and known to have been fraud
ulent. The Buchanan is but one col
lege OF many that are pursuing the
same course in this country, though
not OF such an extensive scale. For
years little or no confidence has been
had in a diploma Of any kind, much
less q medical one. Exposures
coming from time to time create
storm, of Indignation loud and
general while it lasts, the
fury of which is seon spent, and
the system is resumed again, the only
difference being that at each renewal
it is little more general and great
deal more barefaced than before
such is the weight that attaches to
public sentiment. That such sys-
tenn is criminal no one will attempt
TO deny, bat No vigorous attempt is
made to prevent it, nor to visit
speedy, severe and certain punieh
ment upon the guilty ones. In
matter OF this nature legislation
should intercede for the people to
secure their safety. Medical colleges
should be under the surveil
lance of government, and laws
should be enacted for the pun
ishment of persons who issue
fraudulent diplomas.a nd persons who
practice under such diplomas. 1t
will not do to say that people are not
compelled to employ these frauds
people are not supposed to know that
they are frauds; people believe the
iiploma is genuine, and measures
should be adopted to make that con-
ideuce we'll founded. 1t canno
reasonably be argued (though persons
have attempted to do SOY that govern
nents, local or federal, have no more
right to prescribe what examination
medical student or a law student
shall pass than it has to provide how
long a tailor OF carpenter shall serv'
as an apprentice, or to what degree
of perfection he must attain before b.
becomes a full.fedged iourneymaI
The cases are not parallel. In tn
one, a person has an opportunity t
examine the work OF the tailor Of
carpenter, and can Judge for himself
moreover, it does not require grea
degree of skill or education to discern
wherein the excellence OF these pei
sons lie, and If deceived, the loss j
generally but trivlsli and the evi
may be remedied. But in the case @
a physician, he must be trustet
implicitly, as there is no opPortunit.
of judging OF his worth, and it i
beyond the reach of the sverag
mortal to become sufficiently familia
with medicine to form any estimate
whatever OF the capacity or knowledg'
or skill of the physician. He is trustee
implicitly, end if it is discovered tina
be is a fraud, that discovery is mad
after the loss OF life or limb or useful
ness, and when il cannot be remedied
So it is with the lawyer; here also thu
average mortal is incapable o
estimating the extent of the know
ledge of the person. As in the cas-
of the physician, he may be called IL
at a moments notice, and by a laol
of technical knowledge or 8 failure Il
be sufficiently versed to practice hi
profession so that he can protect til
Interests Of his client, a vast sum o
money may be irretrievably Loot, ant
the fact that the individual is fraut
is learned too late to be of any servic
to the discoYerer. For these rea.on
government should extend contro
over medical Law, and like college
that the public life and interests ma.
be guarded. II people were upright
this surveillance would be unneces
sary, but they are not; and while it i
possible the enactment of a law o
laws on the subject may be of it'll
use, it is the only apparent means o
stepping the abominable and crimina
system practiced in many noteC
colleges.