The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-06-24
A RICH EXPARIENCE.
What Prominent and Well-Known New York
Physician Told Reporter.
His Revelations Upon Subject of Vital Inter-
est to all.
Detroit Free Press.

and learning extending over long period
of time must necessarily be valuable, and
while no two experiences in this world are
alike, there is such a similarity between
them as to render one which is rich in
valuable facts of benefit to all. America s
greatest orator declared that he knew of no
way of judging the future but by the past;
and past personal experience is of the
same nature as that history which repeats
| itself.
A representative of this paper while
Longing in the lobby of a prominent New
York hotel, met gentleman whom he had
known years before in the city of Detroit
but whom he had not seen before for a
number of years. When the knight of
the quill had seen this gentleman, he was
| giving his entire time and attention to an
| extensive medical practice, and was on the
crest of the wave of popularity From
| Detroit he removed to New York where he
could find a more extensive field for his
talents and experience. Although several
years had passed, the doctors physical
| condition had evidently very much improv::
ed, for he was looking much better than
when the man of news had seen him.
After some general talk, the doctor fell in
to an easy train of conversation and utter
ed some truths so scientific and valuable,
as to Justify their reproduction in print.
Yes" said the doctor, ''Ihave improv-
ed in health since you last saw me and
hope also in many other ways. One thing
however, have succeeded in doing, and
it is one of the hardest things for any one,
and especially doctor to do; and that is /
have overcome my prejudices. You know
there are some people who prefer to re-
main in the wrong rather than acknowl
edge the manifest right. Such prejudice
leads to bigotry of the worst order, and
of precisely the same nature as character
lied the sixteenth century, when people
were burned at the stake. Now I am
physician, one of the old school order, too
but have. after years of experience and
observation come to the conclusion that
truth is the highest of all things, and that
if prejudice or bigotry stands in the way
of truth, so much the worse for them
they are sure to be crushed sooner or later
Why when ] knew you in Detroit, would
have no sooner thought of violating the
code Of ethics laid down by the profession,
or of prescribing anything out of the reg
ular order, than I would of amputating
my hand. Now, however, l prescribe and
advise those things which l believe to be
adapted to cure, and which my experience
has proven to be such"
This is rather an unusual way for
Certainly it is. 1t is away outside of
our code of ethics, but have grown far
beyond the code. / have all / can attend
to, and am determined to be honest with
nv patients and mankind, whether my
brother physicians are with me or not.
Why I prescribe medicines every day, some
of them so-called patent medicines which
would render me liable to expulsion from
the medical fraternity, but | am supremacy
indifferent to their laws"
Are the medical fraternity of the coun-
try combined against proprietary medi-
cines, doctor"
Invariably, and it is sufficient ground
for expulsion from any medical society in
the land to prescribe any patent medicine
whatever, no matter if it is made from an
exact formula, such as physicians are using
every day. You see the code is established
and sustained by old physicians like my
self, who make the rules and insist upon
their enforcement in order to keep the
younger doctors from obtaining foothold
and encroaching upon the already estab-
lished practice of the older ones. This is
largely the reason why young physicians
have such hard time of it; they are fet-
tered by the code, and have only their per-
sonal influence to depend upon i'll securing
practice"
How did you come to get such heretical
ideas as these, doctor?
''Oh, they are the result of my exper-
fence and observation. / obtained my first
ideas upon the subject, however, from hay
ing been cured after all my care and the
skill Of my professional brethren had failed
to relieve me- Why, l was so badly off
with a complication of troubles, including
dyspepsia, and consequently imperfect kid
neys and liver, that feared / should have
to give up my practice. For more than
month | could not sit down or get up with
out the most intense agony, and was suf-
fering all the while. Some one advised me
to go out of the regular channels and try a
remedy that was becoming quite famous
for the remarkable cures it was etfecting;
but my prejudice was altogether too strong
for that. However, l did quietly begin try
ing the remedy, but promise you said
nothing to my brother physicians, or even
to my family about it. Well, sir, it
was a revelation to me; for in
all my medical experience l never
saw anything operate so rapidly or
so effectually as that did, owe my health
to-day; and for all know, my life also
to the remedy known as Warmers Safe
Kidney and Liver Cure. That was the
starting point with me, and my prejudices
faded very rapidly after that / can assure
you. 1 went to reading extensively and
analyzing more extensively, and l suppose
| analysed all the leading proprietary
medicines that are made. Many of them [
found perfectly useless, being compounded
simply of water with a little t1avoring. A
vast majority of them all, however, found
made up of prescriptions used by phycici-
clans in their every day practice; but out
of the entire number I found only two that
contained absolutely harmful ingredients
and then in very slight quantities. Indeed
we are prescribing things constantly that
have more deleterious matter i'll than they
had. After discovering this, said to my
self; why should the medical fraternity be
preiudiced against those prescriptions
which they are writing every day, simply
because they are put up by wholesale and
are sold with a government stamp on the
wrapper | saw its manifest absurdity
and resolved that l would be bound by no
longer Since that time, have prescribed
remedies nearly every day, in
my practice and I have no reason to
regret having done so. Why, only
a few days ago / advised a lady
who was suffering from a serious fe- /