Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-05-25

II UlUEdEE III AOe -
| country have, now and then, been guilty Of
| relaxing their rules to accommodate special
cases and thus done injustice to the profess
Neeessfty or state Boards or Medical
/ Examiners.
Surely. Il is high time fer the establish
ment al state Boards of Medical Examiners
when every nondescript association Of doc
tors, whether for proper or improper pur-
poses. can obtain from State Legislature. q
charter for q Medical College; The old
safeguards to respectabihty nave been
shamefully broken down by the rivalry OF
cheap medical schools, and thus the field
of medicine has been thrown wide open to
every ipnoramus and mercenary adyentur-
er who may desire to enter 1t and profit
Medical students generally and College
Professors in particular will please take
notice thereof and govern themselves ac-
cordimgly, that the State Board OF Health
of West Virginia will not hesitate to go
behind the returns and refuse TO recognize
Diplomas granted by any school that does
not REQUIRE as q condition Of graduation
one wears reading with a private lnstruc-
tor and at least trO full courses OF Medical
The states Chiefly Responsible.
The North Central States are chiefly re-
spopsible for the horde Of ready-made
doctors annually turned loose to prey upon
the lives of the people and eat up their
substance. BY her varied supply OF last
running diploma mills the neighboring
State of Ohio is, probably, entitled to
greatest distinction. Any sort of a diploma,
and gagged in price to suit purchasers,
NAV be secured without trouble, expense
and the farce of the applicant appearing in
person. -,
But however numerous and disgraceful
alike TO the State and he medical profess
sion. such ~disreputable establishments, as
we have been contemplating, cannot tarn-
ish the good name, or hide from profess
sional' admiration the excellent and truly
first-class medical schools in Ohio, from
which many of our most learned and reput-
able physicians have received their honors.
Naturaiists tell us that i'll weeds infest the
same grounds where the choicest plants
flourish, and by whose shade they are pro-
tected; and we must be content with the
laws of nature.
Just now Ohio is an inviting Asylum for
the repose of all pretenders i'll medicine
who have been driven from other states.
Within the last nine months, or since our
State law went into effect, scores OF such
doctors have fled "o'er the border, and
are now, no doubt, supremacy happy that
| liz GllOI II liz NbAV ~
ter, to keep them moving, failed.
The Disgrace Of n Sister State Medical
Society.
That the medical profession has fallen
upon evil times is unhappily shown by the
recent action of a sister State Society. The
State Medical Society of New York, which,
under the pretence of 1.-THE demands OF hui
manity and professional Hberality,' has CON
yicted itself before "all the world and the
rest of mankind OF the charge that the
prospcct of a fee guickens both he perceptions
and sensiGiiiiies Of a majority of is members.
Cupidity is one of the sins OF medical
men which tends to disgrace medicine, and
it is the most damning evil of the profes.
sion. The wild rush for business, the low
and despicable acts by which tits obtained,
and the reckless desperation of the unsuc.
c~esSful, are most humiliating evidences oil
the degeneracy of the times.
How absurd to talk of consultations
with legally qualified physicians!' which
has the same meaning in the State OF New
York that it would have in West Virginia
where, as has already been told, may be
found quacks of all colors, and the veriest
pretenders in practice who have been toll
crated under the ten years exemption clause
CT our law.
The Concession Not Exclusively for the
Benefit of PopafhS.
With singular unanimity the secular
press in all directions of the country has en-
deavOred to mislead public opinion by her,
aiding the degradation OF the State Medical
Society of New York as concession for the
special privilege and benefit OF Hom~o-
paths, when in fact the act of the society
means that its members nave full license to
consult with and give advice to not only
hom1opaths, but eClectiCs Ia far more
respectable class of "doctorS') and all other
irregular practitioners-whenevcr and
wherever the consultation fee is secure
What is the object of a medical consulta'
ton? Certainly, to benefit the patient who
does not care a straw for differences of
opinion concerning the name n pathOlo-
gy of his illneSs-what he wants, and pays
for, presumably, is the proper treatment of
his disease by which he can hope for Ie-
Covery.
Scientific Medicine Cannot COnsOrt
With the Nonsense OrHOmOeopathy.
There is an impossible gHlf between the
practice of scientific medicine and the non-
sense of homeopathy. The two cannot be
made to harmoniZe-there is no common
ground on which science and q trade -name
| clan can meet; and the spectacle of a con-
sultation between a regular physician and
a hOmOeopath concerning the treatment
of a sick patient would be not less ridicu-
lous than to behold Bob lngersoll and De
Witt Talmage. with minds and hearts,
professedly, in unison, administering
spiritual c. mfort and consolation to a dying
man!
The line separating the true and the
false, the honest and the dishonest, cannot
be too sharply drawn, nor too rigidly main
tanned. Fortunately, the remedy, like the
evil, is in the profession; and 1.-THE wisdom
OF the law is greater than the wisdom Of
any one man" or OF forty men. The juriS-
diCtion of our National Medical Congress -
the American Medical Association, extends
to every State and county; acknowledged as
the representative body of legitimate medi-
cine in America, its code is high above all
State society rules; and no city, county or
State society can reverse its power to legis-
late for its own protection and for the COM
mon good of the profession.
The Medical Society of the city OF Wheel
ing and county of Ohio, at a recent meet
ing instructed its delegates to the Ameri-
can Medical Association TO stand fast by the
time-honored code of medical ethics! lam
confident this society will do likewise, and
thus renew its allegiance to the central and
supreme authority.
The Meetings should he More Largely
Attended.
II is greatly to be regretted that so few OF
the six or seven hundred regular physicians
in the State can be induced to attend tn,
meetings of the Society. Our membership
should be at least three or four times larger
T than at present; and | trust the
time is not far distant when the
profession in every county will send up to
our annua meetings its quota of valuable
facts. There is much work to do, and we
must "work while it is call to-day, for the
night cometh when no man can work
Let it not be said OF any of us that we have
been like the sunlight on the wall which
m and goes and leaves no mark be.
hind; or the shadow on the shore, which
| silently passes and disappears, leaving ne
imprint to indicate its course on the sands.
Finally, let me bespeak your counsel
and assistance that l may be able to guide
YOUR deliberations TO the end that we may
have a harmonious and profitable meeting.
now declare the society ready for the
transaction of business.
80
HEALTH: THE TRUE NOBILITY.
The Address OF Albert l.. Gihon, A. NJ,
N. D., Medical Director, U. 8. Navy.
n n--