The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-05-25

passed the bill, ''to promote public
health" otherwise bill to regulate
the practice OF medicine, in the State
of Michigan. BY the provisions OF
this bill-if it becomes law, as il
ought-cvery medical practitioner
will have TO be registered in the
Office OF the clerk OF his county, and
will have 10 possess one OF the fol-
lowing qualifications:
lst, Five years continuous pract-
ice, in some one county in this State
I'd, a diploma from legally au-
thorized medical college.
Students and undergraduates are
allowed to practice with legal
practitioner. Doctors must fill sworn
statements with the Clerks Of their
respective Counties, showing how
long they have been IN practice,
where they graduated and 70 what
school of medicine they belong. SUI
pervisors are required 70 prepare
lists Of physicians, and these lists are
recorded and kept by the local
boards of health. Any one who shall
practice without being qualified can
not collect pay for his services, and
and any one who practices medicine,
or holds himself out to the public as
n physician or surgeon, without being
authorized shall be liable to fine of
from 50 to $50 for each offense.
principle embodiedin this BILLS
undoubtedly correct, and should tend
to prevent Michigan from being in
future, as it has been in the past, a
rendezvous and stamping ground for
quacks and charlatans, who under
the pretense of being physicians, cut,
slash, main and kill with impunity,
and when a patient dies under the
treatment of such men, his confding
constituents call it dispensation of
Providence, when it is in fact a case
of manslaughter, without mitigating
circumstances. Cases frequently
happen where the physician (?) dis
plays such lamentable ignorance or
recklessness, and lack of skill, that a
prosecution must have resulted in
conviction of manslaughter, and yet
those very men never lack for pa
tients.
When such institutions as Bu-
chanan's Medical Colleges, are
turning out tens of thousands of bo-
gus medical diplomas, at SIS each,
issued to any ignoramus, charlatan,
or quack who may apply for the same,
it 5 high time that the State of Michi-
gan should take some measures to pro-
tect the health and the lives of its
citizens. Such restrictions should be
thrown around the practice of medi-
cine, that the very fact that 4 man
stands before the public as a physi-
clan or surgeon, should Of itself be
sufficient guaranty that he has had
the requisite amount of study, and
sufficient ability to practice his pro-
fession with ordinary skill and iudg-
ment.
Canada. and States adjoining ours,
have enacted laws to prevent emplr-
ic.sm, and the result mas been to
drive quacks and charlatans into our
State, where they have succeeded in
reaping rich harvest, greatly to the
dc;rimcnt of the pockets, health and
liycs OF citizens.
When we employ Il person to in
struct our children in our public
schools, we require Il certificate of
ability and OF good moral character,
anJ the state provides a method in
wa.ch such certificates NAV be OBJ
tanned. Ii a man desires to enter
upon the profession OF law, where,
ordinarily, only the property interests
al The litigants are involved, we re-
quire that he shall either hold a di-
roma from the law department of
our university, or else Shall pass an
examination before court Of COM
petcnt jurisdiction, and obtain there
from certificate that he is of GOOD
moral character, and possesses suffi-
Gent legal learning and ability to per-
form the duties of his chosen profess
sion.
But when we approach the profes
sion of medicine, where the health and
lives of citizens are at stake, we find
That, hitherto, no safeguard has been
thrown around it, but our people
have been left wholly at the mercy
Il