The Portland daily press., 1883-06-20

will cure all forms OF liver and kidney
Diseases" and for still another that sit will
cure all diseases pucular 10 females
BY way of further illustration the following
quotation Is taken from an advertisement in
one of the prominent religious weeklies ol
New England: at "a certain nostrum) will
effectualy eradicate from the system every
faint OF scrofula, scrofulous humor, tumors
cancers, cancerous humor, erysiDelas, salt
rheum, syphilitic diseases, canker."
OF cour-e, every intelligent person knows
that such a eertlors are preposterous and utter
ly false, aud that such advertisements are
simply de cit published to defrand the
ignorant and onfiairg. 1t is we'll known that
such advertifeme gexerta a powerful influence
upon the unwary for we re d in one religious
paper that nine millions OF Jttles OF certain
medicine have been I'D in few years.
Now by what n ms ere the preteDtious
claims of "qpack medciDts" promulgated and
nursed into v3orous exi,ieDce? To an ex'
tent that Is beyoad calculation 1t Is through
tho columns OF the religious journals OF the
entire country which are supported largely by
members OF the church. IL any one will take
pails to examine they will find that such lead
ing papers az Zion's Herald, Congregatlonalist,
and many others abound IN advertisements OF
qusck medicine.
NewspaI ors like the above, are the mouth
piece Of come particular fect, or church, and
they assume TO tlke high level In whatsoeyer
things are moral, spiritual, pure and true. It is
not too much u exl ect of such pspers that
they will fofl ar publishing any thing not
true but that they will te al I'VE the suspicion
Of promoting fraudulent transactions. Yet, in
violation OF their prete1tiops, they promul-
gate advertisements OF queck mt iicines that
are lies in nearly evely rCgpSct and gotten up,
not TO do &c ID, bat - obt-'n money from the
confding, the ignorant and the poor.
Thus the church pal ers become the re. orts
OF qpacks, their misre7re- snt -tions broad
cast all over the world anu then share In the
profits Of the deception, "Tnere IS tonething
alInC i repnlsive 10 the ircongruitie3 which
The union Of religion and p-tent medicine
brings out. Can the mind . ...s silly from" helps
to prayer 10 "gipeysr bltsrs'? Can golden
thought9" rel IN their efi. ! value BY the
side Of "cAucer car. !" and 'the only genuine
to the comps ion Of orr Lord thus cheek by
jowl with Congo ball ms and South African
bloc purifiers aud cstafrb cures"
Ipesmuch as the s, 1dard religious publica-
tioDs are the "Te lrtJ and nure eerie1 OF quack-
cry" and the various churches support their
denominational papers they indirectly become
liable to the irnpat ~tion OF supporting quack-
cry.
In the teeond place II wss said "ihe best di-
rected efforts towards legislation for the eleva
tion OF rational medicine have been defeated
by men prominent In other temperance and
religious reforms"
Last winter prominent memt RS of the
Maine Medical A. citation made powerful Of
forts TO get bill p. I'd by the Legislature, the
nature of which ws3 T. elevate the practice OF
medicine.
The effect of the bill, il it he'd passed, would
have been to oml i the registration Of doctors
aud allow such orly u practice medicine as
were qualified by long ssady, thorough training
aud graduation rom a medical college OF good
Sanding. More over, it would have tended to
prot1c the ignorant confiding sufferer from the
impt itions of "queeks" and, therefore, di-
rec'ly and indirl city become a jnefit and pro-
lection to every membsr OF society.
The members of the Maine Medical Assccia-
tion urged the p. sage OF this bill in order to
elevate the standard of medical men and re--
cue the ignorsnt aud ehictod from thee who
gamble and cheat" in human mi. cry. Yet
as laudable as weis their eadelvoi3 tthe best
directed efforts towards legislation were
strenuously opposed and lefe1ted by men
prominent in tenn 5rsnDe aDd religious re-
iorms-meD, for instance, like Jushua Nye.
So much then in expla patton OF the state
ment made by DIR. w igewo ID.
Doubtless it would have IN better If DIR.
Wedgewood had reire iuS rom saying word
that could bave Ian 1nstruci int. fling at
the church, for the malot.ty OF the clergy and
church members ere u srly oppo ID qusck
cry in medical circles, End they illustrate their
sentiments by friendly end generous support
Of regularly educ-.fd medical men.
The welfare of every mem - OF the church
is more or less dependent u on The g. stand
ing of the medical prof slo7, and GU the other
hand every medt-i ms / is dependent for
moral and re s0ria = sdpi rt III on the gre-t
throDg of 2, ead upr hit Chr stan people
who make up the chuich
Thus mutt lily DEF Judent aud irseparably
related, neither rsy is > situated as to know
ingly cast any reflections ttat will bring disre-
put eur IN the other.
Me 1icsl men, &c clase, appreciate and prizs
this relation, ard, therefore, l | sleve exprc.s
the nt:men OF the Maire Medical A ocia-
tion when y that any rasfaph or re olu-
tiop, the true me- 7irg of which WI 10 stigma
tize the church, would have received merited
condemnation.
large degree, the chuich and the Christian els-
institutions throo .bout the la nd. The bounty
and protection Of Christian men and women
have been the origin aud growth Of many
medical schools and hospit Is. OF late years
the charity of the churcb, a b dy, hes taken
the direction of bulldog ID Supporting dil-
pensaries and b, spi. ls, ard now we have come
to expect Ch.issisu offeria.s and hospital
Sundays" as gal; ccs I'M.
Facts like the % have JnuCd to unily and c.
ment the relalioas of church and medicine,
and both elemen, have come friends and
brothers in the same great work of doing &C cd
to mankind. As Yet, | 9TH the church and the
medical prose-7ion are i'm, ,rfect aud, there
fore, the age deme uds that | 9TH Parties bro-d-
en- out into a wide tolerance which will over
look the defects and errors of tie few :, behold
the real usefulns and gcodne-- Of the many.
CHARLES G. r. CRANDALL.