The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-25
No Controversy on Medical Progress.

To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal:
Your clever correspondent Kingsley, after
some weeks delberation, has concluded that we
are mistaken badly as to there having been any
progress in medicine in the last half century
: The mere negative of this question seemed not
wide enough for him. He pushed his painful re-
search beyond che bounds of generosity, and
comes to the conclusion that the Marion County
Medical Society is den of bowling fanfarons,
where the medical men of the city meet to gas
themselves into notoriety, and to initiate the pub
lie mind with the magnitude of their own i'm
portance; that they then go out as a gang
of hungry tax-gatherers to fleece the dupes they
have made, then leave them with the under
taker, or with empty pockets and broken con-
sttntions
We have no time, and certainly no inclination
to eontrovert question the proof of which
must be determined by the history of events
We are satisfied that the journal would not be
willing to impose upon it's readers a detail of
such matter as would be called for in such con-
troversy.
If my good friend thinks that the medical
profession has accomplished nothing because
people still get sick and die, let him so believe
and induce all others to join if he can. If he
thinks the medical profession useless,
and even detrimental to the welfare of
the people, although this is quite
disastrous consequences If he can live without
doctor pill, or powder, in the name of common
sense let him jog on sdoctorless, pll-less and
powderless to the end. If he has a great
aversion to patent medicines and nostrums,
wherein he showeth wisdom let him battle for
the abolition of their sale for they are like lot
terry tickets-a thousand chances to one of their
doing any good, and when they do, it is simply
an accident. If he had case of bad cold in
his family, and pronounced it scarlatina, or
spinal meningitis, and cured it, while nine cases
of the disease died under the treatment of the
best physicians in the city, we hope he will not
refuse to be consulted when the next epidemic
comes along.
We would not speak ironically of this gentle
man if we did not think that he does not write
just what he thinks and believes. If however,
he wishes to shoot at rs alone, we will say to
him, as John Randolph, the eccentric Virginian
said to an old country squire, who never agreed
with anyone on any subject and who consulted
an old fortu1eteller on the guilt of one of Ran
dolphs clients, who was being tried before him
on various charges of mischief committed in the
nelghborhood Among the specifications in the
indictment was that the accused would not COM
pound an itch ointment that would cure his (the
accuser'sl family Of that disease: that he had
cured all the other neighbors. Randolph would
not permit the squire to introduce the for
tune-teller's say-so evidence. which made
the squire so mad that he challenged RandoIph
TO duel. In answer Randolph replied: al
accept the challenge and being the challenged
nave tbo Cuoicc VI WodpouS cHooSe pop guns,
for the reason that the only ammunition spent
is wind and wads;" that he might mark out his
size on a door. and load and fire till he was
satisfied, and he would acknowledge that he
would have been shooting at him if he had been
there; that the itch ointment which the fortune
teller pronounced poisoned failed to cure, first,
because the family for whom it was made were
SO dirty that the ointment could not reach the
skin; secondly. because they failed to use it:
thirdly because they applied poke root which
poisoned them instead of the ointment. and.
lastly because they did not have the itch at ali
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. "a I'VE