Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1885-05-21
About Grant and Doctors.

American On. W
Public confidence in the medical art
was somewhat shaken when President
Garfield passed away, although some
physicians who then widely advertised
themselves declared that he would re-
cover. Confidence in medical judgment
is again disturbed in the case of Gener-
al Grant. To the joy of the nation he
is apparently recovering although skill
full practitioners declared that he must
shortly die.
"Who is to judge when doctors disa-
grec?' says the old adage, but in these
later days who is TO credit them when
they do agree, when our faith in their
preScicnce, and present science, is con-
tinually and so conspicuously overturn-
ed. Ii even the most eminent doctors,
in council, make strange blunders in il
lustrious eases. what chance has the OBJ
srure individual in whom the world
takes no interest in whose cure there
is no glory and possibly but little profit.
And yet for all that conscientious prac-
tiOncrS do the best they can, but the
trouble is that We expect too much of
them, and the medical art is not as po-
tent and far-rcaching rs we would like
TO believe. Still ignorant mountebanks,
wrctched vampires without pity swarm
in the cities with their infallible .remc-
dies and fatten upon the credulity and
misery Of mankind.
MADAM, said quack who had Ia
ken up the healing art without prcvi-
Gus preparation or education, and made
specially Of curing fits. 81 can't cure
your boy Of the mumps, but I'll tell you
what | can do, can give him dose
that will throw him into fits, and then
know how TO doctor him, for I'm the
old time Chief himself when it comes to
curing fits.
Is possible that there is more of
that kind Of medical practice than we
have any idea of. II the man Of drugs
knows what the malady is he may cf.
feet Il cure, but disease is often i'll dciin.
ed, and in such eases the doctor must
take the chances. In some eases il
may be as the Irish sham doctor con.
fessed. II write out he said, "a pre-.
ScriptiOn in Il vile hand, ,ot iargOn which
the apothocary can not understand. but
which he is too cunning TO send backfoI
elucidaiion. My order reads, Col. Sas
Slob, Stub, Zig. and opposite to oacl
ingredient TO denote the quantity three
snakes tails or triangle the druggist
puts up u little swcctened water, and
for once in his life does no harm.
amuSe the patient and nature perform,
the cure.
Enlightened nations laugh at the
medical art Of less advanced cOuntrie,
they hOOt at their own medical prac
ticc of no more than half Il century ago
rival medical schools or theories o
practice even now in hate of each 9th
er, inilict such wounds on each other,
SenslbliticS that not even all the re
sources Of their art can heal their in
jurcd feelings. The time will doubles,
} come when our present practice will b,
| regarded as but liitlo better than
+ quackcry. Still in all ages and in al
: countries the healing art has been hcl,
| n great ho nor--with some savage
tribes in such honor that succession
= OF failures 10 cure coniiding patients i
attended with fatal consequences TO tn,
= physicians. The aboriginal mcdicin,
4 man is not distracted by the theories o
l conflicting schools as he manufacture
l his own medicine, which indeed con
= Sists of few simple horbS and larg,
e amount of drum beating, dancing an,
I pow-wowing.
5 Should Observation-Disclosures uniform
ly bad, the doctor is sacrificed on TIN
: altar of science, for his patients will
= stand no nonsense in the practice of tn
f art. Our western Indians are continu
ally sending then doctors the way thci
deceased patients have gone-a hcav,
penalty for failure and hard on votar
les of science, but still useful hin
Il from any source however humble shoul
e not be ignorcd--wc have many unsuc
n ccsSiul doctors.
II General Grant is reported to be rap
= idly improving, and the agent re-estab
g fishing his health is said to be nothn!
l. more than clover tea.