The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-08-20

It can be safely said that there ia
10 calling in life, not excepting the
in which so much hard
work is done and so much valuable
service rendered without compensa-
ton, or the hope or expectation of
any, as in the medical. Let the
ravages of war, the devastating
sweep Of the elements, or the visi-
tations of deadly pestilence, scourge |
any community in the civilized
world, and straightway at the first
call for help, physicians and sur
geons will be found fastening from
every direction, at the sacrifice of
their business and private interests,
and the imminent peril of their
lives, to render to the sufferers
every service in their power. Long
indeed is the roll of those who in
many lands have given not only
their time but their lives in such
service, and many would be the
volumes needed to adequately re-
cord the labors and sacrifices of
these martyrs of humanity.
Not to pursue this line of argu-
ment further, we will quote the fol
lowing passage from the commit
tees report. 1t is the very next
paragraph following the one al
ready quoted, and seems to furnish
very good answer to the recon-
mendation the committee had just
made.
Your committee have further to state
that We have obtained assurances from
the Board of Health: l That complaints
bearing upon the conduct or services OF
Government physicians will be prompt
ly Investigated and any physician against
| whom complaints of misconduct or neg
| lect of duty are substantiated will be
| forthwith dismissed ;and,2, that all Gov
| eminent physicians will be instructed to
make detailed quarterly returns OF cases
attended and of the general health oil
their respective districts.
1t may not be amlss to suggest
that the members of the medical
profession are, as rule. at least as
| brOad-minded. as fair minded, and
as intelligent as the average of peo-
pie. If a medical man acting as
President of the Board, is likely to
be so biased by class feeling as to
be incapable of doing justice in
matters where, to use the commit.
tees own words, ''the interest Of
the physician and the public inter
est happen to be DIVERSE" is it moi
quite as likely that lsyman, one
of "the people" will be as much
biased in another way, and that
too, with a strong presumption
that he will not be as well fitteC
by education and mental discipline
to rise superior to either inherent
narrowness or class prejudice.
If the contention of the commit
tee is sound in this case, the same
rule should be applicable to Other
branches of the public service
Thus the Superintendent of Public
Works ought not to be an engineer
or practical mechanic, because hi
has constantly to supervise the
operations of people of those call
ings in their dealings with thu
Government, and would be likely
to favor those in his own line o
business rather than regard the in
terests of the people, or of thu
Government which is their agen
and representative. In the SAINT
way the Surveyor General ough
not to be a surveyor, for fear h
may favor surveyors at the ex
pense of the public they are paiC
to serve, and the Attorney Genera
ought not to be a lawyer, becaus
he has the power to employ othe
lawyers when necessary, and nigh
connive at their bringing in yer.
large bills and rendering yer,
small service. We think sucl
things have happened, even il
Honolulu, yet no member of tn
Legislature proposes to couple tn
appropriation for the salary of At
torney- General with the provis'
that the incumbent shall not be
lawyer. What special influence
may have been operative in leading
the committee to the conclusion
they have announced, is more thar
we can say, but we are not We
prepared to believe that a majority
of the Legislative Assembly will
endorse so unreasonable and unten
able proposition.
The committee seem to have hat
their attention so intently tixeC
upon one particular point as t
have entirely lost sight of the fac
that the supervision of the distric