The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-04

The effort to regulate the practice of
medicine in this state by law has been the
fruitful source of public annoyance. In
one form or another it has intruded itself
upon public attention for two years
past; and it would appear from the follow
ing letter that We are still not done with
it. The whole matter has grown out of
the efforts Of the allopathic school, which
arrogates to itself the title Of regular to
set MP its own standards of profess
sional decorum as the law of the
state governing medical practice, and to
secure its administration by . commission
from its own ranks. Such a measure was
actually worked through the legislature .
year ago, but its manifest injus-
tice to the partisans of other
medical systems secured its defeat by
executive veto. BY persistent effort q
substitute measure was gotten through the
legislature and this was permitted to be-
como law. This law provides for the ex-
animation of any person desiring to enter
the practice Of medicine in this state, IS to
his or her professional qualifications, by
commission Of nine physicians, the men,
bcrs Of this commission to be designated
by the governor.
As members of the state medical board
thus created Governor Ferry appointed
four allopathic school men, three homeo-
pathic, one Eclectic and one Physio-medi-
cal. 1t was designed to be, and was in
fact, . representative arrangement, each
medical system having representation in
some general proportion to the number of
its partisans, and no one having abb
solute control. But this manifestly
fair arrangement was bitterly denounced
by the self-styled regulars who
demanded that their school, as the largest
and admittedly most popular, should have
majority Of the board and thus be per-
mitted to control its policy. Governor
Ferry was firm and the angry doctors had
to soothe their wounded professional spir-
its as best they could.
But it appears that they have not given
up the effort to control the board. The
official term Of DR.. Minkler, member of
the commission representing one of the
irregular" systems, is about to expire and
as the following letter shows, there is an
effort making to secure the appointment,
before Governor Ferry's return, of a Greg
ular" in his place. The letter which has
been furnished for publication is as fol-
lows:
| FAIRHAvEN, WASH, March Is, 1891.
| Lewis County Medical Society, Centralia,
Wash.-Dcdr Doctors: ! received card some
| time ago from your secretary regarding the APP
| pointment Of some physician IN the place of J.
d. Minkler on the state medical board did not
sign II, ~ was waiting to see the governor my
| self, having known him before. Today called
| on him at this place and find he is Just as much
| opposed to him (dinkler) as we arc and he as
| sured me today If We would take any step in the
| matter he would gladly put in some regular NJ.
| d. Now IL the time to work this thing through.
Find inclosed one our blanks filed out. Send
1t, with all the others to him ct once or If you
care to do so, send them to me, and will pre-
| sent them to him while he is here will have
| every member Of the Whatcom County Med So
ciety's name on the list He is partial to the
regulars, and 1t is our time to get the majority
on the board and this will make 1t il he let's
Minkler out. II is well that we do this quietly
or 1t may set wire-puiling to put in some irregu-
lar. hope you will not misunderstood me- I
have written this very hurriedly, and it sounds
like either candidate or enthusiast. You
| may call me the latter but not the first Should
4 te upkOiut auy ouc from tDlS county IL would be
DIR. J. Il. Hathaway, an old schoolmate of his,
who is now practicing in this place aud regu-
| lar, and in every way gentleman and a scholar
Yours very truly, c. p THOMAS, NJ. D.,
Formerly of Wilbur, Wash.
This letter is of piece with the meth
DDS which from the beginning have cher
acterized the efforts of certain self-styled
regulars" to purify" the medical profess
sion in this state. 1t was conceived in sell
fishness and it has been pursued in spirit
and by methods which, as the above letter
shows, are underhanded and shameful to
the last degree. incidentally the letter
sheds some light upon the manner in
which the executive chair of the state is
now being filed.
1t is only fair to add that by no means
all the allopathic physicians of Washington
lend their support to the effort to set up
| little medical ring in this state.