The sun., 1891-11-02
an IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Secret Cures and the Pbysician's Right 70
Keep Them Secret.

From the Eev York Medical Journal
The public and the press have shown great
prominent by the behavior OF the last claimant
srds sam Which, Il tGL n
title the discoverer to rank with Jenner and
ster e one I & tGe 5 iSw % y Thoss p hns
lions Of human beings from suffering and
DEATH. even though he sins us much against
Surely; II mankind can be freed from the evils
sss BY drnk even to Of thess
@ much @ Wronedone Cd By the man at Who d discovers Ss
the means BY which the end may be attained.
.ueh as s is stained fS s se 5 The ana sop
did action the great good which his discovery
when made public;H.must do is far more i'm.
tion 9fthe medical Ea pToisssIon in yestion to
nary rules Of common sense bad no connection
with the matter; Indeed. medical ethics"
s mna 81 a ssRSp seasy
idea OF something mysterious. Incompetent
sIbs and rather s would be vel 4 ths
always ethics and etiquette is always simply
t9s practical sRRIisstSP Si the HI1dnsr
or etiauette is not different from ethics or eti.
aEette as generally Hnderstood The adjec-
The ethical questions involved in. regard to
keeping any remedy secret are perfectly sim
one sna % en te Kacs
Tor refusing to make public tho process. q
suesney precise Is ito to make max L sae for ehers
70 attempt It. There Is no moral reason why;
on those Who are vi ling and able to pay. pro:
u fhy ss
suspicious. hut i is perfectly right,
coverer. The duty Of the profession in such
case is not SO easy to define. In the first place.
remedy in question is useful must bo con-
dered apd for long petod this settles d
s Known esaraeter whose sns p9evons TS
work has proved his truthfulness-: :announces
ss nh ia M e Sa%
ever. there IS no such guarantee Of the genu;
ineness Of tho drug. tho plain duty Of medical
namely. the evidence that popular experience
may Elye; H. after years. years have elapsed It t.
harmless But 1 posvey useu Il IS IS r duy Sa
to use 1t. Most OF our knowledge 10 empirical.
nd aim 4
relief from some sort Of suffering, 1t matters
not what the drug may ma be-; i it til is known @ to be
employ 1t. Timc guarantees its value and the
1i It's ts aa " bn
IN the case Of pr: Kelley we are Obliged to
say that Att the methods % Of that gentlsman gre on
to have discovered a cure Tor the drinking
propensity. The evidence adduced to support
speet than "a attaches to the usual unsolicited
certificates Of the patent medicine man. be;
Moaeevcr ew Ts
known to have been drum nkards for a long time.
Sod oh to eSS % as
|s%se q tho Pc ssr%sncnss y, .. q the ,SSSrs:
BILE timo seems to have passed without relapse.
6s number e failures IS Of eGrss no.
cared %; seem @ to think that cure is the rule, not
the exception. We know tho ease. with which
Is bst hs this aessd
cure IL the testimony OF moro sorts and con-
ditions Of men" than have over heretofore tes-
ssssi p Kesy t. sam ssd
guilty gu OF conduct IS SO % %anprincpied. So Sc i utterly tic
s%sss: sssa ns ns.
i is Is serious responsibility Tor any man
such i'm portant results. We arc not awarc that
SSeH5tss !, dsa asS % xhseFss f may y
meanl or OF tho unknown but utaprarcn,ly n""sI-
soS otaeI q hs ssasssy b Kls
ailoGe that at some unspeciied period he dis;
trihpted an unspeciaed number y hhsfr;ans harri;as
tnames and precise number not giyenL Ihis.
II II is true. ls no excuse for his present course
Though the had sent barrel to every doc
tor in the country. unless the nature Of lts con-
tents was known or its hatmlessn.ss - Enaraatt naat
physician could use It. This is equally the
case ut the present time
In the mean time the admirers oi DR.. keeiey
should refrain from denouncing the prelu-
dics" Of medical men. No opportunity has
been afforded TO submit his pretensions 70
judgment. The responsibility for this rests
with the claimant. II his professions are lpTt
he deliberately excludes from bencht x proea6s
now ablo to obtain treatment or course. ths
dIscoverer Of o cure for drunkenness 10 W29rty
Of any amount OF pecuniary reward. nut u tn'
statement that there are seven hundred poo
pie now under treatment by the doctor nt s23
a week apiece is correct, tho income OF ~ i;hh.
week must certainly soon place the recipient
In circumstances OF comparative case.