Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1892-12-15
Everybody's Medical Duty.

The following from the Ameri-
can Practitioner and Neaos, very
justly and clearly pictures the
situation and character of a ply
sican's life, "Herodotus tells us
that the Baby ylonians had physis
clans, that when anyone was sick
he Was carried into the streets and
placed where the greatest number
OF passereby could see him; everye
body was bound to stop and cons
slider the case. and if an individual
passed who had suffered in what
seemed to him a similar manner,
he WAS compel ed to explain the
method of his cure. There is no
necessity for this sort of thing now,
although large section of the
public enjoys nothing more than
suggesting remedies for all sorts of
complaints, and dabbling generals
ly in little physic. But there
never was a time in the history Of
civilization when there was greater
need that everybody should re-
cognize the fact that he owes a
medical duty to his neighbor which
he Is bound to perform. DR..
George Gould recently delivered
an address in Philadelphia on the
subject Every bodf's Medical
Duty in the course of which he
bitterly complained of the way in
which the public at large leaves
the medical profession to struggle
under it's Atantean world of de-
puted responsibility. The in
difference, the want of sympathy,
to say nohing of the actual OPP
position experienced by those
whose work its is to contend
against disease is as discouraging
to our profession as it is disgrace
ful to our age of sicence. There
never was "a body of men animated
by spirit of devotion and self
sacrifice such as characterizes the
medical practitioners of the age.
How is this devotion and selfsac>
rifice recognized! The quacks,
the charlatans. and the knaves
make fortunes, while the educated
and conscientious practitioners are
expected to do large amount OF
work for nothing. Up to now the
worn Of the physician has been
the cure OF sick persons. Now it
has largely become the prevention
CT sickness. Patients will cosoper-
ate more or less in the work of be-
ing healed of their diseases, and
are not wholly ungrateful to the
healer, but those who are in daily
danger Of becoming patients will
do little or nothing to assist the
men who are fighting to keep dis
ease from Their doors. They laugh
at bacteria and mock at microbes;
carry tie germs OF disease in their
clothes from house to house; sweep
up the dust of the streets in their
trailing skirts; take little or no
pains to disinfect the excreta from
such infectious cases as occur in
their own homes; oppose with all
their influence the erection of hos
pitfalls for infectious diseases in
their mist, careless as to what be-
comes Of the patients so long as
they pass not by their own doors;
impede the efforts of medical eff
Gers of health and inspectors OF
meat aud o+ter food to improve
the hygienic condition ofour towns
and the quality of food we con-
sumo; disregard the authoritative
condemnation of the corset, and
in multitude of ways help to
make the work of tho modern ply.
sician as hard as possible. Chaldea
and Babylon could have taught us
this. at least, that everybody is
bound to help the State to the ut
most of his power in the battle
against disease and death" ."-Char
lotte Medacal Journal.