Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-11-17
AMICK'S THEORY.
How 1t Conf cts with Some Received
Opinions.

How 1t Conn cts With Some Received
Opinions.
When the Cincinnati Post undertook,
over a year ago, to examine into the
causes of tuberculosis and the methods
which had been advanced for its cure,
the idea was To so thoroughly sift and
test alleged cures that their merits
should finally be settled to the salts
faction of the public.
DIR. w. X. Amick had just announced
that consumption could be cured by
the use of a new method, which he
proposed TO introduce. Other doctors
in considerable numbers derided the
idea that anything more efficient than
old school treatment with cod liver oil,
creosote and the various hypophos-
phites could be devised, and some of
them entered the newspapers and
medical journals to say SO in brusque
English. Others again, who were not
so confident that the acme of medical
science had been reached, were disposed
to await test of Amick's method be-
fore giving their opinions.
1t was at this stage of the proceed
ings that The Post conceived the idea
of selecting test cases of consumption,
and also one or two of asthma for
Amick TO treat, the doctor having
declared that his formula was equally
effective in asthmatic troubles. The
plan for the test, as laid down by The
Post and accepted finally by Amick,
was to advertise for persons who were
badly effected with tuberculosis and
had passed beyond the initial stage and
would therefore be past the assist
ance of such treatment as could be
s.sr h. h. gta IL 81 IL
day.
ceeded in curing the test patients he
should be given full and free credit
for the same and that il he failed the
treatment should receive merited con-
demnation. Full reports of the pro-
gress of the tests were to be published
frequently until the end of the under
taking and the patients either died or
got we'll. Acting on this plan The
Post advertised for patients and secured
several, including one of chronic
asthma of 81 years standing and others
of consumption which had progressed
into the third stage. The treatment
of all the cases was persistently car
ried on for over six months. The pro-
gress of the test was duly chronicled
and became familiar to all the people of
the Ohio valley and contiguous states.
Marked interest was excited and the
outcome was as anxiously awaited by
the public as by the unfortunate
patients themselves.
After the lapse of the time mentioned
the Post stated that all of the test
patients were alive and well. At the
present time one of these test patients
is living at North Bend, o., while an
other resides on West Fourth street,
Cincinnati, and is continually praising
the AmiclS cure as a final relief from
long continued trouble, and the third
who gained 80 pounds in six weeks has
become n giant in strength and lives
now on Main Street.
Just before the test of the Amiclx
cure took place, as narrated, DIR. Koch,
the celebrated German physician and
scientist had announced a cure for
tuberculosis, which, when thoroughly
tested, proved to be inefficient and the
collapse of the general expectation
which had followed Koch's announce
ment, made it difficult for Amick S
treatment to find favor.
Nevertheless a considerable number
of physicians noting the apparently
favorable progress of the tests, and
convinced by the sincerity of DIR. Amick,
by the fact that he declared himself
willing to send out free to all regular
practitioners sample outfits of his
medicines, with directions of treat
ment of test cases, concluded to expert
ment for themselves, and to this end
sent for medicines and directions.
While their test cases were progressing
in various parts of the country, other
physicians, who thought to get rid of
patients whom they could no longer
treat with any show of success, sent
the same to Amick, determined to
shift all responsibility upon him, and
perchance cause a failure of system
of treatment which would make an
unfavorable comparison with their
own.
Some of them declared that Amicl1's
refusal to make public his formula of
medicines was "a great wrong and Of
itself suggested a money-making spirit,
rather than broad and humanitarian
character.
Amick replied to these critics that
his reason for keeping the formula Sc
cret was to prevent the tinkering of
inefficient doctors, who, by adding to
or subtracting from the medicines
would acnleVe Varleu results, IN the
main disastrous, and the whole system
would, in time, be thrown into disre-
pute. 1t was a new theory of practice,
which was confronted by the opposi-
ton of old time ideas and prejudices,
and every safeguard was needed that
could be devised to keep the medicines
and method of applying them free
from innovations, until such time as
the treatment should become univer-
sally approved and accepted, when the
formulas might, without further re-
straint, be freely given to the world
DIR. Amick in the early days of his
experiments, was beset with doubts
and fears as to the final outcome, and
he was greatly troSbled over some of
the desperate cases of consumption
sent to him by other physicians for
treatment. He scarcely knew himself
the virtues of the treatment he had
originated, and trembled lest many
deaths should occur on his hands and
discredi. the treatment
But a large percentage of the third
stage cases sent to him improved Wis