The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1894-02-02
PROVO CITY. FEB. 2. 1894
THE MEDICAL IMBROGLIO.

Just at present the medical people of
this territory are having a battle royal
over the question as to who shall or
shall not be permitted to practice the
healing art within its precincts. A
previous legislature passed a very
stringent law defining who were en-
titled and who were not. Ostensibly
there was to be no discrimination for
or against any particular school of
medicine providing only that the
physician WAS a regular graduate of
some school of medicine, and was we'll
up in the tenets taught by such school,
or could satisfactorily pass the exam
ination of learned board of examina-
tion. So far so Egood, but the schools
of medicine other than the allopaths,
or regulars, claim that the board pro-
vided for by the act of the legislature,is is
filed up with "the regulars" and they
consequently, have no sort of show be-
fore such board. The eclectics, home
opaths and perhaps other schools
claim that in its decisions the board
favors the sllopaths, claim also that
there is sufficient number of the reg
ulars on the board to insure that any
regular will pass and no other school
has the ghost of chance. OF course
there is war in camp. Hot blood
courses through the veins of both the
regulars and irregulsrs, if we are Eper.
mitted to so style them; they are
angry, elimination and recrimination
is the rule. Ethics are torn to sfraz-
lins," i" and the patients are amused.
Bclectieiem wild eyed and in dead
earnest declares its rights. Homeo.
pbthy silently claims that it can
hide away its patients as
gently az allopathy and therefore should
not be Disseminated, against "Fa1th-
opsthy;" "The laying-on-of-hands-
opathY," in fact and in short every
school stands boldly to the front declar-
ing its rights, but what of the poor pat
lent, the principal party in interest?
Who is standing up for him? Who is
making sacrifices for him2
Ifone is sick and happens to prefer
the attendance of one of the off-eolored
schools, who is to say he shall not have
that kind of doctor? He suffers the
pain and pays the bill, is free man,
who shall say he may not have a phys i
clan unless the physician has a
diploma or certificate satisfactory O
the state? What business is it of the
states anyhow? 1t really matters little
If one gets his ccnge, whose hand ex.
tends it to him. 1t seems to us tha |
the good old democratic doctrine of |
personal liberty comes in here, We |
are frank to say that if we are to be
hacked at or physicked by the doctors, |
we want the best, the fellow who will |
do the job up quickest and who leaves |
the smoothest edges. But our neigh
Dor might relish the rough edge, the
"it squelcher." Far be it from us to sav
that he shall not have him. Our neigh
Dor is welcome to the same light we
claim for ourselves, that is, to take our
dose, or death, from any school of medi-
cine we please.
Our object in this article is to plead
for the bread principle of freedom,
freedom in all things, SO long as the
citizen violates no law nor iniures
any one. If physician ignor
antly commits the crime of
NAL practice, gives the wrong rem
edy, poisons one or makes mislick
with his knife and sends his poor quiv-
ering patient over the river, it it muir
der, pure and simple; let him be hung
as other murderers are, and altogether
without reference to the particular
school of medicine under which he
practices. This will soon weed out
or at least those who kill.
and those who don't kill, why let 'em
alone. We can't run this government
in the interests of any one particular
school of medicine any more than we !
can of certain make of haryesters.
plows or certain variety of turnips.
This is big free country, thank God.
Let us keep it free.