Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-11
THE NEW MEDICAL BILL
A General Expression of Opinion as to Its
Merits
Brought Out in q Public Hearing BE-
fore the Commissioners
Today.

At II o'clock this morning the Commits
sioners heard those persons who are inte,-
ested in the new medical bill as proposed by
Health Officer Woodward which has hereto
fore been published in detail in The Star.
There was quite gathering of medical
men in the board room when Commissioner
Ross called the hearing to order. DR.. Bu-
sey asked if the Commissioners had agreed
upon any bill, to which the Commissioners
replied that they had not. Then DR.. Custis,
president of the Homeopathic Society, was
recognized and said:
1--WE are confronted by three bills, the
first emanating from the Medical Society OF
the District OF Columbia and named by
physicians DR.. BuSeyS bill; the second,
the bill which had the honor to submit as
substitute for that, and the third, the Din
which is known as DIR. Woodward'S bill,
upon which we have asked hearing.
ITO analyze DR.. -Woodward's bill. he pro-
vides board Of supervisors made up OF the
presidents of the three boards OF medicai
examiners, one OF which Is called tne
board of medical examiners, and in addition
to these presidents, two other members are
to be selected. Through the newspapers we
are told that the additional members may
or may not be physicians: rms needs no
comment. If they are not physicians they
cannot be competent judges OF the Quallli-
cations of a physician II they are physi-
might be of the "old," or regular" school
of practitioners, and in that time we might
be led into temptation by having the extra
members Of our own school,
Objections Raised.
"Now, Mr.. Commissioners, the boards OF
medioa' examiners provided for by TINS
bill, it is hoped, will be composed of rep
resontative men, representing on the part
of all schools the greatest intelligence,
greatest experience, and, consequently, the
create st liberality. And yet, by the bill the
doctor proposes. those members are simply
clerks. The application for examination
must be made to the board OF supervisors,
the board to which the applicant shali ap-
ply for examination is designated by the
board of supervisors, the questions which
are to be asked of the applicant are ap-
proved by the board of supervisors, the an
Swers to the questions are subjected to a
reviewal by the board of supervisors. AS
the supervisors have all power, the boards
of medical examiners become merely clerks.
And yet this bill proposes that such eX-
aminers shall represent the best Of each
school, True, it only provides that they
shall be physicians in good standing, and.
if our friends will allow US to say it, they
there make the greatest mistake in their
bill, because we believe that the Medical
Society of the District ofSColumbia repre-
sents all that is best in the regular school
of practice. and those who are not eligible
for membership in that society, although
they may be competent to practice, are not
eligible for membership on a board of med
ical examiners which is to stand before the
|
Columbia"
"As l have said. We viii meet any of
these gentlemen IL any standard they may
raise, but we are not willing to place our
rights in their hands, whether 1t be und sr
the guisa of board of SUPERVISORS or a
composite board for the examination of can
didateS in which we are a minority. Let
each school, which has risen to the dignity
of recognition by Congress. attend to its
own affairs, long as it meets the stand
ard which you may set for ALL"
DIR. BUsey's Answer.
Dr. Busey replied briefly. He said in the
beginning that the gentleman was in err
ror in attributing the bill to him. 1t was
not DR.. Busey's bill that had been present
ed to the Commissioners, but the bill of the
Medical Society, over which he had the
honor to preside. The bill, as he stated at
the time, was really intended to represent
the abstr act opinion of the Medical Society.
He did not think for a moment that the
bill would be adopted, but the society pre-
ferred to come before the Commissioners
and Congress representing no compromise
measure until some compromise had been
agreed upon. The Medical Society of the
District was willing to give its approval
to any bill now in operation in any of the
states. What the society desired was d
medical bill which would protect the citi-
zens against charlatans and quacks That
such q bill was needed no one denied. 1t
was an absolute necessity.
He said there was practically no differ
ence in the objects of DIR. Custis and him
self, but they were going about the matter
differently. He did rot think that it was
wise provision as set forth in the bill
drawn by DR.. Custis, providing for sepa-
rate examining boards, and thought that
such a thing if embodied into a law would
not change the present conditions. Under
such section each board would have the
right to examine applicants and decide as
to their fitness. AS for him, he believed
the only direct way to select competent
men was to take them from the several
medical societies. However. there were a
number of competent men who were not
in any society, some of whom could not
get in, and he was willing to trust the
Commissioners to select the members of
the examining board, believing that they
are perfectly competent to do so.
The Commissioners promised to take the
matter under serious consideration and
report upon the bill is expected within
few days. Among those present were
Drs. Busey, w. w. johnson. Woodward,
G. Wythe Cook, Reyburn, Stone, Magru-
der, CuStiS, StearnS, PrentiSs and Sewers
NAVAL CADETS.