Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-15
DOCTORS REPUDIATE HOWELL
Had His Promise to Support Measure
Which He Violated.
TIRE OF PoPoCRATlc DOUBLE DEALING
Members OF the Omaha Medical So
ciety Declare I'm Favor of the
Election of Moores and the
Entire Republican Ticket.

The troubles OF the Howell -Yelser com.
bne continue to multiply and every day O
new obstruction or two appears to hinder
their progress toward the stalls that they
had picked out for themselves at the munic.
ipal crib Now another act of treachery and
double dealing on the part of the gamblers
candidate for mayor has reacted on himself
and promises to still further swell the my
jority of his opponent. The Omaha Medical
society. the membership of which is COM
posed Of nearly 100 physicians of the regular
school, has gone on the political warpath and
Its members propose to use their best efforts
to defeat Howell and his confederates This
Is the result OF Howell's action in breaking
faith with the society in regard to the edu-
casional bill urged on the legislature by the
regular physicians of tho state. The men,
bers or the society have laid political pref
erences aside and are unit In opposition to
man whose word they know cannot be de-
pended upon.
The history of the matter dates back to
the las campaign when Howell was a can
didate for state senator For a long time
past, the better class of physicians have
been demanding a law that would provide
that all practitioners must pass a regular
examination in order to be eligible to prac
tice in the state. They contended that so
long as diploma from a medical college
was the only requirement, the bars were let
down to quacks of every description. Any
one could procure a diploma of some sort
and when an alleged physician turned UP
with diploma issued by some unknown
college a thousand miles away it was inn
possible to prevent him from practcing,
although he might not be able to tell small
pox from the barber's itch. The members
of the Omaha Medical society made this an
issue last fall. Howell and Ransom made
an agreement with them in black and white
to support any reasonable educational
measure that they might recommend. The
bill was introduced in the senate. 1t pro-
vided for a state examining board to be
composed of three physicians of the regu-
lar school, three homeopaths and three eclec-
tics. Each of the three sections of the
committee was to examine all applicants of
that particular school and in order that
the integrity of the examinations might be
assured the papers in each case were to be
placed on record in the Office of the super
intendent of instruction.
TURNED AGAINST THE BILL.
The bill passed to it's third reading and
then Howell and Ransom repudiated their
agreement with the Omaha physicians and
made desperate fight against the bill.
The result was the defeat of the proposed
legislation and the outspoken indignation of
the members of the society who had OBJ
Since Howell became a candidate for mayor
his action in the legislature has been sew
eral times informally discussed by the physi-
clans and at the meeting of the society at
the Commercial club Tuesday night the matter
was formally taken up. There was a large
attendance and Howel's course was dis
cussed with much indignation. Several of
the members present are enthusiastic dem
ocrats, but they declared that a man whose
pledges were so easily broken was not fit for
mayor of Omaha and that they would work
and vote for Frank e. Moores. This was
the unanimous sentiment of the society and
the question of passing a set of resolutions
that sentiment, was seriously con-
sidered. 1t was urged, however, that this
might not be policy for the society and that
a better course would be to have thorough
that every member of the So
ciety was to go out among his friends and
make a quiet but determined effort to turn
Howell down. This idea was unanimously
endorsed and the members of the society de-
clare that it will be carried out to the
letter.
Another source of sleepessness for the
fusion managers is the fact that many in
fiuental democrats have refused to endorse
Howell and have more or less openly de-
cared their intention to vote for Moores
One of these is Judge A. N. FERGUSON re-
Gently of the district bench. 1t is stated on
authority of his intimate friends that Judge
Ferguson has repudated the mongrel ticket
and that his influence will be exerted in
favor of Mr. Moores.
Judge Ferguson himself declined to dis
cuss the matter for publication. He stated
that he had many friends among the demo-
Gratis and that he did not wish to go pub