The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-23
THE MAYOR AND THE MEDICAL
SCHOOLS.

SCHOOLS.
The action of Mayor Taggart in consti-
tuting the Board of Health exclusively of
physicians of the regular" school is Sc
verely criticised by representatives of the
other schools. 1t is asserted by the latter
that Mayor Taggart promised before the
election that, if elected, he would recognize
the irregular schools of medicine to the
extent of giving them one appointment out
of three on the board The three irregular
schools which claim to have had this prom
Use are the homeopathic the eclectic and
the physio-medical, numbering altogether
about $50 practitioners, and, of course, a
considerable clientage among citizens So
far as the principle is concerned it does not
matter whether the mayor made the prom
Use attributed to him or not. If he did, the
irregulars have discovered what a great
many other persons have always known
full candidates for office are of little worth.
They claim to have given the mayor a
good chance to keep his word with them by
giving him list of six reputable practi-
toners, two from each of the schools above
named, three Democrats and three Repub-
licans, from whom to select one member
of the board. They only asked one place
mayor to decide which one should be rec
ognized He admits the ante-election prom
ise-rather an unusual thing, by the way,
with successful candidates-but says that
Drs. Morrison and Lockridge, allopathists.
whom he had already selected, refused to
serve If he appointed any person from
either of the irregular schools, so he ap-
pointed all regulars. This was a politician S
way of settling the matter, and perhaps the
easiest way but it is by no means certain
that it was the right way. The Journal
does not, aspire to be regarded as of the
class that rush in where angels dare not
tread-as, for instance, into the midst of a
medical quarrel-but it believes in justice
and fair play. There are about five hun
dred practicing physicians in the city, and
the three irregular" schools above named
represent about one-third OF this number.
1t is too late in the nineteenth century
to expect any person except a practitioner
of the regular school to claim or admit
that it monopolizes all the medical wisdom
and skill in the world 1t is the oldest and
numerically the strongest of any, and rep
resents a splendid aggregate of science and
learning; but there are others. 1t would
be absurd. as well as unjust, to deny that
the other schools contain many practition-
ers of excellent attainments, high personal
character and approved skill in the practice
of medicine. The hospital statistics in all
large cities prove that some of the so-called
irregular schools have fully as great sue
cess in treating diseases and effect quite as
large a per cent. of cures as do the regu-
lars. They are officially recognized in many
cities and accorded a proportionate share
of recognition in municipal patronage A
city that assumes to be cosmopolitan in
other respects should not discriminate in
favor of or against any medical school. IL
Mayor Taggart had been a brave and just
man when the regular physicians whom
he had selected for the Health Board re-
fused to serve with the irregular he
would have said, Gentlemen, regret your
decision very much, but have promised to
give the other schools one place on the
board, and 1 must do it, If you will not
serve 1 must try and find others who will"
Right then and there was a good time to
have made an issue in favor of fair play.
That is what the Governor of Missouri did,
not long ago. in appointing a state board.
and when the regulars threatened to make
war on him he dared them to do it. The
Governor had his way, and at last accounts
the regulars had not done anything to him.
Mayor Taggart has made a mistake. The
Journal has nothing to say against the
board he has appointed, but he lost an OPP
portunity to make a record in favor of fair
play and to show that he cannot be dc
tated to or coerced into making the city
government discriminate in favor of one
medical school against all others.