The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-02-21


Drive all Physicians Who are Not Hold
ers of Diplomas From Medical Colleges
Out of Buslness-specisiists are the Cues
Aimed at-If 1t Pssses One vii. be
Permitted to Administer Medicine Save
Physician Holding . DipIoma-SIay
Injure Many.
There is a bill pending in the present
legislature which Is calculated TO drive
out OF business all physicians in the
state who are not holders Of diplomas
from some medical college or who have
been practicing medicine for fifteen
years. The bill is supposed to have
been gotten UP by the regular prac;i-
TONERS, who were aiming at the speci-
alists. AS il was first presented it was
p-ohibitory 10 all who had not already
been p-acticing for ten years, which
I length of time was TO have given them
certificate TO practice without dip
Iona. II seems that some OF the doctors
had been practicing for eleven and
twelve years. and as soon as this was
discovered the bill was changed from
ten to fifteen years TO all appearances 10
exclude them from practice.
Fhis state OF things has created not
little stir among some Of the specialists
Of ibis city whom the passage OF the
bill would deprive OF a means OF hvel-
hood or drive them from the state. In
one case where a specialist OF this city
treats only one disease, and that one OF
| the most virulent and necessarily fatal,
he would be compelled 10 leave the city
and state. He has patients come TO him
from all over the west and south. one
recently from Louisiana. and others
from equally distant points who come
for treatment for disease which the
ordinary practitioner has 50 far been
unable 10 more than temporarily alleviate
while ne has cured a large number per-
manently of cancer. He treats no other
ailment whatever.
Several other specialists, as we'll as
few old practicing physicians, Will be
faced with one OF three things Of the Dill
becomes law. Either they will be COM
PEELED 10 change their occupation. 10 go
| in open violation of the law or 60 10 9TH
err places. II is quite natural that they
do not care 10 do either.
| One OF the men whom this Will effect
said yesterday that ne did not see why
this measure should DE allowed 10 go
I
are a few doctors here and they are
are hardly competent to practice medi-
cine, out there is a iaw covering NAL
| practice in existence which is amply
competent To cover all cases. Nearly
every machinist. musician, artisan or
in fact any one in any certain line OF
work think the vast majority of the
Others in the same line are fools, and
| this is al, 700 true Of a great many ply
| siciaus. I have an office here in the city
and practice only as specialist. The
| other physicians are of greater or less
skill in their practice. but | claim suffi-
cient skill in my own line 10 handle the
eases which / treat. If / were not sue
| cessful in curing 1 would have no prac-
| tice. Another thing is that while this
| bill will shut off a great many of US, II
will rot in the least effect the Christian
/ Science people, whose practice is vastly
more nebulary than any other. | know
| of several cases in this city. one in par
! ticuiar, which was treated by these peo-
! pie who may believe in their theory all
right. where they treated patient with
| their peculiar cure until she had become
! 50 low that a regular practicing physi-
clan of this city who was finally called
| in. found her beyond any chance Of Pc
covery. He stated later 10 me and
! few others that had he been called soon
er he could have saved her. Now. this
is the exact state OF things. and we
specialists or whom no fault has been
found naturally deem it a great injustice
/ if this bill is allowed 20 become a law.
| This is an age Of specialties in all lines
: and no one can treat a disease when a
/ correct diagnosis is obtained as can one
who studies the one aiIment only"