Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-24

correspondent and also to the member OF
the legislature hat the great body OF the
medical profession Is constantly and ener-
getically striving TO prevent and limit the
occurrence OF diseases and human suffering
and that every move toward medical legisla-
ton by this body OF men has for its main
object two things: First, the education OF
It's members in all branches Of science bear
ing upon the nature and cause and treat
ment Of disease, that the same may be bet
ter studied, prevented and treated; and, sec
ond, the refusal OF the state to permit the
uneducated and the charlatan, whether he be
an incompetent graduate in medicine, or a
Christian Scientist CD or an osteopath. to prey
upon the victims of disease. and through
their ignorance, run the risk of conveying
Infection. From time immemorial the de-
velopment Of the science and art of medicine
has been accomplished by the persistent
and u%ntiring efforts of the members of the
medical profession, and the degree of
progress has been the greater where the
state has backed UP those efforts by legis-
lative and financial aid.
So much is known today of the nature,
causes and preventive treatment of disease
that with requisite state aid 1t can be stated
without question that typhoid fever,
diphtheria, smallpox, cholera, yellow fever
some of the chronic diseases, such as
tuberculosis, could be very materially les
sened in their prevalence. From time i'm
memorial, too, there has been thrust into
the arena of life special fads of treating
disease, each of which has had its run upon
a gullible public, left its stamp upon bitter
experiences and passed into history. We
find today ''osteopathy." a so-called new
treatment, knocking for admission to the
same rights as the medical profession with
its centuries of accumulated investigation
and experiences. Would it be right and
just to the public to have a special law re-
gulating the practice of medicine and a
separate and different law regulating the
practice of osteopathy? The practice of
osteopathy is the practice of medicine. This
has been maintained by the courts in several
states, and why should there be separate
and distinct laws? Why not say to the
osteopath who desires to practice in this
state, 1--WE have n law having certain re-
q~uirements for the practice of medicine
which are supposed to determine the ftness
of the practitioner to diagnosticate disease,
have knowledge of it's nature and causes
and be able to guard against its spread. If
you can comply with these requirements
well and good. Come in and we care not
whether you have a special treatment or
not" All that there is of truth in osteopathy
or any other pathy belongs by right of its
being truth to the ever progressive medical
profession, and the massage and manipula-
tion movements which characterize the So
called osteopathiC treatment are daily re-
sorted to by all intelligent practitioners Of
medicine in appropriate cases.
That all disease should be treated ac-
cording to a special fad is absurd, and that
harm may and does result from osteopathic
treatment in many diseases is a truth which
is becoming apparent even to the laity. But
far and above this is the danger of per-
hitting men to engage in practice who know
practically nothing of the nature and cause
OF disease, VIII are not educated in diagnosis
and whose very acts would annul the intent
and scope of the present state law regulat-
ing the practice of medicine.
w. o. BRIDGES, NJ. D.