Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-11

esty and public welfare" this delectable
newspaper quack refers to our article as
follows:
After casting a doubt on the justice OF
Furnishing the arch uuack Veno. there
follows almost a column in justification
of quackery II Charlatanism, slurs on
the honesty and ability of the local prac-
titioners. learned criticisms on the pro-
gress of medicine, the materials used and
the proper attitude of the physician to-
ward his patient.
The foregoing tissue of misrepresenta-
lions would come with a grace from
the most unpretentious of newspaper
men, to say nothing of the wretched bad
taste which it implies on the part of one
who is. in a professional way. the pur-
veyor of good principles among men. Not
willing to impute to it's weekly contem-
! porary ignorance of the English tongue.
or the recognized forms of speech, the
Inter Mountain is compelled to attribute
the ~falsehoods in the foregoing excerpt
| to design.
The article referred to did not question
| the justice of Furnishing the fakir Neno,
but suggested hat he should have been
| punished for the crime he committed
not for a crime he did not commit. That
Others took a similar view is evidenced
by the fact tina when the supreme court
sent the case back for retrial the charge
of grand larceny against Veno was dis
,,,;rcaj ,VI ~, ;,,>,,,o+ar v,-,c ,l1nuroJ ~
so his way in peace. He practically es-
capped the punishment justly his due, on
account of the effort that was made to
inflict upon him the penalties of a crime
which he did not ommit.
The statement that the Inter Mountain
published almost a column in justifica-
ton of quackery and Guardianship" and
"slurs on the honesty and ability of the
local practitioners is a lie, pure and
simple. 1t would be an objectionable
breach of propriety to designate it by any
milder term. This paper neither at
tempted to justify quackery m Charla-
tanisln. on the one hand, nor did it cast
any slurs on local practitioners, on the
other hand. No reputable physician so
regarded the article in question, for it
was clearly in the interest of those who
have a moral right to be in a profession
SO closely related to the welfare of man.
But it condemned the quack, whether he
was found embodied in a stationary or an
itinerant doctor, and recognized the pos
sibility of finding an educated physician
on the road and an ignorant one behind a
shingle.
Quackery is not a geographical ques-
ton, by any means, and the man who
thinks the impelling motive of a travelling
doctor is necessarily professional ignor-
ance, rather than greed and avarice,
writes himself down a ass. On this
point the Inter Mountain said:
There are undoubtedly many instances
wherein the travelling doctor is as highly
educated in his profession as the average
local physician, but takes the o be-
cause there is more money to be made in
thai way. AS a rule, however, it is fair
to assume that whatever may be the per-
sonal qualifications Of the travelling doc.
tor, he is less liable to conscientiOusly
perform his duties and give value re.
ceiyed for the non paid him than il
the local physician whose reputation il
the community is at stake.
Quackery and C%harlatanism should be
condemned by all good citizens, whether
it is found in the travelling fakir. who
dopes his victim with medicines that are
Y-nct11acc nv yyorco mr. in tho ooooc;,po1
boor who may do the same thing behind
the protective influences of a purely loca
practice. In a choice of deaths the suf-
ferer from an incurable chronic disorder
may sometimes unfortunately choose
that inflicted by the travelling fakir, rath.
er than the perhaps more desirable an6
popular form prescribed by some station,
airy practitioner who may lack the goot
judgment, the ability and the honesty
usually enjoyed by the members of thu
medical profession.
But quackery and Charlatanism ar.
relative terms which should be used will
no small degree of caution. Every intel
ligent man knows that had some of tn,
approved medical practices Of the presen
day been introduced ten or fifteen year
ago, the cry Of uuackery and Charlatan'
ism would have been raised against them
The unsettled condition of many of thu
more prominent problems in the science
Of medicine make 1t reasonably certain
that some Of the purely experimental
propositions Of today ia meet the un,
qualified approval of the best minds il