Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-09-02
Osteopathy and the State Board Of
Health.

state board of health, in regard to issu
ing certificates to applicants OF the new
school of Osteopathy to practice i'm this
state. Since then we have received the
following communication from DR. Wood,
which is self ex planetary:
EDITOR CHRONICLE.
Osteopaths have become 80 accustom-
ed to persecution at the hands of drug
doctors, that the item which appeared
IN last weeks CHRONICLE, in regard to
the refusal of the three drug doctors
who comprise the South Dakota Board
OF Health to grant them certificates was
not a surprise. hwithstandiDg the
fact that law was passed at the last
session of our legislature providing that
the Board of Health grant licenses to
legal holders of diplomas from legally
incorporated and regularly conducted
schools of Osteopathy of good repute as
such, notwithstanding that their duty
was clear, we were prepared for their
|, fiat refusal to do so. The same condi
tibii vi CAlolSu III 1O"d' "A
liar law was passed and the board (who
had fought 1t desperately, by fair means
and FOUL refused to grant the licenses
and giving as their reason that no
schools of Osteopathy were regularly
conducted" or of good repute" in their
opinion.
So the M. DIS. of the South Dakota
Board, finding that they could not him
der the passage of the law, decided to
fall into the foot steps of their Iowa
brethren and refuse to grant certificates
in this state for the same reason. In
Iowa mandamus proceedings have been
instituted and they will no doubt be
compelled to grant them as provided by
law.
The item of last week was most in
geniously worded and was aimed to
throw discredit upon every Osteopath
in the state ny insinuating that they
came from irregular" schools Of "bad
repute." The item was furnished to the
Associated press by the Board of Health.
One would naturally suppose from
reading it that only the two schools
mentioned were irregular" and Of
'bad repute" and that graduates of other
schools had been given certificates.
Now as matter of fact graduates of no
other schools had applications on file.
These two schools are the oldest and
largest and so far as l know the only
ones represented in this state.
And just word now, as TO the "regu-
larity" and good repute" of one of
these. The American school of Osteo-
pathy at KirksvilIe, Missouri, of which
I am graduate, was founded by DR.. A.
T. Still, and is presided over by him.
He is the founder of the science Of
Osteopathy and one Of the greatest
thinkers of the 10Th century. This
school is recognized and named as the
standard of Osteopathic schools by the
statutes of the state Of Vermont, Mo-,
North Dakota, Michigan and Tennessee.
1t has remained for these learned gen.
temen to find that it is irregular" etc.
l received the full report Of their ac
ton the other day and 1T is certainly a
most amusing document. According to
1t our school is irregular in just two re-
spects. The first is that it did not re-
quire of its students rs condition Of
admission certificate of good moral
character, signed by two physicians.
Now the school does require ''credit-
able certificate of good moral character"
Before these sages had spoken we were
not aware that physicians were the only
qualified judges of moral character. The
spectacle of three M. DIS. sitting and
gravely asserting that Osteopathic stud
ents must get their moral character
certified to by M. DIS. is certainly a
novel one.
Of course it is ridiculous but 1t is also
unjust. Suppose man lived in town
where there was but one drug doctor
and knew but that one. He certainly
could not get two to sign his certificate.
And then if that one was as prejudiced
as some l have known, he would not
sign certificate of moral character for
T. Dewitt Talmage if he wanted to
study Osteopathy. The other particu
lar is that school is irregular unless it
requires ola student before he can en-
ter. knowledge of Latin. Of course
these are mere petty pretexts, and
when the matter is tested the board will
be compelled to grant certificates as re-.
quired by law.
Osteopathy is better known in Iowa
and the newspapers are outspoken in
resenting the outrage. The following is
from the Burlington Hawkeye:
And where is Iowa going to stand in
the contest for the maintenance of the
rights of the public? Last winter the
Iowa general assembly enacted a law
granting Osteopaths the right to prac
tice their profession in this state, and
emitting the graduates Of their colleges
certain privileges granted those OF other
medical colleges. But now comes the
Iowa state board of health, in which
body the Osteopaths have no represen.
tation, and coolly nullIfies and sets aside
the law. The board declines to issue
certificates to osteopathic physicians
assigning reasons which are clothed In
a verbiage not easily coniprehended by
the public which are utterly indefen.
sible, and in defiance of the law making
power of the state. The action of the
medical board is not amazing but it is
outrageous and is destined to create q
storm of indignation throughout the
state as it becomes better known and
understood There is one consolation,