El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-20


the United States, and in view of the
fact that you fail to name the doctor
who treated the woman that died, peO-
pie reading your article, who are not
posted on the facts, may impute the
malpractice to any one of our best
| physicians.
If our Medical society. composed as
| it is of reputable physicians, want to
rid the community of quacks, or per-
sons who attempt to practice without
having a diploma from some accredited
medical college chartered by the state
] from whence such diploma is issued,
they can do SO by an investigation.
A medical college to be accredited
must have the full legal sanction of
the state in which it is carried on. 1t
must be chartered by the legislature of
the state or under it's authority. 1t
must be accredited by the state. A
graduate from such college, before he
can practice medicine in Texas. must
file for record with the clerk of the
district court his diploma.
Our Medical society cannot expect
the clerk of the district court to judge
of what is an accredited college, but
the records are open to inspection, and
the medical society can ascertain from
the record the name of the physician
and the college from which he claims
to be graduated. and then write to the
college and ascertain whether or not
the diploma is genuine and issued to
the person registering the same; then
write to the secretary of the state
in which the college is locat
ed. and ascertain from him if the col
lege is chartered and accredited by
such state.
The words accredited medical col
lege" in our law means that the college
is one conducted upon honest business
principles, and that will only grant di-
plomas to persons entitled thereto af-
ter a full course of study and final and
rigid examination by men or women
who are versed in their profession. and
who are previously selected for that
purpose. and that such diploma will
give to such persons receiving the same
the authority of the college, which will
render statements made by him with
reference to the treatment of diseases
credible and weighty.
If charter for a medical college is
fraudulently obtained and diplomas
are issued without due regard for the
ability of the student, and without a
due course of study; or. in other words. |
if the college is diploma MILL" such +;
college is not accredited under our law !
and it is then the duty of the Medi- /!
cal society to obtain and cause to be
published the name of every would-be .
under such diploma, Civ .
ing the reason why such college is not
accredited. Such action on the part of
the Medical society will hasten the re-
treat from our midst of quacks sooner
than any other remedy.
Your statement with reference to the
cry of persecution is correct. But if |
our Medical society will prepare itself
with facts land those are what the
people WANT, then go for the quack by
showing that he or she is neither
learned in the profession nor entitled
20 practice by reason of not being
graduated and authorized to
practice by some properly conducted
accredited medical college. they can do
/ big lot of house-cleaning, because
Is soon as it is known that the Medi-
al society is in earnest all boastful
to medical knowledge or
skill which they do not possess will
,migrate from Ell Paso and go to some
,ther place where they can impose up
IN the people until they are found to
,e sham practitioners in medicine and
lgain be made to remove.
w. B. Merchant.