The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-01-24
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of thought. 1t may be obJeettci!
this is expensive and cumbersome; with
equal propriety it may be said that the
recently created board to examine trained
nurses is expensive. But granted mat j.
is usually all these boards are self-sus-
taining,) this is no argument before the
greater fact that a wrong nay be done,
not only to one or more citizens OF &c
State but to a number of our people
who respect and follow their teachings.
Ii we recognize these men as practitlOn-
ers, then it is manifestly the duty OF
| the State to provide them an opportunity
of demonstrating their capabilities before
their own school, and not before men
who not only do not think with them, but
who may, sometimes l fear, 'vlew their
tiGeas with derision, and surely do not.
and cannot have that sympathy, which
should they stumble, would impel the
examiner to hold out a proper encourage
ment and comfort, and even sometimes
deserved help and compassion; the mat
| ter of the identity of the branches for
examination has very little, If any bear
| ing; / distinctly wish to say that
board of examining physicians of our
school cannot have the proper sympathy
| for a candidate of another school as
should obtain between examiner and eX-
amined Then, when these shall before
their own tribunals acquire such right to
offer such services, when they nave been
tried by their own and found not want
| ing, then let the people judge; for I
state and believe that from joint efforts
of all schools of medicine, now when its
transactions and discoveries are predica-
| ted for the most part, not upon facts eX-
| istent as was. the anatomy about which
Vesalius and Eustachius disputed, but
| upon minute Investigations, and scientific
potentalties and fine spun theories OF
the physiologic and pathologic actions OF
cellular life, the future welfare of the
medical art depends. We had better Ell
| tico men who do not think with us, if
| thereby we may CLEAN valuable sclen-
t. .fic thought rather than repel them and
| form within ourselves q medical hiera-
chy. 1t would be better, perhaps, if all
men thought as we, in what to us is
orthodox medicine, belonging neither to
one ism OF another, but willing to adopt
any method that heals; 1 believe iC tn
surest safest, straightest road, but | ain
! willing for others to think differently
and because they do, and because they ar
endowed with the same intelligence as
We and because to them their life, and
the welfare of their own is as dear to
them as is mine to me, l am willing and
wish for them true liberty of thought
and action, and am willing to endorse
any law that curtails this right. Ia they
are in error let's try to lead them backi
but who are we that we can judge them,
we who halt between two opinions every
Eday; if their faith is misplaced, who
are we that we can upbraid them; we
who for centuries upon centuries dis
puted amongst ourselves; ii their prac-
! tices are ignorant and bad, who are we
/ to correct them, who until a few short
years ago did not know the reason ter
the antidotal action of quinine in ma
laria. altho' it had been in use since its
accidental discovery by the vice-reine OF
Peru in the year 1888. The spirit for
us is one of tolerance, and not OF seem
ing persecution; of persuasion ana not
hostility, of protection to all classes, by
giving every school representation on the
examining board, if we recognize them as
practitioners of medicine; if we do moi
| then no law can maintain against them
| but, if we do, as it seems to be the case
here then it is right to the public thai
| they be hailed before board OF men
of their own medical persuasion; not {
bear OF regular physicians, but board
Of their views and ideas. Justice an(
right both ask of us that if we, to whom
the making of such laws has practically
been given over, recognize these men az
physicians-and when we seek to debal
them we make such admission-we mus
provide the same facilities for them thai
we have provided for ourselves; II We
do not so regard them they are so tar a;
| the law is concerned upon the same leYe
as is the old nanny who swaths the
! newborn babe. l yield to no one in
| high admiration for our work not only
alcng purely scientific lines, but also fol
| the efforts that have been expended IL
| providing safeguards against incompet
ence and fraud but l view with fear 70
! the army of medical workers in this
| State such enactments as will tend to
| beat down all who do not think our way
the right way. The spirit that sowed
| forth in this law smacked of injustice,
and no injustice can long survive in North
Carolina The widening and elaboration
of the former statute, which was ample
and which had been placed upon record
after great effort, and with great reluc-
tance on the part of many of our law
makers, and the strongest opposition OH
the part of some of the people, and which
had builded up an able and noble and
honorable profession. savors too much
of entrenchment and intolerance and
there pervades it an odor which marks
Us unreliant and distrustful of ourselves,
seeking to hedge ourselves with statutory
limitations and afraid of the incubation
of different ideas and practices. Not for
one moment would 1 say or believe that
such ideas were in the brains OF the
Continued on Page Three.)