The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-12-29
DR.. ThurSton Tells of the Meet
ing of First District Med
icaI Association.
WAS HELD AT MUNCIE
FREE USE OF KNIFE WAS NOT
COMMENDED AND ESPECIALLY
WAS 1T FOUND OBJECTION
ABLE IN MANY CASES OF AP-
PENDICITIS.

Dr. J. NJ. Thurston of this city. as
chairman of the Press Committee of
the First District Medical Associa-
ton, has submitted the following re-
port of the Associations recent
meeting which was held at Muncie:
"A meeting of the First District
Medical Association was held at the
Delaware Hotel, Muncie, Dec. 26,
1906. This Association may be prop
erly called dissenters from the es.
tablished church of medicine. The
discussions were spirited though har
monious. The broad and liberal
views of the various members made
it apparent that these men are no
narrow minded fanatics, but make a
candid comprehensive view of the
discussed as furnished by the pro-
gram, showed that they were not only
unusually we'll up in diagnosing dis
ease but the methods of treatment
encompassed every known method. Of
treating the sick, including diet and
hygiene to which they seem to give
special attention.
For instance, appendicitis, when
should it be operated upon,' while it
was held necessary in some cases
that the knife be used, yet it was
shown in the relation of the expert
ence of the various members that
more cases got well who were not OPP
Grated upon than that were, yet this
fact is no criterion that in many
cases the knife is not the very best
thing. 1t was the general opinion
that the objective conditions of each
individual case must be the only
guide to the careful conscientious
physician, that the symptoms were as
rule misleading unless interpreted
Alright in their relation with the &C
tual conditions: and especially any
arbitrary signs and symptoms fire.
quently given SO much significance
by the books. The motto of this As
ISOLATION is: Advanced medical edu-
cation along the lines of a higher
and more sacred regard for the vital
integrity of the living body, and the
sanative treatment of the sick
While it was the general belief of
the Association that the State should
exercise the very strictest censor
ship over medical education and re-
quire the highest standard of scien-
tific and practical efficiency in the
treatment of the sick and that our
common schools, high schools, cole
ges, literary and scientific unlverslt-
les combined afforded the prospec-
tive student of medicine ample requi-
site foundation for his professional
training; and in as much as medicine
directly involves an unknown and I'M
movable problem that of the es-
sence of life itself; seeing that we are
material and the life-entity is imma-
terial, it is simply a physical impos-
sibility for human knowledge to faith
ON the problem of life-entity SO that
medicine has to do with the pheno-
mena of life only, that is the physi
cal manifestations of life as observ-
ed and studied in the living material
body; and to this problem being re-
vealed to man through Gods Holy
Temple, the living body. and thus
made movable, the science OF med
icine should occupy itself entirely,
and not attempt to fuse with liter
allure, the physical and mechanical
sciences. Universities should circu-
larize only as such, and medical col |
lges should keep strictly within their
provence, having quite enough to oc-
cupy themselves with the proper
treatment of the sick the natural his |
tory of disease, and effective santa |
ton.
The unanimity with it was agreed |
that any and all reputable means and |
methods of combating disease |
should be admissible to the general |
practice of medicine no matter what |
or where its origin, evidenced an era /
of broadness and liberality not usual |
with medical societies.
THE PRESS COMMITTEE