Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-17
LICENSE 0sTE0PATHS
HEARING ON SENATE BILL BIZ.
HOUSE COMMITTEE.
Drs. Sewers, Kobsr, Bovee, Gusts,
White and Gen. Sternberg
All Oppose It.

The regular weekly meeting of the
House District committee today was de-
voted to hearing on the Senate bill to
regulate the practice of osteopathy and
| to license osteopathy physicians. Those
| who appeared in opposition to the pas
| sage Of the measure were Dr. Sewers. DIR
Geo. M Kober. Gen. Sternberg. DR.. Bovee,
DR.. Custis and DR.. VIM. A. White super
intendent Of the Government Hospital for
the Insane DR.. Sewers, who is chairman
| OF the executive committee of the Medi-
cal Society Of the District, read extracts
| from memorial of the Medical Society
protesting against the passage of the
bill.
He said II was conceded that Congress has
| right to recognize other schools of med
icine than the so-called regular. homeo-
pathic or electric systems Of practice. but
| the recognition. he thought, should be by
| general legislation that would provide for
determining the competency of any would
be practitioner whatsoever. no matter what
method of treatment he intended to follow.
1t was reasonable to suppose that any per-
son who had devoted four years or more to
the study of anatomy. physiology, chems-
try. pathology and bacteriology and to dag
nosis. obstetrics gynecology. surgery and
ALL other subjects included in the standard
curriculum Of medical colleges-omitting the
study of therapeutics as ordinarily taught
in the schools-could be trusted to follow
| his peculiar tenets with safety to the pa
tient and the general public
Machinery for Examination.
The machinery for the examination in
these branches. DR.. Sewers pointed out. al
ready exists in the board of medical super
visors and in the several boards of medical
examiners. It was only necessary to amend
| the original act by inserting a paragraph
providing that any person intending to
practice medicine otherwise than In accord
ance with the regular schools should be en-
titled to examination upon showing to the
satisfaction of the board of medical super
visors that he possesses the same quaHfica-
lions as are required Of physicians generally
desiring to practice medicine. There need be
no rear of any unfafrness on the part of
the board Of medical supervisors, Dr. Sow
ers said. as certain of it's members were by
law required to be appointed from outside
| that in order to give the adherent to the
osteopathfc system a square deal the
amendment was suggested and promptly
rejected, and he thought that this action
part OF the osteopaths. which implied dan
ger to the community in permitting men to
| practice one Of the most difficult and impos-
existing standards.
Dr. Kober said the time was coming
when hve-year course of study would be
required of medical students. The osteo-
paths had a twenty-seyen-months course
and the bill, If for no other reason than
this. should not be considered by the com
mittee. ~
Gen. sternberg didn't see how the osteo-
pathic treatment could be OF avail In in
iectlous diseases. and he did not believe
that manual manipulation could be bene-
ncial In cases of bacterial diseases
Dr. Custis. president of the board of medi-
cal supervisors and president of the homeo-
panic medical examiners. insisted that the
phi had not gone through the regular
course In the Commissioner Office and
suggested that In their report upon it the
commissioners must have been under some
hypnotic influence as the opponents of the
measure were not given a hearing He
TOOK up the bill in detail and argued at
length on each point involved.
DR.. j. Wesley Bovee, who followed DR.
GUSTS, mentioned number of diseases in
which. according to his opinion. 1t was alb
Surd to consider osteOpathy as Treatment
He hoped the members CT the COMMITTEES
had sufficient consideration for the welfare
OF the public. and for medical standard. to
Kill the bill.
Superintendent White Of the Government
Hospital for the Insane. made a logcal ar
gument against the licensing Of osteopathc
physicians. and he. too. referred to the
short course Of study in order to become a
member of that school. He said that the
osteopath practically began with the prac-
tlce of specially or, in other words that
this school had the cart before the horse.
In Favor of Measure
]. F. Tufts of the Interior Department.
whose daughter is a graduate osteopath.
and DR.. Charles Hazard Of New York were
the principal speakers in the advocacy of
the measure. 1t was brought out just about
this time that every member of the COM
mittee had received letters and petitions
favoring and condemning the bill and that
there appeared to be a great deal of in
In hray
try. DR.. Hazard said that the passage OF
this bill by Congress would result in a
great deal OF good to the profession in
every one of the states. Thirty-four states
now had laws recognizing osteopathy in
one way or another and several of them
had laws quite as comprehensive as that
proposed In the bill under consideration
Inc MEASURE was needed, he said to pro-
tect the public from incompetent FRACTION
ers Of osteopathy.
DR.. Hazard resented the suggestion of
DR.. White that the osteopaths were trying
to get in the back door of the medical nro-
fession, and he said he knew of no more
honorable thing to do than to come to Con-
gress and ask for recognition. Osteopaths
studied every science except bacterial med
tca DR.. Hazard said and used all the
standard text books in all It's departments
The course of study was quite as long as
that of any other school. and. while osteo-
paths did not believe in the theory Of mod
ern therapeutics. their knowledge on all
the allied branches of medicine was Just az
great as that Of practitioners of the mod
ern school.