Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1907-12-13
DIR. MoCORMACK's LECTURE.

conducive Of preventing much sickness II
the people who heard him will but act al
he advised. We regret that lack Of space
prevents us reproducing In full the lecture
but the object which DR.. Mccormack had
was to give the layman better insight Into
the medical profession and its purposes and
in this way educate the people to guard
against all diseases which can be prevented
by foresight and care, as is the case in the
majority OF maladies from which we suffer.
He said in part:
Macauley proposed to make the history oil
England as fascinating as the latest novel,
and did it, With such q voice and pen 1t
would be easy 10 make popular knowledge
of medicine, of how to live long and well, and
to get the most out of life, II not as entertain
ing as o novel, at least as instructive as the
best history. The trouble in the past has
been that laymen have always looked upon
medicine as one of the occult sciences. Doc
tors, their methods, and everything concern
ing them, certainly in recent years without
intention, were kept In the realm Of the
weird, the mysterious, almost the super
natural and hence they have always been
easily misrepresented and constantly misun-
derstood. This has brought 80 much disaster
upon the people that the time has come for II
to end, and with this In view intend to lift
the veil and have you see my profession just
90 it Is. In doing this, faults will be frankly
revealed Of which you have known little, re-
deemed by charities and benefactions so great
and 80 universal az will excite your wonder
and challenge your admiration, and all with
q distinct purpose In view which will appear
as proceed.
In eli my early experience with legiss-
lures and courts was constantly confronted,
even with otherwise broad, fair-minded men,
by an almost universal bias distrust or pre-
iudice as TO doctors and whatever they pro-
posed. II was soon found that this was
traceable to almost universal dissensions be-
tween local physicians Of every school and
creed, always personal and competitive, and
practically always that that particular official
had had his confidence in the profession des-
troyed by criticism Of all the others In the
community by his family physician. As a
result it was found that while each doctor
stood high In the estimation of few people,
his patrons, the profession as whole had q
low place in public esteem. study OF
medical history showed that this evil had
come down to US from the centuries, cursing
us as 1t had the clergy and all other seggre-
gated callings, but bringing more disaster to
the people than upon those primarily In
volved In it. The legal was the only one OF
the great professions which had escaped this
curse. owing mainly to the fact that lawyers
live in the aggregate, and consequently in
harmony, and for this reason they had always
been able to direct the policy Of this country {.
During last year 100000 persons died,
and 1900, 900 were sick, involving the COM
fort and material prosperity Of 100000
homes and 100000 people. Medical men
Al. hall hat AT Iaaqt 0nA-thiFd OF
this was distinctly and practically prevent
able with existing knowledge, but that this
might be extended to all diseases and the pro.
portion constantly increased by such broad
scientific research and collective inves.iga-
lion az the Federal GoveInment should be
conducting every day In every year, and for
which doctors have appealed in vain for
quarter of century. As an argument for
peace you are told that 10000 men died as
u result of battle in both armies dur ring the
civil war. As an argument for better health
laws and policies we tell you that 100, 600
people died OF tuberculosis in the United
States during the past four years, and that
at least three-quArter of q million are con-
stantly sick with It. Should not an effort be
made to prevent this disease az well as
typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever,
cholera iufantum, dysentery and the other
domestic pestilences Within the last ten
years the Department Of Agriculture has
expended over $40, 900, 900 in the investiga-
ton and LIBERALIZATION OF Texas fever in
cattle, cholera In hogs, pests In cotton, corn,
potatoes. grapes, fruit and shade trees, warn
ing farmers against frost, and other proper
and profitable activities affecting Interests
having recognized commercial value, while
medical men, as has been said, have not on ly
failed to obtain assistance Ia their unselfsh
war against pestilence affecting men, women
and children, but few In authority can even
be induced to consider the value Of such
collection and codifcation OF the facts as to
the extent and causes of such morbidity and
mortality as could be made the basis OF In
telligent action by future generations.
Your profession 10 this State and Nation
has unselhshly tried to secure legislation hay
ing these ends in view, but q large number
of legislators believed, and often did not hesi-
tate to say, that these efforts were selfish,
were not made for the good OF the people, not
stopping to consider that In 80 far as doctors
prevent sickness they diminish their own in
comes. In fact 1t has often seemed to me
that 1t wac largely because these efforts were
80 purely altruistic that they were 30 gem
orally misunderstood. Legislators found
no other vocation urging bills antagonistic
to their own interests and thoy could not I'M
derstand why medical men should do so. 1t
Is because ours 10 the most humane OF all
callinqs of men, involving daily devotion TO,
and contact with, the sick and suffering and
the duty Of saving life. II 10 for the same
reason that our profession does more actual
christian charity every day in every year
than all the other people put together. This
also explains why no person In this country
ever suffers for the want OF doctor, although
one-third OF them never paid medical bill,
and never intend to. Again, all other citi-
zens may profit by their own inventions, but
every reputable physician Is forced by his
VOWS to give suffering humanity the benefit
Of any discovery he makes without money or
price.
One-third of the people sick in this State
last year and every year, and one-third Of
those taken TO your cemeteries, were sick and
died of diseases which present knowledge
makes practically preventable. During the
year about one in ten Of your deaths were
from consumption, and you now have very
large tubercular population. II ID common
opinion that this lie an inherited disease. but
IL should be known that even If your father
and mother died Of 1t, at the worst, you can
only inherit the kind Of constitution which
makes you especially liable II exposed to 1t,
but no matter what you have inherited you
can no more have consumption without get
ting into your body the germs from pre-
yious case than you can raise corn on one of
your farms without seed. II ell the expecto-
rated matter and other infectious discharges
from every case now in your State could be
collected and destroyed until they recover
or die, and proper attention could be given
TO ventilation, open air exercise and the
nourishment Of those in any war predisposed
to it, you need never have another CASE unless
it be an imported one. You had large death
rate i-om typhoid fever, and you have thou
lands Of cases Of this disease every year.
This 10 not only preveutabls but the most
typical Of the filth diseases, for no one can
have it except by getting into their mou th
and stomach some Of the discharges from the
bowels or kidneys of some one who had
typhoid fever. This is not nice thing TO
think about, but II Is so much worse to do IL
that nice people ought TO think and plan how
to stop doing it..
As will be readily seen. this all means the