Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1908-04-09
DR.. m'coRMAcks LECTURE
In the Methodist Church, Oxford. Mis-,
Friday Evening. April J.

tory Of England as fascinating a. m.
latest novel, and dill il. With .,.h 4,
VOICE and pen. il would be easy to make
popular knowledge of medicine. Of how
10 i've long and well, and 10 get IN.
most out of life, IL not az entrr,sinin,
as a novel, at least a. instructive as the
pest history. The trouble in the mast
mas been that laymen have alwavs looked
upon medicine as one Of the occult .ci.
ene'-' Doctors, their methods and ev.
erything concerning them. certainly in re-
cent years without intention, were kent
In the realm Of the weird. the mvster.
ious, almost the supernatural. and hsnc.
tney have always been easily mi-repre-
sented and constantly misunderstood
Ibis has brought so much disaster upon
the people that the time has come for ii
to end. and with this in view | intend
TO hft the veil and have you see my pro-
fesion Just as il is. In doing this. fault.
will be frankly revealed of which Won
have known little, redeemed by charities
and benefactions 40 great and so uni
versal as will excite your wonder and
challenge your admiration. and all with
distinct purpose in view which will ap-
pear ss | proceed.
In order to show something Of my fit
ness for this task. il may be proper to
say that for twenty nine wears / have
been member and for twenty.four wears
secretary Of the State Board of Health
and Medical Examiners Of Kentucky.
For twenty-nine years have represent
ed my profession before every session Of
the Legislature OF kentucky, and during
the same time. with delegates from other
states, have often represented il before
the national Congress. Once or twice
almost every day for FIVE years have
appeared before audiences in some part
OF THIS country to talk upon this sub
1ect, laymen discussing il freely at the
conclusion of my remarks. Going from
state to State. until have now been in
nearly all OF them. and in many Of them
from county to county, talking over
these matters with both physicians and
hymen- In this heart-to-heart way
have been able to make a study of doe
tors, of Wit they are doing, and OF
what people think of them and Of this
reform, in a way which has never been
possible to any other man before. After
years of this experience | spent some
lime in the small towns and country dis.
tricu Great Britain and the continent
of Europe, making a comparative study
of medical and health conditions and
customs there.
In all my early experience with Leg
islatures and courts | was constantly
confronted. even with otherwise broad,
fair-minded men, by an almost univer-
sal bias. distrust or prejudice as to doc
tors and whatever they proposed. Il
was soon found that this was traceable
to almost universal dissensions between
local physicians of every school and
creed. always personal and competitive.
and practically always that that particu-
lar official had had his confidence in the
profession destroyed by criticism of all
the others in the community by his fam
ily physician. As a result it was found
that while each doctor stood high in the
estimation of a few people. his patrons,
the profession a. a whole had low
place in public esteem. A study of med
ical history showed that this evil had
come down to US from the centuries,
cursing Us a. it had the clergy and all
of the other segregated callings, but
bringing more disaster to the people
than upon those primarily involved in
81. 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 con
sequently in harmony. and for this rea-
son they had always been able to direct
the policy of this country.
A few years ago my profession was
aroused 10 the enormity of this evil,
and to its baneful effects upon it and the
people. and we banded ourselves together
TO exterminate it, and probably never
before in the history Of the world did a
reform 80 sweep a profession: and now.
regardless of schools or pathies. ours Is
rapidly becoming one of the most har-
monious of the vocations. This evil has
existed 80 long. however. that il had ere
ated a public sentiment. fixed habit Of
thought with the people. which did not
disappear with the removal OF its cause.
and today, almost A. much as a genera
tion ago. there Is the widespread feeling
that We are not a practical. united body
of men, and consequently cannot be safe
ly entrusted with the administration Of
public affairs. and have faced this with
the highest legislative. executive and iu-
dicial officers at my own state capital
and at Washington year after year. even
in men of the 'roadest culture and ex-
perience and of the greatest hberality
In all other matters All the heroism Of
the profession in all OF it, history. and
in recent years in the final abolition Of
cholera and yellow fever. Il even the
fact that the three noble men who gave
their lives to accomplish the latter, who
freed large section of the country from
the annual dread of this pestilenee and
made possible the building of the Pan
anna canal, died unrewarded and now lie
in unmarked graves, has made little per-
ceptible change in this sentiment.
You will first be shown how this has
affected US as a nation. Not to speak
OF the avoidable suffering and sorrow,
the drain upon the material resources Of
the people of this country every year
from preventsble sickness and deaths and
from vicious living is almost beyond the
conception Of the finite mind. In actual
dollars and cents il j. estimated to
amount to more than the taxes paid for
all purposes During last year l 500, 900
persons died and 4 200, 900 were sick. in
volviug the comfort and material pros
perity Of 5000. 900 homes and 25,O00.0oo
people. Medical men not only believe
that at least one-third of this was dis
tinctly and practically preventable with
existing knowledge, but that this might
be extended to other diseases and the
proportion constantly increased by such
broad seientifc research and collective in
vestigation a. the Federal government
should be- conducting every day in every
year, and for which doctors have ap-
pealed in vain for a quarter of a cen
tury. As an argument for peace you are
told that 2iO.OO0 men died as a result
of battle in both armies during the civil
war. As an argument for better health
laws and policies we tell YOU that $780,
600 people died OF tuberculosis in the
United States during the past four years,
and that at least three-quarters of a
million are constantly sick OF il. Should
not an effort be made 10 prevent this
disease as well as typhoid fever, diph-