Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-05-28
THE BILL
FOR BOARD
OF HEALTH
HAS A LEAGUE ORGANIZED TO
PUSH IT'S PASSAGE AND AN
OTHER TO PREVENT IT-MAY
CAUSE LIVELY TILT IN CON-
GRESS.

Washington, May 2S.-The Owen
bill for Department of Health has
resulted in several surprises. The
Senate Committee on Health was
surprised to find crowds in favor of
the bill attending the hearings and
the advocates of the measure were
surprised and puzzled that there
should be any active opposition.
This opposition is still a mystery al
though for long time those who
have been watching affairs in Wash
ington have realized that secret in
.terests were at work "to kill the
owen bill" Those opposed to the
bill are now trying to find ways to
injure it's popularity.
The only people they could find
willing to come out publicly against
the bill, it is said, are the Christian
Scientists, Osteopaths, Eclectics.
Charles w. Miller a member of the
Iowa legislature came all the way to
Washington to oppose the bill. He
criticised the committee of One hun
dred and it's president, Prof. Irving
Fisher, for campaigning for the bill
although almost in the same breath
he is reported to have said that a
fund was being raised to make q
campaign against it. Already Sen
ator Owen has received letters from
writer's who had been offered money
''to write against the bill" The
idea was to raise the cry that it
would create a medical Trust" The
latest surprise is the appearance of
so-called National League for
Medical Freedom" which, according
to newspaper dispatches, is COM
posed of Christian Scientists, Home
opaths, Osteopaths, Eclectics, Anti
viviisectionists, and others who are
opposing the American Medical Asso-
citation in it's efforts to establish a
Department of Health"
It's president, Mr.. Flowers is a
Christian Scientist it's vice-president
is Mr.. Miller. The organization has
entered upon a costly advertising
campaign in the newspapers of the
country and through it's expresses
the fear that a Department of Health
may be created at this session Of
Congress although Mr.. Miller had a
few days before been saying that
there was no public demand for a
department.
This league and their claims 1t
seems is not being taken seriously in
Washington and people are asking
what is really behind it. Every one
knows that the Federal Government
could not, if it would, regulate the
practice of medicine. The thing
would be unconstitutional. 1t is also
well-known that the demand for a
Health Department is not confined
to regular" physicians or even to
physicians at all. In fact its chief
support has come from social work
ers, economists, labor men, the
Grange and the life insurance com
panies. One of the chief movers has
been the Committee Of One Hundred
on National Health, appointed by the
American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science.
Among the jokes going the rounds
is the fact that the Committee #
One Hundred was appointed on mo-
,tion OF a Christian Scientist who has
ever since been working hard for
National Department Of Health.
There are only a small minority of
physicians on the Committee Of One
Hundred IL is said. One of these, DR..
Richard c. Newton of Montciair, Y.
j., has been a prominent pleader for
greater liberality toward the 'Irreg-
ular" practitioners. Several Of his
papers have aimed to show that
Osteopathy has merits which should
be recognized and appropriated by
the regular" physicians. At the
Senate Hearings for the owen bill
Homeopaths and osteopaths have
favored It.
Professor Fisher, the president II
the Committee OF One Hundred, IN
his report on National Vitality which
has recently received 80 much atten-
tion. distinctly faVors increased
medical freedom. It is not likely
that he or other champions OF Dopu
lar rights who are on the Committee,
such as Judge Lindsay, John Mitch
ell, Prof John r. Commons, Byron
W. Holt, Mrs. Ballington Booth, and
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