The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-06-21

n = bitter atthDk on q recent address
by q great educator In which he says
that a large number of the doctors
Of the country are grossly ignorant,
rushed through poor schools and wholly
unfit to be allowed to juggle with the
lives Of the people. Accompanying the
copy is u courteous letter, asking me to
join in the roast of the man who has
dared to say such things Of the needles
Of the land. | am very glad to butt in
and take a hand, though | confess to a
' wholesome awe of the fraternity from
long years of hearing all about its
ethics and other junk. Also have ob.
served a few. For example there are
about forty doctors in the Roswell
zone. Some Of them are the best that
ever came over the pike in many lines.
Som of them are really well educated.
Some of them are original in their use
of English. Recently | received u let.
ter from one of them criticising my 20.
sition | had taken. There were twenty.
one mis.spelled words in the letter. OF
course because the doctor was short on
spelling ~ was no sign that his medical
knowledge was also deficient. The same
doctor can not speak fifty words cor
rectly TO save his life, but that is NO
sign he Is not there when it comes to
surgery. Another practitioner I know
eating organs and parts OF the body in
an entirely different place in when it
is devoted to them by nature, but il
would be discourteous and a grave af.
front TO the learned profession to say
that he ought to be driving mules
rather han practicing medicine. II il
certainly possible for u doctor to be
grossly ignorant on all other matters of
information and ommon knowledge and
still be Il good physician. If you doubt
IL, take an inventory of the NJ. D's. in
your town, and frame your own conclu.
sion. There are certain narrow mind.
ed people who are certain that a man
who hash Z sense enough to know his
native tongue and have a fair stock
of general information is not fit for the
practice of medicine, but they are in
the minority. The average person is
perfectly satisfied with the deliberately
printed diploma on the wall. ana don 7
pn r Al 10 fha AnatnP hna "A haah lilo "a
cimling gourd and a profound iudif.
ference 10 matters of government and
thought. II they did away with the
medical colleges and trained the doe.
would be all right with them. That is
the class who usually land hardest on
the awful crime Of carrying Il card in
the newspaper accounts for the abiding
love of many journalists for the medical
profession. Old.timc newspaper men
take more or less all doctors ~ "a Joke,
good fellows generally, but as To class
humorous. They leave them "a their
idols, and admit that they have no right
10 any fetch that they wish 10 wor.
ship, You seldom or never hear the
newspapers c%riticise the doctors, and
that a few have sat on this subject
is merely n sign that they cant keep
out Of it, without exception, they
freely admit the narrowness of the
criticism of the doctors. What Is said
of them might he said Of several other
professions. About half the lawyers
ought TO he sent back to the honest toll
: of the farm, and changed from trouble
making parasites to useful and therefore
productive members of society. About
half of the preachers are utterly unfit
for their Jobs and should he forced "a
take hold Of the plowhandle or II shovel
Probably three.fourths Of the editors
would be much more useful to humanity
II they passed up the job of trying to
educate people who don't want 10 be
any smarter than their fathers were
and who resent it when they are shown
how ignorant they are. 1t ~ hardly
fair 10 single out the doctors for an
attack of this kind. II may he in thG
course Of time that the Requirements OF
all the professions will be raised to q
point where il will be a disgrace and
n recognized disqualification to be- ignor
ant and claim to be wise, and an abso
! lutely honorable thing to be of modest
attachments il nothing more is claimed
II is well to be consistent in the con
sideration Of such matters as this, ant
II Is certainly not consistent 10 imnpin,