The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-25
Mrs. Zdck P. Smith Attends Meeting ofNdtional League of MedicalFreedon1
Talks Interestingly of Work That is Being Done-Noted Men and Women From All Sections of the Country Present Representing More Than Three Hundred
 Thousand Earnest Followers
BY DOLLY DALRYMPLE

men of medicine, and the lovers of consti-
 tutional rights and individual liberty, im-
 mediately asked where would the Homeo-
 paths, the Osteopaths, the Eclectics and
 all the other new schools of healing be.
 with state medicine firmly entrenched
 with government millions back of it? You
 may be amazed to learn that in an incred-
 ibly short time the National League for Medical Freedom was conceived and organized, and became operative. People in every state were informed of conditions and were besought to get busy This state should know the incalculabe assistance to the cause of freedom and individual liberty and States Rights given at that particular moment of peril by our es- teemed and honored citizen, the late Hon. John w. Tomlinson, whose telegrams and letters were vigorous protests to the passage of the bills without full hear ing. Other prominent citizens of Ala bama were equally active and interested, and the result in our state, as in every other state in the Union, was such that thousands of telegrams poured into Wash ington, and petitions of such length fol- At"SQ 'HciH lAdl liOSS DtdllH blilS iiCNOt have passed, and we know now the pub lie is so thoroughly aroused that they never can pass.''
 Did you find much enthusiasm at the meeting In Chicago this week." d asked.
 'It was a remarkable aggregation of people," said Mrs. Smith. 'The Conven- ton was held at the Blackstone. and 27 states represented. Allopaths, Osteo- paths, Homeopaths, Eclectics, Christian Scientists and hosts of others. There were Episcopalians, and Methodists, and
 Baptists, and a representative from Utah. though he swore he was not Mor- mon. But the name of your religious sect, or medical cult was left outside the door of the assembly room We were Ieaguers' Non-Sectarian as to religion, but united for Medical Freedom. But understand clearly, please. that we are not opposed to Materia Medica; not op- posed to any particular school. but most heartily opposed to any compulsory feat ure which interferes with the liberty of any individual You know the time was when our forefathers fought for religious freedom. Today great warfare Is on for medical freedom, and the members of the League For Medical Freedom stand for the principle involved in the right of each individual to select the practitioner of his choice in the hour of sickness and need. This work for medical freedom has become a great national political issue, and at the Convention last Monday night resolutions were introduced into the con- Yention which were unanimously passed protesting against and denouncing Presi- dent Tafts Panama edict in no uncer- tain terms.''
 And how did the delegates from the southern states stand on this issue?" l asked.
 .'They knew exactly" said Mrs. Smith, what discussion of this kind of high handed paternalism meant to us, and as usual were right, but l was amused when a tall, iank, elderly man from Kansas arose, the signs of vigorous campaign conflicts suggested by his personality and every mannerism and his voice fairly shook with emotion as he spoke on the proposed resolution and said: I am d standpatter from Standpattersvile. but President Taft cant pull the wool over my eyes any longer
 This was his denunciation of the pater- nalistic tendency of. the President in his edict in the canal zone. Numbers of other prominent republicans expressed the same opinions and if members of the staiinch old republican guard thus express them selves, what do you suppose the demo- cratic members were thinking? Between you and me, if we permit the President of the United States these high handed ways over in the canal zone who can tell but that Alabama may be his next chosen field of labors?' +--
 "One of the finest men on the board of directors of the National league is pr. Lewis Pinkerton Crutcher, M. D., profess sor Of the Institute of Medicine and Ma terra Medica, Hahnemann Medical col lege of the Kansas City university" said Mrs. Smith. "Dr. Crutcher in a pleasant little chat with me did not hesitate to say that he looked to the southern states for a strong stand and protest against a federal health department, for he knew the principles for which the southern people had stood and their fidelity to con liberty and individual freedom already made them true supporters of all that the league stood for, and also for state regulation of all sanitary and health matters, as it pertains to individual states rather than for federal interference and control. I met a charming woman, too, by the way, whom l must tell you about. She is one of the directors, also of the national board-Mrs. Dfana Belais, presi-- dent of the New York -Vivisection society. Most delightful personally, and most enthusiastic over her anti-vivisec- ton labors and her address was rous- ing appeal for personal liberty and medi- cal freedom. The branch organization of the National League for Medical Free dom in Alabama is ably conducted by Dr. Percy H. Woodall, man of splendid abi- ity and fine judgement, and the officers in New York are pleased to say that some of the most effective work done in Wash- ington toward defeating the passage of the health bills is due to the work done by Alabamians."