The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-09-01
DOCTORS LISTEN
TO NEW GOSPEL
Mccormack Pleads Tor Harmony
and Association for
Physicians.

rum NNAAANhNN n NAANNANaNNAHN
Carrying a new gospel Of medicine TO
the physicians aud surgeons Of Homo
lulu, Or. !. NJ Mccormack, for thirty.
two years president of the Kansas state
board Of health, yesterday addressed
the Honolulu medical fraternity at a
luncheon at the University Club, initial.
ing new era Of practise and exhort.
ing the members Of the profession TO
greater harmony in their work and a
closer association among themselves for
the benefit Of practitioner and patient
alike.
In the few days that Doctor Nc
Cormack has been in the city, he has
busted himself with getting acquainted
with local conditions, and the direct.
ness of the remarks he permitted him
self on that subject yesterday after
noon, showed how thoroughly he had
done so.
~ have seen no place in the United
States" he said, "where public senti-
ment on such matters was so widespread
or where it was so emphatic in its sup
port of sanitary progress Some of the
most interesting problems to solve any
where in this country are here. Your
garbage and tenement problems are
grave and there are engineering difficult
ties to overcome.''
After exhorting the assembled doc.
tors to lend the weight of their influ-
ence to the correction of the city IS sani-
tary evils, he added, "The authorities
in this work, need the cooperation of
every doctor in the city and the support
of every citizen.''
But Doctor Mccormack saved his ad
dress on civic cleanliness and all that
entails until this evening, combining his
talk yesterday to matters strictly pro
fessional in subject but altogether gen
eral in their interest. He said, in part:
81 was trained for a business career
before / began the study of medicine
When was put in charge of this work
the campaign for cooperation among
the doctors, carried on under the aus
pieces of the American Medical Associa
toni took stock of the doctors in the
country. ] soon found out that we had
10000 licensed physicians. That was
ten years ago. Now there must
be 10000. These doctor were
graduated from schools, good, bad and
Indifferent, and 1 found that a large
percentage were a source of danger tC
those who trusted their health in theil
hands. found $4,000 who had never
subscribed to a medical journal; that
many who did not have book Oh medi
cine in their Office later than the date
of their graduation; that many who die
not have in their offices antiseptic in
struments to open even a boil.
1.-THE thought ran through my brain
God help the people who have to trust
TO these / found this percentage
in New York and Chicago, will
their great medical colleges, under the
very caves of great hospitals was larg
er than in rural districts.
~ soon found that the doctors were
not personally responsible. Many were
too poor to practise or study scientif,
medicine and could not do justice to thu
people. This is true of one-half tht
: doctors this year.
~ took trip some time ago through
Pennsylvania, one of the richest States
in the Union. / found a number of doc
tors there who were required to do al
amount of physical labor to get fooC
for their families. OF course, these hat
no time to study.
tsThat isn't true on the Pacif
Coast and in the northwest but it i
true In large parts of the more settle,
East. This is one of the great danger
of the American people. l found tina
among doctors there was such discorC
that it brought the profession into re
preach. Twothirds of them openly o
secretly backbiting has cursed our pro
fession, but this curse is rapidly disap
pearing under this movement. We nee,
effective legislation to protect the pub
lie against menaces to health ant
quackery. 1t used to be impossible t.
secure such legislation and even whel
you do the judges sometimes turn !
out because no one can say things abou
quaekery worse than the doctors sa,
about each other. / have been to m
: state legislature every year and hav
seldom missed a session of congress a
Washington. When / was president o
the state board of health ten years age
it looked as if we were going to hav
cholera in the southern States and W
/, could do little but when it got into New
York harbor it was time to secure legis
, lation.
Mr.. Arthur was then president.
. called a meeting of my board and sool
. had five hundred prominent men inter
: ested drew up bill and MI
|. Carlisle afterwards redrafted severa
sections. They then went Down an,
interviewed the senators and represen
: tatiyes and came back and said tina
, the bills could not pass because of
? prejudice against doctors that it wa
: impossible to overcome. 1t made n
difference where the representativ
came from, he was set against doctors
One said, Why, down in my State, hal
the doctors don't speak to each other.
That was an exaggeration of course, bu
the sentiment is true. The secretar
told me why the distrust Of doctor
arose. He said:
- 4 live in one of the richest an
best cities in New Jersey, where ever
man among the doctors was a good an
capable man, but If half the things m
family physician told me in confdenc
about the rest of the doctors were tru,
half of them ought to be in Jail
Doctors would 20 to church an
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