The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-17
NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH

Recent dispatches from Washington
state that efforts are to be made at
the coming session of congress to Sc
cure the passage Of Senator Ovens
senate bill or some similar measure
providing for a national department,
or an Independent bureau, of health.
THE Journal Of the American Medical
Association, in recent issue, calls
attention to few errors into which,
apparently, some persons and organ
izations have fallen regarding this
proposed department of health, and
makes the following statement regard
ling the attitude Of the american
Medical Association on this question:
The American Medical Association
is not a medical trust To intelli-
gent and thinking people, such state
ment is not necessary. 1t is ma
tional professional organization of
scientific men, endeavoring to be of
service to the people and to elevate
the standard of medicine. It could
not establish monopoly" of heal
ing II 1t desired to do SO, and it
would not If it could. 1t would limit
the right to care for the sick to those
who have sufficient knowledge of the
human body to assume such a re-
sponsibility with safety to the patient
and the public. And in this aim 1t
should have the support of all right
thinking peoples A national depart
ment of health would exist for the
study and prevention of human dis
eases, and not for the treatment of in
dividual patients. Many sincere but
misinformed persons have opposed
such action on the part of the federal
government because they have not
distinguished between disease and the
person afflicted with the disease A
national department of health would
: study diseases, their cause, method of
] transmission and prevention, just as
. the department of agriculture inves-
tigates seed, soils, crops and animal
and vegetable diseases. 1t would have
! no more authority over the individual
Q invalid than the department of agri
g culture now has over the Individual
r farmer. One of the favorite argu
ments made against a national de
8 partment of health is that it would
a establish state school of medicine
: and would limit the practice of med
:. icine to certain class. This argu
. ment, of course, Is absurd. The estab
7 lishment of a department of agricul
q ture has not resulted in state schoo
l. of agriculture, nor has the establish
ment of department of commerce
If and labor brought about state schoo
\, of business or labor Furthermore
: every competent lawyer knows tina
: the regulation and restriction OF thu
e practice of medicine. like that of an.
T. other profession, or calling, is a func
IS ton of the individual state and not o
e. the national government Congress
ID has no right to say, and could not say
m who shall or shall not practice med
:, icine In Illinois or New York or Cal
: fornia Each state must settle thi
question as it sees At. The America
}, Medical Association is not responsible
lie Tor the bills recently introduced int
le the senate: they were prepared b
le Senator Owen, on his own initiative
IS The Americal Medical Association
. naturally In favor OF such bill an
= will do all in its power to secure 1t
passage, but the credit of originatin
ir IL is due to Senator Owen The Anne
ts lean Medical Association has urge
is such legislation for over twent
IN years. It will continue to urge it an
10 to do everything il can 70 secure
- now and in the future. until congres
:. shows the same regard and gives tn
10 eame care to human life that it no
~ gives to animal welfare, to crops an
70 produce, to banks and business col