The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-10-20
A NATIONAL DEPARTMENT or
HEALTH

Recent dispatches from Washington
state that efforts are to be made at
the coming session of congress to
secure the passage Of Senator
Owens senate bill or some similar
measure providing for national de-
partment, or an Independent bureau
Of health. The Journal of the Ameri-
can Medical Association, in a recent
issue. calls attention TO a few errors
into which, apparently, some persons
and organizations have fallen regard
ing this proposed department of
health, and makes the following state
ment regarding the attitude of the
American Medical Association on this
question:
The American Medical Association
is not a medical trust To intelligent
and thinking people. such a statement
lis not necessary. 1t is a national pro-
|fessional organization of scientific
men, endeavoring to be of service to
the people and to elevate the standard
Of medicine 1t could not establish
monopoly" of healing if it 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 knowl-
edge of the human body to assume such
responsibility with safety to the
patient and the public. And in this
aim it should have the support of all
! lright-thinking people. A national de-
partment of health would exist for the
study and prevention of human di-
seases, and not for the treatment of
individual patients. Many sincere but
misinformed persons have opposed
such action on the part of the federal
| government because they have not dis
/ ltinguished between disease and the
Iperson 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 investi-
gates seed, soils, crops and animal and
| vegetable diseases. 1t would have no
more authority over the individual in
valid than the department of agricul-
ture now has over the individual farm
er One of the favorite arguments
made against a national department
of health is that it would establish a
state school of medicine" and would
! limit the practice of medicine to a
certain class. This argument, of
course, is absurd The establishment
of a department of agriculture has not
resulted in a state school of agricul-
ture, nor has the establishment of a
department of commerce and labor
brought about a state school of busi-
ness or labor. Furthermore. every
competent lawyer knows that the reg
Iulation and restriction of the practice
of medicine, like that of any other pro-
fession, or calling, is a function of the
individual state and not of the national
government. Congress has no right to
say and could not say, who shall or
shall not practice medicine in Illinois
or New York or California Each state
must settle this question as it sees
fit The American Medical Association
lis not responsible for the bills recently
introduced into the senate; they were
prepared by Senator Owen on his own
initiative The American Medical AS
sociation is naturally in favor Of such
Ia bill and will do all in it's power to
secure is passage, but the credit Of
originating it is due to Senator owen.
The American Medical Association has
urged such legislation for over twenty
years. It will continue to urge It and
to do everything it can to secure il.
now and in the future, until congress
shows the same regard and gives the
same care to human life that it now
gives to animal welfare, to crops and
produce to banks and business con
Germs and to the innumerable material
interests of the people which the fed.
eral government now safeguards. The
objections urged against this measure
are either figments of the imagination,
held by sincere but misguided and
prejudiced persons, or specious and
fallacious objections raised by those
having a selfish interest in the per
petuation of existing conditions. The
misguided must be enlightened and
the selfish objeotors must be exposed.
The more discussion there is on this
important subject, the better. The
more thoroughly the plan is understood
the clearer will its advantages be seen.
and the sooner will it become a reality.