Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1911-01-20
AFTER "DIVINE HEALERS.r
TO Ask Legislature to Pass Law TO
Put Them Out of Business.

Put Them Out of Business.
War on alleged Christian healers'
may be the slogan of the ministers Of
Kansas during the present session OF
J the state legislature, and will be il
the idea of the Ministerial association
OF lola, Kan, and vicinity is carried
out. This association is getting out
circular letters to ministerial associ-
atlons over the state urging the cir
culation Of petitions asking for legis-
lation to put divine" healers out OF
business.
The Indignation of the ministers of
lola, which melted the present move
was aroused some time ago by an in
cident occurring at that place. A
young wife and mother was sick and
finally died without having any medi-
cal attention except that of a So
called divine" healer. The death was
followed by the adoption on the parr
OF the ministers of resolution which
Is made part of the circular letter
being received here, and which con-
oemns in no uncertain terms the
practice of certain quacks and fake
healers who, without proper knowl-
edge of medical science, teach and
practice in the name of religion and
science"
The circular letter in question, a
copy of which is given below. is be-
ing received by various ministers of
Topeka, and is finding a good deal of
support here. The petitions asked for
will ask the legislature to pass some
law protecting the public from the
tactics referred to and from the So
called medical practice of alleged d.
vine healers.
The circular letter, which is self
explanatory, follows:
ITO the Ministerial association of To-
peka,
Brethren:
We, the Ministerial association of
lola, Kansas, and vicinity, seek your
cooperation in bringing before the
legislature, which meets January 10
lSil' some measure looking toward
the more equitable regulation of the
practice of the healing art within our
state. A large and growing class of
'healers' and practitioners of yari-
Gus names, forms and cults, offer
their services to the sick and appeal
10 the public for patronage. They
are unlicensed and therefore ire
Sponslble so far as regulation by the
state is concerned. At the same time
they are for the most part ignorant of
that scientific knowledge which would
enable them to make intelligent dag
nosis of disease, to discover contagi-
Gus diseases, and to understand the
true limits of their ability, thus caus-
ing much needless suffering and nu-
merous 'lntimely deaths.
I'VE believe that in the interests
OF common justice and for the safe
guarding of the public health. the
laws of our state should be so amend
ed or revised as to require all who
assume to treat the sick by whatever
method to secure a license for the
same from the proper state board of
examiners after suitable examination
as to their qualifications. To this
end we solicit your cooperation.
We are prompted to this action by
the case referred to in resolutions
adopted by us, published in the lola
Daily Register December End. 1910.
and afterwards endorsed by the Allen
County Medical society, and which
read as follows:
We, the Ministerial association of
lola and vicinity, desire to express to
the public:
l.-Our unqualified condemna-
ton, as fanatical, cruel and wicked of
such gross neglect of the sick and suf-
fering as recently resulted in the un-
timely death of a young wife and
mother in our city, said neglect being
due to the teaching and practice of
certain quacks and fake healers who,
without proper knowledge of medical
science, teach and practice in the
name OF religion and science, the re-
lision being anti-christian and the
science being falsely so-called." And
-our conviction that such in
human proper subject for investiga-