Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-06-12
GATHERED BY THE WAYs1DE
[By Ora W1lliams.l

LBy Ora WIlliams.1 !
Des Moines, June 12-Now that
most Of the jokesters Of the press OF
Iowa have had their fling at Charley
Miller. anent his submission TO sur
gioal knife and an operation, there Will
be those who may insist on knowing
Just how large is the bill and whether
or not the Bremen statesman, who rep
resents the League for Medical Free
dom in Iowa. will pay the bill With
out protest. It is recalled that some
years ago Joe Mitchell Chappelle quot
ed Miller as having intimated that no
one with 5000 and stomach ache IS
safe over night in Iowa" And Miller
put this in the book which he published
and which had wide circulation as
political document at lone time. IN
this he proposed remedy OF Which
he said:
"My remedy would reduce the fees
for surgery to such a figure that any
where in this broad land a man might
accumulate 5000 and still be safe from
the wiles of the constituencies or ig-
norant surgeon-the one impelled by
the same instinct that prompts the
thug to lie in wait for his victim Win
piece of gaspipe, the other sei1-eou-
Gated to the belief that the creator
made gross error in anatomical can
struction, and self-persuaded to the
conviction that it is worth several
| hundred dollars. Of any mans good
| money to be rid of his appendix or any
other pesky thing whether there is
ANYTHING the matter with it or not.
Charley Miller went good and hard
|
again in his book he wrote:
| THE extent to which abdominal OPP
erations, and more especially appendi-
citis operations are being urged upon
| the people Of various communities OF
Iowa Is almost beyond belief, and al
| most as incredible is the extent to
which the people thereof have been.
| and are still. submitting to them, de-
spite the evidence constantly before
| their eyes that surgery as 1t is prac-
] ticed in these communities is invalid
| ing and killing more people than 1T IS
| beneating In such peculiarly afflicted
| communities it is invariably found that
slashing surgeons are plentiful and
we'll organized. There are numerous
| other communities. on the other hand.
| where appendicitis and kindred all
ments are practically unknown and In
! those communities 1t Is invariably
| found that the medical organization is
! lax on account of a leadership that IS
| professional instead Of commercial.
Whole counties in Iowa thus blessed,
managed to go from year TO gear with
out a single fatality from appendicitis.
as compared to death rate running as
high as ten year in the counties
where stomach ache. is regarded as
49, ~, 1r,,sf ~
| Copies of Mr. Miller's book may be
| obtained from him, price 25 cents each.
and the proceeds will go to pay for the
operation he has recently endured. as
absence even of the 5000 did not render
| him safe.
| A good deal has been printed lately
about the various bills before the leg
| islature intended to raise the age OF
consent in Iowa. There was much
! agitation on this subject about dozen
| or fifteen years ago and the age was
| then raised to fifteen years. having
| long been even lower The real reason
| that there has been no additional leg
| islation on the subject is because Of the
| fact that those who advocate changes
| fail to agree on the terms of any new
statute. There is very wide diversity
| Of opinion among those who agree that
! the statute at present is not sufficient
as to just what ought to be. There
| were two bills before the legislature
! one by Thomas and one by Ball.
| Neither house voted on either Of these
bills as prepared originally. Both
were changed and twisted about in
committees and on the floor and both
| bills failed because Of lack Of harmony
among the lobbyists working for the
| bills. The first and radical proposition
was to simply raise the age to eighteen
years SO that consent of a woman un-
der that age to carnal knowledge
meant life imprisonment, regard
less of the character OF the woman.
That was the fiat proposal Of those
who urged the bill in its earlier stages.
Then there came forth various pro-
posals to exempt certain men, or those
Of certain age. The house judiciary
committee exempted entirely any male
under nineteen years. Later an amend
ment was adopted practically exempt
ing male under twenty -one years. It
il presumed this was tackled on the
bill for the purpose Of killing It. The
Thomas bill in the senate suffered like
emasculation and changes and finally
with the twenty one-year exemption
failed Of passage late in the session.
The fact is that many OF the mon Of
the senate who are most earnest in de-
string the very best legislation to safe
guard the morals Of the young people
of the state expressed conviction that
no bill had been prepared that would
accomplish tho desired end without at
the same time opening a way 10 far
more serious danger from the wiles
y Ei-A 40 -. l /.