The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-29
Sorcery Here and There.

They still believe in sorccrv down in New
Guinea, and a recent explorer says that all a
sorcercr has to do is announce 81 am sorcerer
and have an invisible snake" II he can get that
announcement before enough OF the people he may
become not only a successful sorccrer, but head
sorcerer with many subordinatcS, to whom he can
distribute other invisible snakes providing that
they all recognize his invisible snake as Chief or
head snake. The thing the people OF New
Guinea appear to lack most is printers ink to ex-
tend the publicity OF the sorccrcrs. If they had
that civzing agent they would be almost up to
date with the gang OF quacks which have infested
New York City. and robbed the poor OF millions
oi money by using an old camera box N-ray
machine to discover terrible diseases which could
he cured only by the specialists who possess
the boss invisible snake OF the gang. These New
York sorcerers did not operate in secrecy. They
advertised by scattering broadcast among newly
arrived immigrants the people in the tenement
districts and even among the school Children
circulars describing in the most vulgar language
the symptoms OF diseases, the terrible ConSe-
qucnCcS that sure to follow and the high
sounding virtues OF the specialists who could cure
They had their medical institutes TO grind out
certificates ard diplomas almost cheap the
circulars used to adv crti>e and the whole combi
nation has been doing land office business, with
'mcdical practice" that is OF no higher order
than that OF the >orcerers in New Guinea
The New York police have caught some of
the smaller invisible snakes. but they have not
hccn able to lay hands the head sorcerers who
inv cntcd financed and managed the scheme which
worked in Chicago and other cities as we'll as in
New York. II was regarded As a reflection
upon tho standing Of a physician to ADVERTISE and
the great majority OF reputable physicians still
hold to- that old policy. The uuack has always
Iu>hcd his business by advertising through just
such circulars those discovered in New York.
There is no way OF regulating such adv crtising
except to stamp it ont. for there i no RESPONSE
hility behind it, And yet marv alleged moral
agencies employ the same irresponsible method
even to displaying the worst indcccncic> OF such
advertising in posters and circulars with alleged
medical facts obtained FROM the celebrated spc-
ciali>t Dr. Presumption. +. K. A. L. D., known
throughout tho medical world a> ono OF the great
cSt authorities OF modern times. We find these cir
cular~ and posters scattered about the streets OF
Washington, given to the school children and cir
culatcd through the mails. and few people stop to
inquire whether DR. Presumption ever attended
medical school, is anything more than a name
used 10 g:c apparent support to malicious I'M
truths. impose upon the ignorant and credulous
and introduce to children alleged literature from
which their parents have tried to protect them
1t Is about time the whole question of irrcspon-
sibc publicity and Illicit advertising by means OF
sensational circulars, scattered broadcast should
be taken up by the authorities, as it is the most
pcrnicous agent for immortality, ignorance and
superstition have i'll our civilization 1t should
be barred to the alleged moral agents as we'll as
the quacks, and the with the invisible
snakes. That system OF education and reform
which will not bear open investigation and dis !
cusson, is not the kind of education we need in
this country. And VIC cannot successfully bar
out the Illicit advertising OF tho quacks unless VIC
root up the whole system. We need not svmpa-
thizc with the ignorant natives of New Guinea
while suffer from the same kind of sorcerv
on a large scale.