Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-02-05

| CllGilke confluence N ne iuialll
/ Oiiity OF doctors
-Nr president" he continued. "the
government should no longer cling 70
one mode OF healing and lend It's pow,
crfui aid 20 the building up OF one
school Of medicine. The administra-
tion OF the public health service is a
sacred duty. We have constituted our.
selves guardians OF the public health.
II Is guardianship We canno; dele
gate 20 any school OF medicine.
This great nation should be broad
enough TO seek the most effective
means OF preserving the public health
and have the courage 90 apply a.. but
always leaving every citizen free TO
resort 20 such means as he desires.
lie has as much right TO choose his
physical remedy as he has to choose
his church So. II he believes in
Christian Science as a means % pre-
venting and healing disease. his right
70 resort 10 that remedy Is Just as sa-
cred as IS the right OF ether men TO
resort 10 the doctor The government
rlay properly invest gate. educate and
advise. but Il has no right to coerce
any citizen 10 resort 10 any remedy
against his will.
Many Faithful Doctors.
Z recognize the fact and acknow-
ledge e with pleasure. that there are
many high-m.nded and conscientious
men engaged in the medical profession
who are doing much TO alleviate hui
man suffering They are Loyalty and
faithfully devoting their lives 10 this
great purpose. To such as these 1 &C
cord great honor But the difference
between us is that ] have been con
WINGED that drugs and other material
alleged remedies do not heal and that
there IS remedy that If rightly APP
piled, viii heal all our diseases. I
have been reluctant to enter upon
this discussion because Il leads to
discussion OF religion. because OF the /
belief on my part and of thousands /
n others. that healing is as much a
right as redemption from SIN.
and that the same principle that re- /
generates the sinner applied in pre-.
,isely the same way. heals the sick I
so I come in opposition 10 two DOW
'rful fOrces-contrary religious CON
iictions as sincere as my own. and the
medical profession. The one holds
hat all who practice any ouher mode
" healing except his own. are TAX
RS and quacks-a menace TO health
nd life-and should be suppressed by /
aw. The other class denounce as
and unbelievers those
Who believe that the only true source
4 healing is divine
81 have ans~--,essFl-
r the doctor or the preacher. So long
5 people believe as the majority of
lem do. they are both necessary. Ny +
urpose is TO consider principles and ,
OF men. and 10 show, If ! can. that ,
ne prevailing beliefs about God and ,
is relation TO sickness. disease and
here on earth are mistaken.
nd that IL is the duty OF the govern
len 10 abandon its position Of accept
x one school OF doctors as the only
sliable school. and TO vestigate all
1urces OF healing. with the common :
pod always in view
The senator excluded sanitation |
'ork from his criticisms and com .
ended the public health service eff ,
rts in this direction. He said he did d,
ot question its efficiency as a means
preventing disease. n
Medical Men Disagree. +
a considerable portion of Senator S
'orks' speech was devoted to show v
& that materia medica is experiment. 4
. unreliable and dangerous; that the c
'nsequences OF wrong diagnosis are f
UGH more serious than the public
lows: that doctors disagree funda- s
entally among themselves; and that il
g public are innocent victims OF s.
edical ignorance and Incompetence. / :
He quoted scores OF medical men. y
cognized as authorities. 10 show p
cir wide variance OF opinion and a
cir admissions of the marked limi- a
lions and ineficiency OF medicine n
d surgery in the treatment of dis b.
Sc. cl
There are many well-known dis OF
SEES he said. that. from the stand a.
int OF the medical doctor. are incur
le. And these are the diseases that
ed TO be cured. The others will get Il,
IL OF themselves. The only need of m
2 doctor is to allay the fer that en-
nders disease and often prevents re- III
very. Bread pills. favored with n,
tn of the patient are just as effect v,
and less dangerous than all the N
lgs he may administer 10,
Diagnosis of Cases. b,
Perhaps the worst feature of the in
,tors' mistakes is their wrong dag ga
sis of cases. The inability TO proper Gu
diagnose a case is not necessarily OF
evidence of either incompetency or ar
yligence. There are certain diseases ar
at can be disce-ned by the layman re
symptoms are so evident. There ri:
others that deceive the most skill ia
surgeon or physician CT
But many OF them are culpable. do
their diagnoses are the result of qu
her incompetence or carelessness.
! whatever the cause. they show the re
of medical practice. They hi
only fail TO heal but they kill I'M in
ha-e bntx M ono