The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-02-18
DOCTORS SPLIT
over PUBLICITY.
SOCIETY DOOMED
Medical Organization Must
Remove Ban or Collapse,
Says Member.
HOSPITAL is INJURED
BY NEWS SUPPRESSION
Physician Declares Rare Opera
ton Performed Here Are
Hidden From Public.

A feud that has been brewing in the
County Medical Association for
months, has broken out with renewed
fury recently and the organizations
existence is threatened.
1t is divided into two factions. One
set of physicians contend that medical
cases of unusual interest should be
discussed in the daily press. The
other insists that a physician cannot
be on friendly terms with the news
papers.
Some of the more serious minded
physicians have made efforts to have
other members of the medical society
expelled for permitting their names to
get into the newspapers.
One of the most prominent doctors
in Cape Girardeau County yesterday
discussed the feud at great length
with a representative of The Tribune
Jealousy is back of all the trouble, .
he said. physicians have been ap-
preached by newspapermen for infOr-
nation concerning our patients and
merely answered the questions asked
| of US. The next day We have discOv-
cred that our names were used in the
stories. We're we to blame? Ger
tainly not. A man who practices has
no time to attempt to keep news out
of the newspapers.
There is no excuse why physicians
| should not discuss their cases freely
with newspapers, even if they do know
| that the interviews are to be published
| In St. Louis the most eminent sur
geons even write stories OF unusual
operations for the newspapers. Dr.
John B. Murphy Of Chicago, one of the
most noted surgeons in the United
States, issues a monthly bulletin, as
large as a magazine, in which he dis
cusses every case he has treated. The
Mayo brothers. whose fame is known
around the world, send cut advertising
literature.
1T is done everywhere but in Cape
Girardeau. Here we have one of the
best hospitals in the country and no.
body knows it, simply because our
medica! society will not permit US to
make mention Of q rare operation
performed there. When people in this
section of the state are in need of
surgical operation, they go to ST.
Louis or some other big place, because
they do not believe = serious operation
could be performed here.
"The st. Francis hospital is credit
to this city. 1t should be advertised,
because everytine it is advertised, it
benefits this city. There is but one
way to properly advertise the hospital
and that is to show what is being done
there. l have performed a number of
operations that would attract wide
attention, if l was permitted to tell
about them.
'The great trouble among the doc
tors in this county is jealousy. They
don't want to see another doctors
name used in the newspapers. Public
ity makes business and that is what
some Of our fossilized doctors are
afraid of.
"MoIe than half of the members of
our society are opposed to the freakish
views OF these professional insects.
Either the physicians will be permitted
to do as they please, or else the medi-
cal society will go to pieces. What
would happen if some prominent
Irishman, who is real surgeon would
come to Cape Girardeau? He would
not be member Of our kindergarten
society, and would run to the news
paper offices everytime he performed
an operation. What wsuld happen TO
the rest of us? We would simply
walk cut Of town.
Il do not believe in giving a detailed
discussion in the newspapers of cases
that come up every day, but there are
times when We perform operations
that tire public should know about.
These prove what can be done right
here. If the people of Cape Girar-
deau knew of some of the remarkable
operations that have been performed
at st. Francis, they wouldn't board a
train for St. Louis everytime they suf
fered q pain in the stomach"