The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-02-02
R. WALTON HUBBARD EXPLAINS CHRISTIAN SCIENCE


claims: and second. because the his
tory of material means for the allcvia-
ton Of these troubles shows them to
have been almost q complete failure.
say almost complete failure, because
the latest remedy and the latest
method. the ones that have replaced
last years remedy and last years
method, have not as yet been proven
useless: but the history of the past
hundreds Of years will repeat itself.
and next years material means will
replace what will then be this years
failures.
Some years ago new and suppos-
eddy wonderful remedy was advocated
for the treatment Of pneumonia, and
the medical journals were full Of the
records of the almost instantaneous
cures which had come about through
its use. AS a practicing physician I
prescribed this remedy at the first OPP
portunity that presented Itself, but
with no result. have since come to
see that the remedy worked just so
long as 1t had some enthusiastic OPP
timists believing in its efficacy. but
failed to work as soon as 1t became
generally used by generally pessi-
mistic profession; a profession grown
pessimistic through its continual his
tory Of drug failure. This drug, in
spite Of the marvellous cures accred-
tied to it for several years. has long
since gone the way Of dismal failure
Of those that preceded it.
Another famous remedy that came
into almost immediate prominence
within the last year or two. and which
has been lauded as an absolute specific
for certain disorders, is now being
condemned by some Of its former sup
portcrs as doing no good and much
damage. 1t has been remarkable both
for the claims made for its efficiency
and the charges made for its admins
tration. It was a brilliant success SO
long as people believed in its efficacy,
but it is now fast becoming dull
failure.
Surgical and other material forms Of
treatment are in this same process OF
change. 1t has only been a very few
years since soaring of parts of the
body with a red-hot iron was advo-
Gated as good treatment, though we
would condemn this now as barbarous,
and the day will surely come, and is
not far distant, when the wholesale
removal of the tonsils and the injec-
ton of the many kinds of animal Sc
runs will be considered quite as bar
barous: for just SO long as we cling
to materiality, today's apparent sue
cess will be tomorrow's failure.
Vaccination has remained in a posi-
ton of supposed efficacy for a longer
period than anything of which know.
We can most Of US remember when to
be able to show good scar meant q
life time Of protection. But the years
stantly shortening. until now it Is
maintained that 1t only protects for a
few years, with an ever increasing CO.
terie within the ranks of the medical
profession maintaining that 1t does not
protect at all.
Again and again in toxic conditions
and in immunity from contagion, the
Christian scientist is proving that spir-
itual understanding gives the protec-
ton Of which Jesus spoke when he
said of those who believe. If they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not
hurt Them"
Medical and surgical methods are
changing with such rapidity that
among the profession the idea Of year.
" examinations has at times been agi-
tated, the thought being that If it
could be shown that a physician was
not conversant with the very latest
method. he should not be allowed to
practice-though this is admitting that
what was good practice q few years
ago is not good practice today.
I am not criticising tho doctor-he
does the best he can with the poor
weapons which have been given him
II am sympathizing with him, be-
cause just when he thinks he has it, he
finds nc has not.
In practicing medicine ! soon found
that there was q certain mental elo-
ment In every case, and it was obvi-
GUS that this element could not be
reached by any material means. I be-
gan to try to estimate just how large
a factor it was in every case that came
to me. At first, thought some cases
were quite largely physical, and others
quite largely mental. but as time went
on and through practice my observa-
ton of the mental side of the question
became more keen. l saw that many
types OF sickness were wholly men,
tai, and finally came to see that they
were all entirely SO.
This did not mean that I was a
Christian Scientist when / had ar
rived at this point-far from it!
decided that since I had to deal with
SO large a mental question, which the
medical profession either wholly or al
most wholly ignored. I would study
mental healing from every standpoint
from which it had been presented, with
the idea that I would find in. all liter
AZURE on the subject the presentation