The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-10-12
PLEA FOR osTEoPATHY.
National Recognition Of Service in War
Time Urged

Senator William p. Dillingham; of
Vermont has introduced an osteopath-
ie bin in the United States senate. 1t
is known as senate bill No. 1914 1t
is verbatim copy of the house of rep
resentatives bill 5407 which was in
trodueed soon after the United States
entered the war. This house bill was
referred TO the military affairs com
mittee, of which Hon. Frank l.. Greene
of Vermont is member. The senate
bill was referred to the military affairs
committee of the senate
As Vermont was the first state in
the union to legalize the practice of
osteopathy lin 1897, and in-as-much
Ms Vermont s senior senator was at
that time, and has continued to be. a
friend Of osteopathy, it is proper that
| he should be the statesman to father
| this bill asking for national recogni-
| ton of the science.
Approximately FIVE hundred osteo-
nathic physicians and students from os-
teopathic colleges are already in the
| l.. s. army and navy service. The re-
cent draft will take several thousands
more. The osteopathic situation is
i
legalized' the osteopath S professional
standing. Their laws recognize him as
q physician. In many of these states,
for example in New York, Massaehu-
sets. Illinois, and others. the law de-
mands that he take the same tests be
fore the medical examining board that
is required of the allopathic or homeo-
pathic physicians, with the exception
of therapeutics. In that subject, the
allopath, homeopath, or osteopath is ex.
amned in accordance with the prin.
ciples of his school medicine
The state laws provide that success
full candidates be licensed to practice
their respective professions. The states
allow their citizens to exercise the
right of selective draft in calling {
doctor Of medicine, or a doctor of os
tcopathy Forty four states confer thii
right, and il is right No school OF
medicine-allopathic homeopathic. o.
osteopathic-has monopoly of all thu
elficacious methods. II is right that tn,
public should be protected from tn,
medical impOster; il is also right tina
the qualified physician of either schoo
should have legal sanction and pro
lection.
Now the selective draft passed ont
the nation 3 statutes with the explana
tion that the draftee would I'LL the pc
sition in the present crisis, in whic
his previous education and trainin
best fitted him. The doctor of med
inc was rightfully placed in the vari
| Gus branches of medical service II
\ bnunraA Nv nfca, 81
\ medical corps. But how about the este
/ opath who sat by the side of the med
| zeal brother and passed the require
\ state board examination. In spite G
\ the fact that fortyfour states hav
\ licensed him as a physician, the L.
\ medical board, in this crisis of wa
\ has ignored him.
H Why? Because the surgeon gener;
II has ruled that only a doctor of med
/ cine will be commissioned in the med
i zeal corps of the L. S. army or nav,
\ The allopath and the homeopath RI
ceive the college degree NJ. d. do
: | tor of Medicine; the osteopath r
ceives the college degree D. o. (Do
4 tor of osteopathy). You are ehgib
forsG. s. army or navy medical corr
| if you possess the degree NJ. d. YC
are ineligible, even though yon al
i equally qualified, if you affix the
| gree d. o. to your name. II your d
| gree is NJ. ID. yo> are welcomed in
the medical corps, Red Cross, sanitai
corps, state medical emergency soci
: ties, etc, ad infnitlm. If with ecu
medical knowledge, You do not ha,
the degree NJ. d. but do have its equi
+. alent, d. o., you are ostraeized.
3, The whole is equal to the sum of i
. parts. Forty-eight states when add,
u together comprise the United State
Il Eleven twelfths of this union of stat
recognize the degree ID. o. as the equ
n. alent of the degree NJ D. in leg
e sense. Should a few men at the he;
:. of the L. s. medical board arbitrari
Mt overthrow these statutory recognition
Read what the honorable SURGE
40 general of the L. 8. army reports
the house military affairs committe
"The judge advocate general has q
N. yised the secretary of war to the
n, feet that, while the law does n
specifically provide that physics
ri IN order to enter the medical corr
zee must be a doctor of medicine, unwr
a; ten practice does, and the secreta
IN. has decided in accordance with I'll
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