The Washington herald., 1918-07-30
~ WILLIAM POTTER.


president Of the Board Of Trus-
tees Of Jefferson Medical College
and Former U. 6. Minister 10
Italy.)
Copyright. ls1s.)
II II inevitable that, sooner or lat
er. all departments Of the body social
a. well as economic must be organlz-
ed Tor the objects Of the war, q war
which. az we In our turn are realiz-
ing. 10 war Of nations with every
thing the phrase implies Of the re-
sources inherent In the peoples and
the lands they occupy.
There ~ no class OF the population
that is more vtaily essential TO the
direct prosecution of, the war and
also to msintenance Of the efficiency
of the nation at large than the mem
bers OF the medical profession. Dur
Ing the past year and more. the vital
character Of their services in the fcld,
together with the consequences at
tendant upon unsystematized dis
turbance OF their normal work at
home, has presented a problem Of
constantly increasing gravity.
$4,000 Physicians.
With a continental population num-
bering well over 1oo,000.OOo. we have
registered q total Of only 1900 doc
tors. Of whome 2s.0oo are now serving
with the army and the navy and be-
tween 5000 and $500 are assumed to
be in active practice in civil life. From
this latter group must be deducted q
considerable proportion who are who'll
ly or largely engaged in instruction
and laboratory work and others who.
IL not quite superannuated. are at best
disqualified physically for performance
Of the full labors which the "actiye
practitioner Is called upon to dis
charge.
The actually and fully effective phy-
sicians may number no more than
7S,0oo at this time. as they are to be
reckoned for the needs Of our civil
population. From these must be de-
Quoted at least 5000 in the future. be-
cause 5000 medical men will be re-
qutred ultimately for the army as
against the 1900 now serving afeld
and at sea; and meanwhile the medi-
cal schools of the country, try as they
will. can qualify only a small fraction
OF the number to be utilized. So we
are confronted with the problem of
but few more than 5000 physicians to
100000 people, or one for every 1000
Of the population. while nearly 50 per
cent OF this population is resident in
rural districts and other areas sparse
ly settled.
Double Work.
In effect, then. for the period oi
the war. one medical man will be re.
quired to do the work of two among
the people OF the United States. wher
we consider how extensive are thu
consequences incident to the disloca'
tion of the practice OF but a single
active physician by reason o. his i'll,
ness. death or retirement, It is pos,
sible to appreciate the necessity o.
some systematized and expertly or,
dered readjustment in the face Of
such an emergency.
The enroilme II OF all physicians II
the United states in a corps pledged
to perform whatever service may b,
assigned them by the corps govern.
ing body has been begun by III,
Council of National Defense. It prom
ises to be a practical. satisfactory al.
Tentative for conscription. apparently
the only other means OF obtaininr
that general compliance with the or.
ders OF a central authority which il
imperative for the welI-being Of oul
fighting forces and of our civil pop
! ulation.
Fine Response.
Under the conditions hitherto pre-
vailing. the medical profession hal
responded magnifcently to the ma
tional needs. and great numbers D
men. distinguished in the profession
have been deferred from Offering thei
services in the field only because thcy
feel they can not abandon the post
they hold. i know many who. dean.
| OF medical colleges. or directors o
hospitals. are eager for army serv
ices. but feel they have no righ: {,
volunteer because their present para
mount duty is the education OF other
who are needed for the care Of th,
sick and the afflicted.
/ know of important hospitals hay
ing today not a single inferno. 4 con
dition which needs immediate rcctih
cation. In one instance that has COM
under my observation. a physician
who is a laboratory worker has beer
offered the post of pathologist TO tn,
King Of Siam, an appointment of TIT
highest distinction and a compensa
ton larger than he received or car
ever hope to receive.
4 AAC hoS IL bCNddrC Oil VI
former colleagues in the laborator,
are in France and he alone remain
to carry on the work.
Organized Service.
II the government will take all sucl
men into a nationally organized serv
ice and assign them TO such dUtiei
as, in its judgment. they are best fit
ed to perform, It will be the faires
and wisest thing that is feasible now
The plan, unquestionably. will af
feet adversely the material prosperit,
Of many thousands among the indi
viduals in the medical profession.
The American physicion who be
comes a surgeon In the army does no
begin to earn what he does in hi
private practice.
The highest rank assigned such rrel
Is that Of major; the discrepancy lie
tween a majors pay and the incom,
OF surgeon of recognized ability il
civil life. or of any expert in medi
cine, is very large.
But the medical profession as
whole Is too devoted TO its ethics an,
too magnanimous as a body to one
that as a ground for opposing tn,
plan: 1t will support any measure ou