Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1919-05-22
TO SOCIALIzE|
PUBLIC HEALTH
DOCTORS HOPE
DR.. ]. G. Parsons Would Have the
State Assume Charge Of
Public Health.
PREVENTION WISER COURSE
The Modern Physician, Like cae.
sar's Wife, Should Be
Above Suspicion.
PREVENTION WISER COURSE


DR.. ]. G. Parsons of Sioux ralls
appearing last evening at the Method
ist church before the South Dakota
Medical association, declared for the
specialization of the country with re-
spect to s,s,slt.s.. Esd s.ttl the prevention Of
disease.
Referring to the modern tendency to.
ward governmental ownership and oE-
GRAFTON of various utilities, and even
industrial enterprises. TO some extent,
DR. Parsons said the time is not far
distant when the matter of health of
the people win come under the direct
supervision of the state, and through
regularly appointed health officers and
assistants, the state will even prescribe
treatment.
There was but a mere handful pres
ent to hear the distinguished physician
from Sioux Falls, but, inasmucn as the
address had been announced, the speak
er remarked privately that those few
present ought moi to be disappointed.
He was introduced by Rev Gay c..
White. pastor of the church.
In Educational Work.
Dir. Parsons for series of years rep.
resented the Soath Dakota medical
fraternity ON the npaT 4 of the Amer
lean Medical Association. which,
through the medical publication known
as the American Medical Journal, pro.
vided fund for the purpose of educat-
| ing the public through series Of lee
jitures on public health DIR. Parsans
| was one Of those chosen to deliver
| ia and adjoining states, but the war
I coming on and the advertising receipts
Of the journal in question having fallen
! of the fund became exhausted, SO that
Efor the time being the national associa.
! ton has no financial means for carry
| ing Son the outlined educational work.
DIR. Parsons for some years past has
not been engaged in what is known as
general practice, hence, he said, he
was not advocating more stringent
rules and regulations respecting health
4 for personal gain.
Trying to Beat Itself.
4 The medical profession, said the doc.
| tor in opening. is engaged in the al.
most unheard of endeavor to reduce Its
] own business through an educational
campaign. That is to say, by educat
l
1 OF the people through the prevention of
i disease, the doctors are curtailing the
: demand for services, and to this extent
1 may beS said to be working against
/ their own. interests when compared
! with. the general policy in commercial
/ pursuits to increase the demand rather
A than to reduce it.S In this they are
4 teaching people how$to get along with
5Iout the services of medical men, he
said.
There is more or less mystery sur
A rounding the medical profession, said
i DR. Parsons. 1t is profession that Is
4 greatly misunderstood, he declared II
the olden time the physician and the
priest were usually combined in one
4 but In. the course of time the science
Of medicine was developed along inde
4 pendent lines, and today the spiritua
advisor is rarely combined with ply
sician and surgeon.
Reduced to Science.
i Modern science, said the speaker
i has been reduced toa science, or sub
tantially So All the experiences o
q hundreds and thousands of cases an,
y5hundreds of thousands OF men hay,
been combined into a system for TIL,
treatment of human ailments. The
n results of these experiments, whicl
y have been tested SO repeatedly and b.
4 SO many different men who nave beei
traiped Tor this purpose can now b
Il applied 10 human ills with d fair tegre
!. of certainty.
L # was EIolnes.s known better a
! ! author han as a physicfan, be
cause his works have been so widel,
read. who has handed do,pn three ger
4 efal rules which have BEEN proven 4
Il be sound. They Ina,, be stated brisfl
as follows:
Not 10 guess wlisa ore may know
III Mt to acneptt saa true Anythin,
A A not proven by facts 9Ss a
hinis that very man i wh M
n sicl needs medici.les SsIIsE8'
II
81