The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1921-02-11
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

A dispatch from London announces
plans that are being made for inter
national honors for Major General Cor
gas, OF the United States army. who
died at that capital several months ago.
and whose remains were more recently
received in this country for interment.
There may be some who will question
the advantage of posthumouS honors
of this kind. General Gorgas is dead
and his great career IS behind him. The
French, English. and Belgians who
propose to erect a monument in his
honor, can do nothing that he may
know of. and yet ii has always been
the custom of the English to pay trib-
utes of this kind to distinguished pub
tic servants after their deCease, and no
valid objection may be made to the
game.
The career of General G0TEas was
quite fully reviewed in tn" newspapers
and magazines at the time of his death,
and that need not be repeated here. The
English verdict that he was "one of the
great figures of his generation may
not be questioned. In Panama, fight
ing the yellow fever mosquito. in Cuba
doing the same thing, as Surgeon Cen
eral of the United States army during
the war and later still risking his life
20 launch a scientific campaign 10 rem
edy sanitary conditions in the fever
haunted countries of northern South
America, General GOrgas rendered ser
vices 10 his country and humanity that
may with great difficulty be Overesti-
n at.,d. The idea that suggests itself
to the Evening Post in connection with
these posthumouS hOnOrs for the de-
ceased Surgeon General is more in the
way of contending for better recOg
milton of the medical profession than
OF discussing General Gorgas' career.
General Gorgas was the most diStilG-
uished of the medical men who render
ed services to America during the war
but there were hundreds of others who
did fine work, and many of them made
personal sacrifices of a character noi
demanded of General Gorgas. ."
Ii oking back upon the story rf
Americas participation in the great
war, the Evening Post has little diff |
Gully in reaching the conclusion that
the work done by American surgeons
and physicians during the war accomp- |
lished more and has been appreci n ID !
less than that Of any other class of our
citizens. Surgeons with incomes run
ming up into the tens of thousands Of
dollars annually left their offices 10 |
serve as captains and majors in The |
army. Others whose incomes We're not |
so assured risked losing the work Of |
years to answer their country'S call |
And the work done was admirable. The |
death rate in our armies, both in this '
country and in France, was small, and |
every soldier home from Europe has |
something to say about the fine work |
of the American medical men.
And this brings us quickly to the |
conclusion we wish to make. For years |
there has been an agitation in this |
country for higher salaries for school |
teachers, and the agitation was in a |
worthy cause. Have not many OF u.s. |
in our zeal for improved education, |
neglected the duty of bringing the com
pensation of the medical profession up |
to the point that will enable America, |
in the future as in the past, to secure a |
satisfactory proportion of the promis-
ing young men of America for this, I'M
less 1t be the ministry, the noblest of
all the professions? In the great cities
q certain proportion Of the most sue
cessful physicians and surgeons earn
large rewards, but in the country dis
tricts the emoluments of doctors are
far too low In view of the expensive
education that is now required, and,
even In the cities, many Of the medical
fees are below what they should be in
H