Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-04
DOCTORS NOW ATTACK
VOLSTEAD LAW
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

| cording to the doctors. and were
assuming to know more about what
a patient needs than his physician.
This is regarded by them as the
vulnerable feature of the law and
the one which the courts will not
uphold.
The method of presenting the case
so as to insure a reasonably speedy
judicial determination was simple.
Upon petition of attorneys repre-
senting DR.. Samuel w. Lambert,
Dean Emeritus of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Column
bia University, ~subpoenas were is
sued by the clerk of the United
States court requiring Edward c.
Yellowley, acting prohlo1tlon
director of New York; Da-
vid H. Blair commissioner of in
ternal revenue, and William Hay
ward, United States attorney for
that district, to appear before the
court and show cause why the pro-
visions of laws enacted under the
eighteenth amendment insofar as
they relate to physicians in the
practice of medicine should not be
! judicially declared imperative.
DR.. Lambert is the president of
the new organization formed by the
doctors, and his associate officials
are DR. James F McKernon, vice
president; DR.. Warren Coleman,
! secretary; DIR. Frederic E. Sondern,
treasurer, and Drs. Nathan E. Brill,
William K. Draper, Charles l.. Dana,
f. Il. Gorton and j. Bentley Squier,
executive committeeman.
Dignity and importance are
claimed for the movement on the
strength of the personnel of the
| association It's members are men
mature in judgment and experience
and all are said to be men of ma
tional reputation They are estab-
lished in the hospitals and medical
schools of New York and all are of
middle age or older
That elaboration has character
lied the movement is attested by
the fact that it was started fully
eighteenth months ago when eight
prominent physicians addressed a
communication to the members of
their profession Disclaiming any
intention of initiating a propaganda
for or against prohibition, and de-
claring it to be immaterial whether
a physician does or does not believe
in prohibition they asserted that
| the point at issue is the right of the
| physician to select his remedies aud
! decide what doses of those remedies
each patient should have
Law Denies This Right
1.-THE Volstead Act denies this
right" said the address while
recognizing the medicinal value OF
alcohol, it says to the physician,
Thou shalt not give more than a
Il mint nP urhicHau nTs hra +n M
patient within ten days Further
than this, statements given by per-
sons interested In promoting similar
legislation contain the threat to
prohibit altogether the medicinal
use Of alcohol. While there is a dill.
ference of opinion among the ply
sicians of the country with respect
to the therapeutic value of alcohol
the number Of those having faith in
it is sufficiently large to receive at
tention
1.-THE medicinal restrictions of the
Volstead Act constitute an indict.
ment of the integrity of the who'e
medical profession, in that it is as
sumed that many of its members
unless restrained by law, will pan.
der for gain to the peoples desire
for drink.
L uItilCIt IL 6AOu4o DO POll1LCO
out that the Volstead Act contains
the most drastic legislation affecting
the medical profession yet enacted
A physician becomes a criminal by
the mere fact of writing a prescrip-
ton for more than a pint of whiskey
for one patient within ten days, ard
so far as the revocation OF his per.
nit is concerned is denied his con-
stitutional right of trial by jury
THE precedent established by the
Volstead Act in restricting medical
practice should, if physicians value
their therapeutic liberty, be me;
i with a protest which will com.
mand attention. Today. it is alco.
hoI, tomorrow it may be any rem
edy which falls under the BAN"
However, 1t is not to be concludes
that all physicians are up in arm:
against the Volstead law. In June
1917. DIR Charles H Mayo. the well
known surgeon of Rochester Nina.
aad made q. strong address fay)''ue
prohibition, the House of Dele
gates of the American Medical AS
ISOLATION adopted resolutions stat
ing that the use of alcohol is des'
rimental to the human economy and
its use in therapeutics as a toni,
stzmulant or FOR food has no scion