Evening star., 1927-05-18
Medical Association Votes to
Prepare Bill for Submis-
sion to Congress.
STORMY DEBATE MARKS
2-HOUR SECRET SESSION
QUESTIONABLE on Value OF LIQUOR
as Drug Left to Decision of
Trustees.

The American Medical Association
will fight to establish the right of a
qualified physician to administer
whisky, or any other therapeutic
agency. In such doses as he considers
appropriate.
a Dill is to he prepared for subms-
SION To Congress which would remove
present restrictions on the amount
OF alcoholic beverage a doctor NAV
prescribe. The matter of sending a
questlonnaire to every registered ply
slclan in the United States. asking
his opinion ON the therapeutic value
Of whisky, will be left to the board of
trustees.
This procedure was decided on after
a two-hOur executive session of the
House of Delegates. the governing
BODY OF the Association. today ut the
District of Columbia Medical Society
building. The final vote was ,Inani.
nous but evidently was not reached
until after much stormy debate. with
the dry element gaining some con.
cessions before final action.
Inc resolutions adopted were based
on the principle, previously stressed
IN statements of the association that
no body of laWmaker is qualified to
take over the functions of a physic-
ian and that the curative value of
anything is a matter of scientific find.
ing. y law, it is held never can es-
taDish scientific fact.
Conduct Debate i'm Secret.
The debate was conducted with
great secrecy and at the conclusion
Inc following prepared statement was
issued by DIR. Morris F'ishbien. editor
of the journal of the American Medi.
cal Association, after consultation
with specially appointed COMMITTEES:
AT the conclusion of it's executive
session the House of Delegates of the
American Medical Association adopted
the following statement as represent.
ing its action relative to the use of
alchohol in the practice of medicine.
The House of Delegates recon-
mended that the board of trustees.
with the cooperation of it's special
committee to cooperate with the COM
missioner of Internal Revenue and the
secretary Of the Treasury and with
the aid OF its Bureau of Legal Medi-
cine and Legislation. be directed to
prepare bill to be presented to Con-
gress correcting the unfortunate pro-
vision of the Volstead act limiting the
amount of alchohol used. and pro-
vldinS such regulations as will permit
doctors to prescribe whatever amounts
OF alchoholic liquors may be needed
for their respective patients and sub
Ject to such reasonable restrictions
as may be thought wise and best after
a conference with the head of the pro-
hIbitIon department.
The house of delegates also re-
solves that the American Medical
Association declares it's adherence to
the principle that legislative bodies
composed of 1aymen should not enact
restrictive laws regulating the ad-
of any therapeutic agent
by physicians legally qualified TO prac-
tice medicine.
The house of delegates also referred
to the board of trustees Of the Amer.
lean Medical Association the question
of the advisability of sending to
a QUESTIONABLE relative to
the use of alcohol and alcoholic
liquors.
Elect Officers Tomorrow.
Following the adoption of these
resolutions the house of delegates adj
1ourned until tomorrow at PM,
when officers will be elected and sew.
efdl routine resolutions acted upon.
While the governing body was busy
with the wet and dry fight. which has
entered into the present meeting from
the first. the 10000-odd members OF
the American Medical Association
were able to turn their attention to
The business which brought them to
shington-scientific consideration
Of specialties. Six group meetings were
n session during the forenoon. This
afternoon six other groups took their
places.
The past year has been one of
potable advances i'm the medical
science, both in the United States and
abroad. The purpose of the scientific
section meetings, at which technical
papers and read and discussed, is to
give every section of the United States
he benefit of the latest discoveries in
medicine. therapeutics and surgery.
The most celebrated specialists of the
United States and especially invited