Imperial Valley press., 1934-11-01
DOCTOR EXPLAINS REASONS WHY
PROPOSITIONS NOS. 9 AND II
SHOULD BE DEFEATED AT POLLS

O11OOAD DA LIZ
Editors Note-The Press made
no recommendation on PROPOSE
tiOns No. 8 and No. IL for the rea-
sen that as drawn it is practically
impossible for a Iayman to eX-
press an unprejudiced opinion on
them, when even the chirOprac
tors of the state are divided upon
their desirability. 1t is the opin-
ion of this publication that in
| formation for and against this
measure should be given the pub
! lie by the professions involved,
who are in better position to give
advice than we believe we are. In
accordance with this papers pol
icy cf opening its columns to mat
ters of public interest, we print
the following letter from DIR. John
ID. Keye.
Editor, Imperial Valley Press
El Centro, Calf,
Dear Sir:
Following your editorial of re
cent date wherein you state that
your paper makes no recommends
ton concerning propositions Nos. 9
and II on the November ballot, I
wish to offer some explanation to
you and to the citizens Of This dis
trict of the meaning to the people
that these propositions involve. This
letter is prompted by sincere wish
on my part to prevent, if possible,
grave injustice to the people. 1t Is
not my wish nor purpose to deride
nor to SANDER any healing cult or
group, and in the following remarks
I am not criticizipg. =
! Medicine, as you know, is not an
exact science in the sense that ma
thematics, chemistry and physics
are Since it is not an exact science,
it makes its errors and has its vul-
nerable point. Further it has its
petty jealousies and strife among
the various practitioners which
cause no end of inconvenience and
doubt in the minds of the people. In
medicine as in business one finds oc
casional dishonesty and sharp deal
ing that is the human element Some
physicians are prone to attempt
feats for which they are inadequate,
ly trained, and fail to call in a CO.
worker whom they know to be the
best trained man for that job-for-
tunately examples of this type of
l,NlA ic
The average physician has at
tended grade school, high school
and at least years of college min
imum). He has then taken year
course in some medical school, dur
ing which time he has been taught
anatomy by dissecting the human
body, physiology by actual expert
mentation on animals, chemistry by
minute examination of the body flu
ids and foods, and to the study of
microbes and disease germs. This
takes years. The following two
years are devoted to the study Of
the ills that affect the human body,
theory of treatment and methods
Of diagnosing these ills. During
these 4 years in medical school he
must attend clinics where, illnesses
are shown, see babies born and hear
of the ills and disasters that can
overtake the mother and babe, also
see from a distance a few surgical
operations. In other words, those
four years are devoted to specialized
study of the human body and the
business of familiarizing the neo-
phyte with what can happen to a
human being.
State Law Explained
The California law governing the
physicians education ends there. In
other words, what a physician
knows depends upon the physician
beyond this point. He may take the
state board examination and start
practicing at the completion of his
four yeafs in medical school. He
may realize on the other hand that
he is too poorly equipped to do jus
tice to medicine and his clientele,
and realizing that, he enters some
teaching hospital where he stays
from one to five years and actually
does take care of people and actu-
ally does do surgery and delivers ba-
bieS under the Watchful eyes of old
experienced teachers until such time
as he is proficient and capable OF
taking care of patients. AS he con-
tinueS his practice he keeps up his
studies and newer methods of dag
noSis and treatment.
Realizing that illnesses vary with
the patient and that no two people
are alike, it follows that no two i'll
nesses are alike. Hence results OF
diagnosis and treatment will vary
Fer tile most part the average phy
sician makes an honest effort to 10
cate correctly the cause Of illness
first, then he recalls what should
be the normal physiology and then
prescribes drugs or surgery as he
knows best. There will be varia
tion cf opinion regarding treatment
quite often due to difference oi
training of physicians-that does
not mean that one or the other ply