Doctors and Socialism. EDITOR CRITIC & GUIDE:-It has always seemed to me that, if there is any class of men that should believe in Socialism, that class is the medical profession. There are many reasons for this. In the first place the fundamental ideas of medical ethics are socialistic. Take, for example, the idea that the discoveries made by a physician do not belong to him personally, but are the property of the whole profession, and through them of the world in general. This is exactly what Socialism teaches should be the case with all things and all property that are necessary to humanity in general, rather than to individuals. Again, we know that it was formerly the custom for the physician to receive a present for his services, rather than a regular fee. Then medicine was a profession, not a business, as it is at present. Even to-day this idea is carried out, to some extent, by the fact that physicians give their services, in hospitals and otherwise, to the poor, for little or nothing: while they charge large fees to the rich, who can afford to pay them. Al public hospitals are socialistic in their nature. There is another reason, however, of even more imporance, why physicians should desire to see Socialism the rule. We all know that so long as the world is governed on an individualistic basis. and each person can do practically as he pleases in regard to disease, it will be impossible to stamp out contagious and infectious diseases. We all know, also, that if, as would be the case under Socialism, our profession could have full and unobstructed charge of the health of the community, it would be perfectly "ossible to stamp out all such diseases, and many others, in a generation or two. Every doctor knows that treating disease after it has started is like "locking the barn after the hors: is stolen." So long as individualism rules, this is the only thing possible. Under Socialism, such a foolish method would be equally impossible. Socialism is decried by two classes; those who do not undersand what it really means and those, who, having most of the property now, fear to 1e it. Soalism is a science; not a fixed, but a progressive one. It is a study; an attempt to find a better method than individualism under which to live. It is a stage in evolution; doubtless not the final one, but, certainly, an advance on conditions as we have them at present. Socialism, under that name or another, is as certain as any stage in evolution that has already occurred. It is inevitable, for the following reason: We can all see, that under individualism the tendency has been toward concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few. This has gone on until, here in America, we are told that nine tenths of the property is owned by one tenth of the individuals. Now, in the present stage. wealth is power. It is only a question of time, and of a comparatively short one. when the one tenth will have all of the property. very laws of interest make this certain; as certain as any other problem in mathematics. When this time co.nes, if individualism still prevails, the members of this one-tenth will, so to speak, begin to devour one another, until, as the final stage, one man, or corporation, will control all the wealth; and the rest of us will be as truly slaves as wer: ever the blacks before the war. The When this point is reached, if we ever allow it to be reached, we must either submit to the most absolute tyranny the world has ever known, or we, the public, must take this power into our own hands. In other words. if we accept individualism, we must accept all that it ultimately implies. There is no escape except by the acceptance of the doctrines of co-operation taught by socialists. These doctrines are not fixed, or unalterable, but are evolving, as regards details; yet, the fundamental idea, that all property and all work that makes for the good of humanity, (the public at large, as opposed to the individual), should be in the hands of the community, and not of the individual, must prevail. These ideas are not new and some of them are at present in force, to a greater or less extent; for example, the government control of the post-office, of interstate commerce, of food and drugs. municipal and state ownership of various monopolies, and the like. All that true socialism advocates is It is admitted by all thinking men that these changes can only come about thru education. Socialism will never come as a revolution, but as an evolution: it is so coming about day by dav. We as physicians, can hasten it by learning what it means ourselves, and teaching it to others, so far as lics in our power. We know, better than any one else, what it would mean from the standpoint of physical well being; and this, undoubtedly, is the reason which will appeal most strongly to the average person. E. F. ROBINSON, M. D. Distilled hamamelis became an important article of commerce, being finally employed in immense amounts by the profession of medicine. It next crept into home use, the laity becoming acquainted with its name and its asserted qualities. To-day, after practically four decades have passed, distilled hamamelis stands firmly intrenched as one of the most largely used remedies in America, and that, too, in the face of such authority as Drs. John Marshall and H. C. Wood, of Philadelphia, who, in 1886, gave hamamelis a strenuous scientific laboratory investigation, and decided that there was nothing in the distillate, ending their article as follows: "The much used and still more lauded witch-hazel, or the so-called distillates of witch-hazel, must depend for their virtues upon the alcohol which they contain and the faith which they inspire."-J. Uri Lloyd, Ecl. Med. Jour., Dec., 1908. [This is not the first, nor the last, "laboratory" dictum, which "authorities" have pronounced with oracular positiveness, and which was afterwards shown to be false.] Cure of the Abortion Evil. The cure of the criminal abortion evil rests with society. When the good, moral, Christian people of our land look upon the maiden "who loves not wisely but too well" with more charity and pity, and less abhorrence, and provide more and better opportunities for erring ones to bear their cross of unwelcome motherhood away from the talons of the scandal mongers, then will the evils of abortion rapidly decline. It is all right to preach the sacredness of motherhood, to point out the crime of sacrificing an innocent unborn babe, but how about the curse which the world so readily pronounces on the "fallen one!" It, more than any thing else, drives countless unfortunates into the lap of crime. Secrecy is the one great object, for they dread more than anything else the sentence that the world is all too ready to impose. Therefore, if we would greatly decrease the abortion evil, let us be more kind, more charitable to the girl, who almost always is "more sinned against than sinning"; let us provide more opportunities for the preservation of her secret while she is fulfilling her obligation to nature; and above all let us recognize that bearing a child out of wedlock is not incompatible with true repentence and a future of honor and usefulness.Amer. Med. The unselfishness of Dr. Nansen, whose resignation as Norwegian Minister in London was recently announced, is illustrated by his action toward his wife before he departed for his famous polar expedition in 1893. He entered into a legal arrangement by means of which if he failed to return in a few years his wife could remarry again. When he came back again he was remarried to his wife he had SO unselfishly released. She thus had the unusual experience of being married twice to one husband.-Ex. Starving on Christmas Day. A woman telephoned to St. Catherine's Hospital, in Williamsburg, early yesterday morning and asked that a doctor be sent to 266 Maujer Street where a widow and eight small children were ill of starvation. The widow and the eight children, who ranged in age from ten months to thirteen years, were greatly emaciated for the want of proper food and lay on bundles of rags. All th furniture that the family had was sold to buy food. Mrs. Greenfelder and two of the children were found to be ill. The woman said her husband died six weeks ago, from consumption.-From the New York Times, December 26, 1908. [All is lovely in this most lovely of all worlds!] THE MEDICO-PHARMACEUTICAL CRITIC & GUIDE WILLIAM J. ROBINSON, PH.G., M.D, EDITOR. The Editor of this Journal writes his own editorials. He says what he wants to say and in the way he wants to say it without reference as to what Mrs. Grundy will say or think. The Editor is responsible for his own opinions only. He always tells the Truth or what he considers to be the Truth, but as he lays no claims to infallibility, he will be grateful to his readers f they will take the trouble to point out his errors. Vol. XII It is better to make a mistake in trying to tell the truth, NEW YORK, MARCH, 1909 No 3. Through the courtesy of the Editor we are permitted to use a small portion of his space and we utilize it to request you to remit your subscription WITHOUT WAITING FOR A BILL. DO IT NOW. No matter when your subscription expires, remit one, two or three dollars (ten dollars for life) and your subscribtion will be extended accordingly. Again: do it to-day, and your promptitude will be very much appreciated by The Publishers. Editorials and Editorialettes. The Food Science Charlatans. A druggist who had the misfortune to become infected with syphilis some three years ago, applied to me recently for treatment. His condition was truly deplorable. Influenced by the blatant newspaper advertisements of the notorious Julian P. Thomas, he applied to him for treatment and that worthy gent agreed to cure him by regulating his diet (without the use of any drugs) for one hundred and fifty dollars, payable in three installments. He received the first and second installments, the patient was getting gradually worse and at last discontinued treatment. And Dr. Thomas had the hardihood to threaten to sue him unless he remitted the balance of fifty dollars (which the patient on my advice did not). Now, libertarian as I am, it is my sincere belief, that any medical or non-medical quack who would meddle. with a serious disease like syphilis, undertaking in his crass ignorance to treat it without the use of those measures which have proved curative or at least undubitably useful in the hands of thousands of physicians with hundreds of thousands of cases, should be given a long term in jail, or should otherwise be rendered innocuous. It is a terrible thing to consider. Syphilis is now one of the most easily treated diseases if it is taken in hand at the very start. But if the patient gets into the hands of a quack, valuable time is lost, the disease is permitted to get headway, the brain (tumor) and the nervous system (locomotor ataxia) may get affected, and the patient comes to us for treatment when in many instances we can accomplish but very little, and that with great difficulty. Human health and human life should be too precious to permit ignorant pretenders, plausible charlatans and self-assertive greedy quacks to endanger and ruin it. And this leads me to say a few words about the "food science" experts or diet charlatans in general. The quacks follow the tendencies in scientific medicine very closely. They are unable to follow the real progress of medicine, for they have not received a solid enough education for that; but they can graze the superficialities, they can see the tendencies, they can feel which way the wind blows. Several years ago we began to perceive and to proclaim to the world that in many diseases drugs played but a secondary part, and that in some diseases a properly regulated diet (or fresh. air, or massage and exercise, and what we say about diet will apply to these as well) was paramount to everything else. Presto! At once there sprung up a lot of ignoramuses, who without the slightest knowledge of chemistry, physiology, biology or anatomy, declared themselves to be food experts, food scientists or food chemists and proceeded to cure and prevent disease by regulating -juggling is the more correct word-or by pretending to regulate the patient's (the victim's) diet. This diet business was a godsend to the quack. The drug treatment of disease they could not handle with such impunity. First, because most states have laws against the prescribing of medicine by quacks or unlicensed practitioners. And second, drugs and chemicals were a dangerous business, anyway. Some knowledge was indispensable; for without any knowledge an overdose might readily be given which would send the patient to his forefathers too suddenly, and the quack would find himself face to face with the law, for malpractice. But with diet-anyone could prescribe uncooked bread, or cabbage, or salad, or peanut butter, or nuts and grass, or sawdust, without coming in conflict with the law. And so, as we said, a lot of drugless "doctors" sprung up. Their name is legion, and it would be a waste of good paper to enumerate them all. Among the most prominent quacks of this type are: Julian P. Thomas and Eugene Christian, of New York, and J. H. Tilden, of Denver. They work the diet, or "scientific food" racket for all it is worth and the poor gullibles-a sucker is born every minute according to the high authority of P. T. Barnum-part with their money cheerfully and readily-until they finally discover that they have been taken in by bunco-steerers. Let me state right here, and in language which admits of no equivocation, that he who claims that he can prevent or cure such diseases as cancer, syphilis, malaria, specific urethritis, fibroid tumors, stone in the bladder, etc., etc., by "ordering" your diet, by making you eat Tilden Salads, or nuts or potatoes, or uncooked bread, little or no meat, 2 or 5 meals a day, etc., etc., is a fraud and a liar. In morality those fellows are beneath the pickpocket. The pickpocket takes your money, the quack doctor or "food expert" takes your money and your health; he takes the latter by preventing people from getting proper medical attention when such attention is most valuable. And nothing makes me feel more bitter towards the present iniquitous social system, than the spectacle of men of the type of Dr. Tilden prostituting their talent for the sake of filthy lucre, for the sake of money, money, money. We needn't bother with such fellows as Thomas, Christian, etc. They have neither knowledge, nor talent; they are ordinary quacks, and of those we have always had a goodly number, and always will have--at least as long as human ignorance lasts. But Tilden, while his knowledge of physiology and medicine is of the crudest and most elementary character (his knowledge of chemistry is nil), does possess a good deal of talent; many of his ideas are excellent and some of his writings are brilliant; and to see him exaggerate, prevaricate and prostitute his talent for the sole purpose of attracting patients, does make one feel sore at our present social system which is responsible for such types. If such men were not kicked and buffeted by fate, if they did not have the fear of poverty in their bones, if the spectre of starvation had not at some time stared them in the face, they would use their talent and ability for the welfare of humanity, instead of working all the time for self and pelf. In Reference to Never-Told Tales. The editor's humble effort, Never Told Tales, has met with a most gratifying reception. Some people, who are fond of using extravagant language, call it "the most important, because the most useful book of the century." The designation, "epochmaking," is quite frequent in the letters which we receive from those who have purchased the book. Moses Harman, the veteran editor of The American Journal of Eugenics (for many years "Lucifer"), who, for his advocacy of freedom of sex-discussions has been persecuted and has suffered more than any other man in America, writes: "I find Never-Told Tales one of the most interesting and useful books treating upon sex subjects that I have ever seen." Dr. Wm. F. Waugh, writes: "Last night I picked up your book, and never took my eyes from it until I had read the last word on the last page. It is dreadful, and the dreadful thing is that it is true." The encomiums on the book are coming in thick and fast. But, as is to be expected, here and |