THE WHITE PLAGUE AND OTHER ILLS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 942, 8 October 1910, Page 10

THE WHITE PLAGUE AND OTHER ILLS.

--.^Sir,—Anyorie>' L l'-:thirikj;'-'Vottld''-rVco'g'riise the ; propriety'df'-'ybnr'irabiriitting' my; lettor on' the above Subject in your' issue of. Octobet ,1;' to.such aa--authority as Dr." Freng-ley ;■-'.•■ but.-'witli'- Dr. ; Rodermund's' book-; before., riie -it- does ; not - seem' to me ; to contributo anything to tli© settlement of the' .immensely,; important questions I raised ;fo'r the-former to aver of the' lit-.' ! tor that ."hk knowledge apJ pears to '-be 'i».much "at■ fault that it is Jaughable.'- ■;He.seems to be rich enougn iri certificates arid medical .diplomas from colleges, >andf'pbst-graduate • courses;-:and: the augmented; knowledge; .:acquired.' by■ many -years- of .apparently alert'.and >observant. professional practice as a-special-ist,- and'/otherwise,'' and Sin 'view, of ..'the' .latter .W discount; :a'< good /deal of .the former.; Dr. .Frengley's reference to doctors and; their'.wives subn.itting tb'operation for Appendicitis does no' more than prove.that they .-.believe, in the remedy, : jusfc;as\;tke..faculty. did:,in cupping for all sorts iof'ttilments,.in "days' gone by. Dr. Rodennund' says:. "Appendiotpmy kills'many,.and injures- all who submit to it.."lii,;days,,to come; it. will-be olasseu among cririiinal opei'Ations along ;with vaccination.'' He quotes an article in the "Medical l ' Brief" of October, 1906,"i-in which Dr. William Rotzman, of Lincoln, Neb.., says: ."Within the. last : twelve, mouths I lia.ve treated forty, cases of ap- 1 Lpendicitis. Nineteen of;those were advised -by.-jtheir- family physician; or surgeon ;to have jan-operation, ; giving, them but. a 6hbrt time- to live.'iyithout;-," These nineteen' patients fell into -my hands urisbught'for, /but T treated, them-., without the los3.;of'.a. .-.single., case;, as ..well as twentyrprie other.,'oases, ; making forty cases; 1 ' Dr. Eode'rmrind further-, says ofhimself:, "I .hare witnessed'and'assisted 'in'.thirty-fotir; operation's. for, so-called ap-; pendicitis, but never..tave I.seen a 'dis-. eased appendix." .Again, he'.' says: "A. S. Stockham,: MJS.J quotes' the. statement of a'physician at a meeting of physicians in .Boston;"which .shows how,hard it is to get the actual, proofs 'even if you are | standing-'by .and-seeing the oriminal perr' form-ance,' as-long-as credit is given to. the statements.." of these prominent surgeons. jThis, physician, .who.is said to have per-, ifotmed ,;mbre 'operations .for appendicitis Jthan.ariy other -American. doctor,;,. made ;the sfatohient.that, ninety, of' the cases'that .'he, operated on for appendicitis .prqvod not to be that disease at Ml.. In explaining it, he said: 'We al;'ways .toll,:a. patient and his friends, that the, operation'.is. successful, and- show sbfrio: tangible excisions to prove the validity of .the'case.'" , '■' •Of'this woeful.uncertainty of the/value .of: the. knife,; except'to the surgeon;"-'we-haveather,evidence. At the last medical conference tin this country, it.was dclared that .the.only remedy for cancer'was to excise it at. an.early stage of its 'growth, and. yet'.Tl-r. Robert .Bell, F.F.P.S;, formerly senior physician ;to the Glasgow ■ Hospital for Women,,in hisvbook published by .UmTini.'Lpridbh,' in 1908,, "Health; at its Cancer,", says: ."During' a period of .fifteen, years J .had. iririumißrable opportunities of operating upon (iancer patients, 'an d it was. because I never had a' case-wh^re did "n6t:i take' I;hear of'any other, surgeon being ,'ni ore fortunate— : that I determined, in 18.91,. never to operate in malig-' riant disease "a,?ain." Since" that period, ■notwithstanding . nhat . Dr. • Senn., has staled: -I' have', seen many" cases rwover frbiri; the diseas\?, whilst, on the ;other hand,, those-who':': have, been treated surgically have, without exception, had; their sufferings;.aggravated,.,.and their .Hives Khortened.'.'-'.-He';,' quotes Dr.' W'ceden Cooke, who:.for twenty years was surgeon to'the'Cancer ; noi,xp\ital, London, :aii saying:.. "Operations, as a -cure for cancer are nri illusion," 'and Sir Benjamin Brodi.e,'.;jProfessor'.- lATTarlane, Professor Walsh, ' Professor": Sy'iwe, and . Sir James Paget' to; 'the.':same"eiTi'sot. 1 ;' '.-.j .... ■■ • Dr. Prengley- admifo, that the medical facultj-'is.not- certain, vd'iat are. the causes of scarlet foveridiphthdl-ia, or consump-: tion. Arid .'when; Dr. ,Ro(.V'srmund declares that none - of ■ them" 16 compacted by:-con-tagion, but gives other .'ii'Xplanatio!a, of their contr.actioiii. he quotes. theiaot,that other -' diseases' o'uco declared; to be -'j con-; tagious, yellow.'fevqr among . them;, are • now recognised to. bo riot, sol.- "The.'bontagion '• fright" he says, ."has uo doubt been the'eauso qf ■ thousands'- iof cases of yellow fever."- But I must .not rewrite, his book, -which is written wit'tt-coniiider-able wi'ath for those'who, lieiraV.'ionsiders, inflict useless pains and .heavy' <sosts •' on suffering .humanity, and -with, 'tin* ATiilenbe that ho lias to suffer bimseri; not little for his outspokenness again'st v wh.»t regards as the crimes of his;pr?fess.foni, and, for which .he :also - seems V to 1 thi'ak that ■ there are those who "should be dvp«ived!

of their liberty," for ho says: • "Laws should be passed holding a physician responsible for hi 9 acts, just as any other individual is." . ■ . ' My only purpose in referring to tho matter again and finally is to show that there are at least grounds for thorough inquiry before the Legislature enacts anything involving the expenditure annually of thousands of pounds of the people's money for methods of prevention and cure "which may be utterly worthless. A lay health association might well be formed, with a subscribing membership, and branches throughout tjio country, to promote monthly or quarterly discussions of medicatquestions, upon which papers could be road giving the pro's and.'cons from medical authorities, and taking tho vote- of the members at such discussions upon the questions raised, as a means of public education ; and possible protection in relation to matters of health and disease... It .would at'least beextremely'interesting and, useful to ordinarily intelligent folk.' Books to be discussed . could he recommended to members.—l am; etc., PRO BONO PUBLICO. October i, 1910. . ■

Sir,—l have read; with very great interest the letter and. footnote published in Saturday's Dosrxsrioii' on 'tho subject, of tho medical man's attitude towards certain surgical operations and certain so-' called contagious; 'diseases. "Pro Bono Publico" is, deserving of thanks for ..directing atentionto Dr;Rodermund's book;The medical profession is-a. very noble one,•'but'its -members'are:,too. closely allied for the outsider to have'any hope of obtaining from .it 'that, free '-criticism of medical and surgical practices which prevails in most other, professions. When a medical man breaks away ';:■ from the opinions of his fellows aid publicly, criticises their methods of'treatment of given, diseases he takes V a very; great risk I.of being ostracised.:'. :-.Tet it'is from the ao-, tions. of, thos6 who' break' away from tradition—men of .independent, thought and original research—that we. have gained most. What.is the.value of the opinions of fifty medical-men who "follow blindly text-book instructions" and the ."common prafctice" of "their, > profession, h , regarding' the treatment for a-'-given .'form .'of., disease compared Vwith the opinion: of one .man', who.'has -made : that. disease .his .'special life,study; No bne,'who has 'any.knowledge of 'the' subject believes' nowadays that surgery ris _ necessary.,,. ins.-anything like .-the proportion-of cases yin which it is used..- The;public is'.'at: the-l mercy, of. the' 'medical,-.profession;: and; "while. I "should-be the;last to say that.-the! public has not much' .'to;; be" thankful for,. lam not blind to the weaknesses:of'tke':professiori. and one'.of 'their greatest.'weaknesses is their, treatment -of '.departure,':. from what they regard;,--'.is: orthodox.,,.'.'Tro Bono Publico's"' authority niayybb'. wrong, but he has the ..'courage:., of -his convictions.—l' am,i etay; ' : ?, ; i •■■' v: ,'•''.- '■ .> '■ .'■■'- :,,.'.'-; ■" ' ,:'. .'}': '-■'■<■;: '-1: .'ANTI-KNIEE;,,