Show THAT MEDICAL IAAV A Drummer Rallies Array at f Provisions Itnmbcr of Cases to Show Its Absurdity To the Editor of The Herald I have been travelling this winter through part of Kane and Garfield counties and have heard the people express themselves freely respecting the medical law now in Utah The general expression is that they cannot can-not conceive why such a law was passed for no doctor can find sufficient work in one single town and for the people to be compelled to go from twentyfive to one hundred miles to find a man who has passed an examination examina-tion in Salt Lake city by doctors a some special school who are asking for protection in their practice to the cebution of good and experienced persons per-sons who have been treating the sick for years and often not even made charge for sdrvioe who come and have set bones for the people and the people have full confidence in their judgment and honesty And to give them up and be compelled to go from twentyfive to one hundred miles to get a party who Is a stranger to them and if he was not able to do any better and then have to pay him milage ands and-s to the amount from 50 to 75 according to distance they consider an outrage upon poor people To them i looks to be the greatest kind of protection pro-tection to a certaIn cass to the injury of the whole people There is no mistake about the fact that doctors disagree a to treatment and scarcely two will treat the same case alike and frequently they will condemn each others treatment it is evident that one will be strange and perhaps both and I is 3 further fact i that every county has its own good I nurses who by experience have found out simple remidies for the treatment of the diseases of the district in which r they live and do handle the complaints much better than a doctor who has to i make a flying visit and cannot stay unless paid extravagant fees sty I While In Kane Whie county a young man named Shier accidentally shot a ball bal through his finger while handling a horse A party in twon told him that 1 would be much the best to cut off the finger right at onCE as a ball had passed through the knuckle and shat tered the bone all to pieces He was fully able to take it off but reused to do so on account of the law The result re-sult was the young inan would have to go seventyfive miles to a doctor I He remained in town until has hand became so swoolen that it was feared he would have toloose his feaed had then to go the seventyfive miles and is now waiting the swelling to go I down before his finger igt aken off which will have t be done at a cost of 30 and a loss of one months work I Another case occurred while I was I at Orderville a boy by the name of powers was thrown from his horse and nit upas the back of his head I bing on the ice the skin was not cut Considerable Con-siderable blood gathered under the scalp and needed to be let out The parents became I considerably alarmed fearing his skull was broken r experienced party present said the skull was not broken but the scalp should be opened tp let out the blood but refused to do it on account of the law Another bystander bystand-er said curse the law he would dp It and take chances which he did and the boy after a few days was all right Had i not have been for that some would have had to have ridden seventy miles to Panguitch for a Uoc tor which it would have cost considerable consid-erable and his parents not able to pay At the next town Glendale a boy by the name of Foot whose horse fell on the jce had hisl leg broken A party in town who had been accustomed to setting bones set the leg who took upon himself chances of the law Had it not been for him the parents in care of whould sent the boy have tp have sixtyfive miles for a doctor which I would have cost not less that 75 besides be-sides the boy being in pain and danger by delays and then it would not be sure the doctor would come unless his pay was guarnteed I There are lots of such cases all the time going on The idea is ridiculous I that a party shall be compelled to go any distance from twentyfive to fifty miles for a doctor to attend to a sick wife or child when there is in every town from six to eight good nurses who can better attend to the case I I college graduates can be projected at risk of life and family comforts why not protect blacksmithsshoemak i 1 ers carpenters and others who have spent years In learning their business I on the ground that it is dangerous to let an inexperienced man shoe your horse or a shoemaker who has not graduated make a shoe for fear it will J cause you to have corns or a carpenter carpen-ter ithe same for fear the roof of your house shall fall upon you and you be j killed by a quack carpenter I I The law for doctors was not got up I for the benefit of the people but for the benefit of the protection which law permits them to I U people professionally profes-sionally and not be held responsible for so doing but they can charge and collect for so doing At the same time should a good old experienced nurs I be attending to a party and he die would be held In malpractice before the I law I am satisfied that statistics will fail to show cases of malpractices in Utah except by professional doctors for those who administer home medi f cines are careful not to give any thing that will do harm and such drugs as I strlchnim morphine cocaine and opium will not be administered I I is a well admitted fact by all doctors doc-tors of high standing that in most cases what Is needed for the sick is to I nurse the patient with careful diet keep clean and well ventilated rooms bowels kept reasonably open and na ure and not physic will complete the cure and all doctors know It Now let all professional doctors establish es-tablish themselves by their practice like all other business men and if they do anything worth notice and their charges are reasonable they will find I something to do providing the people are sick A DRUMMER I Junction Piute county Feb 1894 |