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Show Scientist Shafts in Doctors' Ranks Public Health Committee Has Another An-other Hearing- on Bill Before the House. "If the Savior were on earlh now and went about healing the sick, . he could bo lined and sent to tho penitentiary under section 11 of this bill." "Many doctors give pills made of bread nnd water, trusting to tho Influence of tho mental faculties of the patient to effect ef-fect a cure." "Medicine Is not a sclenco; It Is a matter of experimentation." "The doctors don't nsk for a monopoly In treating diseases; they don't ask for a monopoly In healing diseases; they ask for a monopoly In receiving fees." Tho above were among the barbed shafts that Attorney Waldcmar Van Cott let fly into tho ranks of the "regular" physicians at tho hearing before tho Public Pub-lic Health committee of the House of Representatives In the legislative hall last night. Even though tho "doctor bill" should not be amended with a clause exempting ex-empting the Christian Scientists from tho provisions of tho net. tho Scientists who heard Mr. Van Cott give the doctors "theirs"" will be glad they hired him. Tho Public Health committee Imagined that the whole matter was settled two days ago. when It voted to recommend tho hill for pasago without the exception cinuse. But tho followers of Mrs. Eddy brought powerful pressure to bear and tho committee was Induced to reopen tho matter for argument Tho hall was almost filled with Scientists, Scien-tists, doctors nnd legislators when tho hearing began. Others camo In while It was In progress, but not one went away Uptll the last word had been said. Mr. Van Cott went Into the subject exhaustively. ex-haustively. Ho traversed tho whole history his-tory of medicine Ho guve a resume of medical legislation In the United States. He quoted the opinions of doctors nnd laymen on the value of medical treatment. treat-ment. "Under this law." ho said, "a Christian Scientist might treat thousands; a member mem-ber of tho dominant church might travel from one end of the Stalo to another laying lay-ing on hands for the cure of diseases: and. If they charged nothing. It would bo all right. This proves that the bill Is not for tho protection of tho public. It Is only tho fee that the doctors care about. The doctors don t ask for a monopoly In tho treatment of diseases; they don't ask for a monopoly In houllng diseases; they ask for a monopoly In receiving fees." He argued that If spiritual troatment Is bad for tho public; If It Is harmful to try tho Influence of good thoughts, then the treatment would be as harmful when given freo as when paid for. M. E. Wilson, attorney for the medical practitioners, replied that fees were mentioned men-tioned to cover Ihoso who make healing their vocation. The Savior, If he wore on earth, would comply with the law; he would not be subject to fine or Imprisonment Imprison-ment because ho was not In tho business of healing. F. B. Stephens, for the Sclonllsts. made tho last argument of tho evening. He said thnt the Scientists hud been teaching In Salt Lako for tho past fifteen years, and In all that time not a single case of contagious dlseaso had been carried by a Christian Scientist. One Christian Scientist Scien-tist had been arrested. Ho bad defended her and It had been proved at the trial that sho had allied In a regular physician to confirm her diagnosis as soon as she snw that the patient had scarlet fever. The only chargo against her was that sho had not reported tho caso to tho Board of Health personally, but had called In a doctor to do It. Mr. Stephens, by way of contrast, said ho had Just come from a mining camp, whero a regular physician had continued to visit his patients after he was broken out with the smallpox, until tho citizens quarantined him. Tho Christian Scientists, ho said, havo 30.000 communicants, and their death-rate Is less than that of tho leading llfo Insurance companies, nl- inwumi Jiiu.-i ui mem iiju rojijciCU riSKS. "The other night I asked Dr, Baldwin," Bald-win," said Mr. Stephens. "If a Scientist who treated a patient after he, the doctor, doc-tor, had pronounced him Incurable, would como under tho provisions of the bill and bo subject to line and Imprisonment Dr. Baldwin snld he would. In other words. Dr. Baldwin tolls an Incurable patient pa-tient 'I havo told you that you can't get well, and you ought to have sense enough to go out and die.' " The commlttoo rose about 10 o'clock. No further action was taken In regard to tho bill last night. |