Show PCMSUIXO FAITH CITE HE L1ETJ1S Dciiuro recent ysara the number of people in the United States who profess a belief in the possibility and practicability of curing disease by faith has steadily Incrraswl I ami their peculiar views and conduct are somewhat perplexing to courts and officers of the law In many of the states Is made by law Incumbent In-cumbent cpon husband parents and guardians to provide proper medical attendance for their wives children and wards In cases of sickness But the question frequent I ly arises Shall a person who believes be-lieves In the sick being healed by faith be arrested fined and Imprisoned Im-prisoned for fallingor refusing fu provide or adrnihkler medicine to U1CIU7 This question involves not onlj the vital element religious liberty but also the basic principles of tIn socalled science of medicine If Ii be granted that the lawmaking power has the right to compel administration of medicine to a sid person it must follow as a maltci r of inevitable logic that the I legislature legisla-ture has the right to say wins I is medicine and what is not The attempt to do this would raise n Btorm among the medical ran r-an there lay sympathizers among the masses The allopathic practitioners prac-titioners would hold that the minute pellets of sugar containing but a faint trace of drugs which the homapatbkts sLoe are not medicine at all but limited confectionary only Christmas goods ou a small scale as It were And thus the ficU I of medical polemics would he invaded in-vaded by the lawmakers with prub able consequence too farreai hing I to be easily foretold The right to require that medicine medi-cine be administered to the Mck logically Includes the right to discriminate dis-criminate as to what remedies chat I or hall not be used Thus In mi minister Ipecac ss a remedy fo gout or to require patient to Urinl coal oil to cure the cramps nigh appropriately be prohibited by law If the lawmaking rower is to tate the subject In hand It is difficult to discuss this ques tion in a manner to avoid a vieii ol f absurdity which runs through it Even TO staid a journal the 2fcw York CWsftan Cnbn is scarcely able to do it as the following remarks re-marks made by It Indicate If society may detonates that prayer will not heal and punish a man for adminWering prayer why may it not determine that allorctlifc remedies will not heal and puuUh him administerIng allopathic remedies rem-edies The Individual hw some rights which the majority are bound I to respect To attempt to compel aLa I man a-La pursue tho course of healing j which the majority think right Is i I carrying sumptuarylegUUUon beyond I be bounds to which It was ever car clef by Pnritan or Hebrew We doubt whether its parallel Is to be found even In the legislation of tile S French Revolution The blool of Uu martyrs is the seed of DIN than UE church If we want to food frejtho fire I fanaticism we can scarcely Invec I a better way than by putting half a I dozen faithcarisis Ja prison for no giving their wives and children tho I medical treatment which is common in the community If tome people dio Lerwant want of drugs a great many die because of them If society will I take precautionary measures to pro tect children from the ignorance or the religious enthusiasm of their parents par-ents or guardians it will carry pester UTe measures as far a it can carry them with safety or advantage It is not difficult to draw the line beyond which legislation should not extend relationto this Subject Society has therlght to enforce such measures will check the spread cf infectious or contagious Jiseaseaal to provide mltable medical attendance attend-ance and care for the tick But it has no rightto compel a ration I person to use remedies to which lie objects |