CHAPTER XXII.
THE PRESS.
If I were asked what single cause contributed most to lead astray the public mind upon the subject of medicine and promote criminal quackery, I should answer, The Press. I think I may say, without fear of contradiction, that in no age or country has the nostrum business been carried to so great an extent as in the United States at the present time. Our free schools, of which every American ought to be proud, where all, who will, may acquire the substantial rudiments of a thorough education, are often so improved as to give the pupils only a smattering knowledge of a variety of subjects. By such means, many a man is prepared to become "Jack at all trades," and ready to embark in almost any enterprise that appears encouraging. A very little medical knowledge, and a great deal of self-conceit, prepare him for a quack doctor
