Quackery Unmasked/Chapter XXXI
CHAPTER XXXI.
REFLECTIONS.
It is sometimes said that fashion rules the world, and it is certain that the sceptre of the fickle goddess is often observed in the province of medicine. The force of example is incalculable. In this country each class in society is always striving to imitate in appearance some class above it; and such individuals as can, are ever making efforts to attain the highest rank. When their property or business relations will not allow them the position to which they would aspire—when dress, and show, and every other expedient, fails, they have one dernier resort; they can have, or pretend to have, some fashionable disease, and be waited upon by the most fashionable physician in town. The doctor who attends Mrs. Judge and Mrs. Gen. , will of course be chosen. It is wonderful to see how many persons make it a regular business to be sick, or at least to be nervous and require the almost constant attention of some superfine medical attendant. There are many such individuals, who, if we may believe them, are never well; they are constantly suffering or anticipating pains in the head, or side, or somewhere else; they are constantly on the lookout, and watch for pains with as much acumen as the hunter does for game. and are ever making use of some genteel remedy. Some of these exquisites would be ashamed to acknowledge themselves quite well, as that would be thought extremely vulgar; and since this class of patients must be furnished with something adapted to their fastidious appetites, the more the articles which they use are attenuated, the better. A single sugar pellet, or a few drops of magnetized water, may be quite sufficient, if the dose can be repeated so as to keep the cure continually going on.
Can any one believe that these fashionable effeminates are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons who first colonized America? Does the warm blood of the heroes of the Revolution course through such shadowy forms? How far back must we trace their genealogy to find the last glimpses of that sterling intellectual power which their ancestors possessed? If the American people should go on improving, as they call it, in this way, not many generations would pass before, instead of the iron frames and giant intellects which our ancestors possessed, a community of Lilliputians, whose physical and intellectual measurement might well correspond with the dimensions of homœopathic globules, would supply their places.
We would not be uncharitable towards the sick or invalids of any class, nor turn a deaf ear to the slightest groan of suffering humanity. We are aware that much suffering is hidden from common observation, and that many pine in silence and go down to the grave without a murmur. We know, too, that females generally bear pain with far more fortitude and less complaining than men. But whilst we know and acknowledge all these things, we cannot shut our eyes to the vast influence which fashion is constantly exerting in favor of quackery. If the men of this generation would make use of the same kind of plain common sense which Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson employed in their day, all the fascinating schemes of modern empiricism would be overthrown and demolished.
The necessity and importance of a well-qualified and well-regulated medical profession can never be doubted by civilized men. Infidels may scoff at religion, and quiet men may see little need of lawyers, but all will acknowledge that the sick and wounded must be cared for; and it must certainly be important that those on whom that care devolves, should be qualified for the task, and that some standard of qualifications should be established, in order to guard society, as far as possible, from unworthy and incompetent individuals. In despotic countries, the edict of a sovereign may fix the standard; but in the United States, that standard must be settled by public opinion, and the greatest good of the greatest number should be the basis upon which it is predicated. Physicians will never be too well qualified. Let the standard be as high as will best promote the safety and welfare of society, and let all good men unite to sustain it. Let the whole community be enlightened upon the subject of medicine, and be induced to examine and judge of it with the same reason and plain common sense that all men exercise in their ordinary affairs. When these things have been done, all the most rational and most efficient means will have been employed for the removal of quackery. But we can never expect its complete extermination. History informs us that it has always existed in some form or other, and a consideration of the human propensities leads us to conclude that it always will. An insatiable thirst for the marvellous seems to be incident to the human mind, in all states and conditions of society. Man lives in the midst of mystery;—if he looks back, or forward, or around him, he is constantly lost in wonder and amazement; and unless his mind is disciplined, cultivated, and trained to reasoning, he is poorly qualified to separate facts from appearances, and truths from falsehoods—and even then the most cultivated intellects are often found to embrace obvious delusions. But it is acknowledged on all hands that nothing but the diffusion of intelligence can, with any hope of success, be used as a remedy against mistakes and frauds; and when that fails, the case must be given up as hopeless or allowed to expire by its own limitation.
Too much is always expected of medicine. It cannot accomplish all that the public or the profession desire; and although it appears to be continually improving, and increasing in knowledge and means of relief, yet the changing condition of society appears to increase the demands upon it in nearly the same degree. The science can never be expected to arrive at a state of perfection. There are intrinsic obstacles in its nature, which no human power can overcome. Nor would it be reasonable to suppose that all who engage in it are always every way worthy of that responsible vocation. Physicians are not free from the common infirmities and errors of other men, and the standard of moral and intellectual merit by which they are to be governed is mainly confided to public opinion. Full perfection cannot be found in any other calling, and it certainly should not be looked for in this. If the public bestow the same attention and respect, and the same pecuniary compensation, upon empirics, that they bestow upon regularly educated physicians, it tends to bring down the standard of professional merit, and remove the barriers that should protect society from ignorance and fraud. Therefore whatever tends to discourage or drive educated and reliable men out of the profession, or to encourage and sustain ignorant and irresponsible individuals in it, is at war with the best interests of society.
We say nothing about the rights and interests of the profession or its members, but simply implore all good men to view the subject in its proper light, and use their influence to protect the public from deception and abuse. We shall enter into no argument in behalf of the profession itself. Let suffering humanity do that; her groans, and tears, and faltering whispers, are more potent than arguments and declamations; let these be heard, and we are satisfied. These demand the best efforts of men of learning and skill, men in whose ability, honor and fidelity the world may confide. They ask us to raise the standard of professional acquirements, to extend the term of pupilage, and require a more thorough course of clinical instruction in order to protect society from empiricism "within as well as without the profession; they demand the highest moral standard, a standard that shall exclude all profanity and dishonesty, a standard that shall resemble in purity the mountain snow, and in firmness the mountain adamant.
The advocates of every new empirical scheme have always indulged the false hope that their system was soon to supersede all others. So said the ancient quacks, and so say the moderns. More than forty years ago the disciples of Hahnemann asserted that in a very few years the entire system of regular medicine would be overthrown and superseded by homœopathy; and the same prediction has been continually reiterated by its advocates ever since. And how have these predictions been verified? Has the regular system of rational medicine—the system which quacks delight to call the old system—faltered and declined, or showed signs of decay, during any time past? Far otherwise. Her numbers and resources, her means of usefulness, her reputation and influence throughout the world, have ever been increasing. And who that knows anything of the world can be silly enough to suppose for a moment that any empirical scheme can ever overthrow, or in the least harm, the established system of scientific medicine? It is founded upon reason and well-established truths, and is essentially the same everywhere, in all countries. Differences as to climate, modes of living, social and domestic habits, may to some extent vary medical treatment; but the essential principles of the science are acknowledged to be everywhere the same, among all Christian nations. And the doctrines taught, and remedial means used at the colleges and hospitals in London, Paris, Vienna and Edinburgh, are essentially the same as those that are taught and employed in all the medical colleges and hospitals in the United States. The immense lazarettoes that are spread over the habitable globe, with all their preparations and appliances for the relief and comfort of suffering humanity, are exclusively the fruits of the labors and the persevering and self-sacrificing efforts of rational medicine. These, with their millions of inmates, are so many fortresses which she has established; and who but a fanatic or idiot can suppose that any scheme which quackery may devise will ever be able to destroy them? As well might a corporal's guard undertake to conquer every citadel in the known world.
Political revolutions may dethrone monarchs or abolish republics, and commotions may overturn established institutions of society; nations may be overwhelmed and conquered by enemies; but scientific medicine must continue undisturbed, every where the same and invincible.
Although quackery is everywhere acknowledged to be a crying evil, some appear to think that it should not be opposed. You can do nothing, say they, to suppress or diminish it; it is useless to try. Is this good philosophy? Do sound statesmen or moralists ever act upon such a principle? Certainly not. The most efficient legal and moral means are constantly employed against vice. And will any physician who regards the honor and usefulness of his profession, or any intelligent citizen who values the good of society, stand still and look on in culpable apathy whilst the tide of empiricism rolls on, prostrating at the same time the honor of the profession and the best interests of humanity? Shall the public continue to contribute its millions annually, to enrich empirics and nostrum-mongers, and enable them to build palaces, purchase cities, and fill their coffers with treasures filched from the hard earnings of the poor? Shall the widow deprive herself of bread, whilst she gives her last mite for some worthless nostrum? And will no one raise his voice against it? Evils of other kinds are suppressed, abated, or kept in abeyance, by public opinion, and no wise moralist thinks proper to let them alone to take their own way, hoping they may eventually die out or be superseded by some greater evils. This mistaken policy has too long prevailed. It is idle to say that nothing can be done. Men adopt false notions for want of correct information. Spread before them the necessary intelligence, and public opinion will, to a great extent, correct errors and reform abuses. Knowledge is the sovereign remedy against error; and although its effects may not be seen immediately, it will eventually succeed. We are aware that opposition to errors sometimes makes their advocates more desperate, and it would not be strange if such manifestations should be witnessed in the present case. But these struggles may always be regarded as the expiring throes of morbid existences. Truth must eventually triumph over error. "Veni, vidi, vici," is inscribed upon her banner.
Although the human race has tenanted this globe nearly six thousand years, rational medicine may be considered even now to be in its infancy. During all the dark ages, a superstitious priesthood claimed supreme dominion over all human institutions. Medicine was held to be within their exclusive province, and none were allowed to question clerical authority or to offer any changes in medical matters. Under that state of things, generation succeeded generation, and century followed century, whilst medicine continued chained to the blind car of a bigoted priesthood. Whenever laymen attempted to detach the art of healing from clerical embrace, and make it a distinct profession, they were visited with the severest rebukes, and capital punishments were often inflicted upon such as dared to offer innovations to clerical dogmas. The escape from the paws of that fearful lion has been by slow and dangerous movements. But as soon as it got free, and had become a distinct and independent existence, it made efforts to expunge all the superstition with which it had been incumbered, and to establish itself as a rational science. Yet tradition perpetuated superstitious notions among the common people, and it is evident that, until the art of printing came into use, medical science could make but slow and feeble progress. Nor did the sacerdotal power release its hold upon the profession suddenly and entirely. Even now, in pagan countries, medicine is controlled by the priesthood. It is but little more than two centuries since the true course of the circulation was ascertained by Harvey. Considering all the obstacles that have ever stood in the way of her progress, it must be acknowledged that she has done all, and more than all, that could be expected of her since her freedom from sacerdotal power. She has set up her colleges and spread out her hospitals in all the civilized world. In these the true science is nurtured and cultivated, and from these all future improvements must be expected to proceed.
It is a fact that stands out in bold relief in medical history, that all opposition to truth has come from bigotry and superstition, and never from the genuine profession. Here is a hint, which, if regarded, would serve as an infallible guide in judging of medical schemes. Bigotry and superstition may reject truths, but scientific medicine never has, and we believe never will, reject any thing but falsehood. Allow the science to take care of itself, and let no obstacles be thrown in the way of its progress, and it will undoubtedly go on improving and increasing in its resources for many centuries yet to come.
Now what are the inducements which the profession of medicine offers to those who may engage in it? Any one who will, may immolate himself on the altar of humanity; but what shall the individual gain to himself? Medicine is not a lucrative business; the same capital, invested in almost any other, would bring a more sure, more speedy and better return. Its gains are tardy and uncertain, and the life-time labors of many worthy men bring them nothing but a humble subsistence. As a class of men, the physicians in the United States are poorly rewarded for their services. This may be partially owing to the plethoric condition of the profession, but the great patronage and support that is everywhere given to quackery is the principal cause. If all the money that is annually paid for nostrums, and the services of quacks, were given to the members of the regular profession, they would be amply paid and society greatly benefited. No one who values his liberty and personal comfort should look for it in this profession. The physician lives an unsteady, irregular and precarious life. He is certain of nothing; he can have no established hours of labor or rest; his physical and intellectual exercises, and even his devotions, are the sport of the winds. He is often obliged to substitute night for day, and day for night; he is often hurried away from a repast of which, with an ardent appetite, he was about to partake, and public opinion seems to require him to be ever ready to sacrifice any comfort of his own, at the bidding of others. The uneven tenor of his life is not congenial to the best interests of his physical or intellectual being; by it, the former becomes attenuated, and the latter broken into fragments.
This profession is not the proper sphere for ambition. Its duties and responsibilities are in general incompatible with civil office. But when that is not the case, public opinion often appears to forbid all such aspirations, and assign public honors to others, who, though not more competent or more worthy, are yet more at liberty to discharge the requisite duties; so that the physician is to a great extent enshrined in his own special province—his bounds are set, over which he is not allowed to pass. The public seem to think that every fibre in his flesh, and every drop of blood in his veins, is the lawful property of humanity. Of the intrinsic value of his services, the public are not competent to judge, and consequently commendation or censure is often strangely misapplied.
But we must pursue this side of the picture no farther. Let us turn away from it, and forget it. On its reverse, we may find a few green spots, an occasional oasis, or some wild flower. It is a comfort to rest after toil, to feast after fasting, and to sleep after watching. It is pleasant to meet friends, and enjoy their cheerful greetings and social intercourse, or share with them their anxieties and mingle our tears with their sorrows. When there is no excess of cold, none of heat, and no pelting storm without to annoy us, it is pleasant to go abroad on a visit, to breathe the pure air and enjoy the variegated beauties and perfumes of nature; and if on such an occasion we happen to see others, whom we have helped to raise from a languishing bed, partaking of the same enjoyment, it greatly enhances our own happiness. And if the pecuniary compensation for all our labors enables us to supply the wants of our families, we are satisfied. But the most precious reward which the physician ever receives, consists in the blessings of those who were ready to perish. His greatest satisfaction springs from the thought that he has been able to afford so much relief to suffering humanity. He regrets no labor or suffering of his own, when he reflects that his efforts have assuaged the sorrows and dried the tears of so many individuals and families. This sublime consolation is his proudest and highest reward.
Heroes may boast of their valor, and glory in the number of their slain, they may mingle the shouts of triumph with the groans of the dying, exult over prostrate humanity, and proudly bear away the laurels of victory from the field of carnage. But the glory of medicine consists not in destroying but in saving life, not in making wounds but in binding them up; and her proudest chaplets are the spontaneous offerings of grateful hearts.
A brief extract from an address of Professor Simpson; of Edinburgh, to a class of graduates, shall close this chapter.
"Talk not of the heroism of him who flies to arms at the sound of the trumpet, with the phantom of glory beckoning him onward; somewhere for him in the dim future there may be honor and power, of which he dreams that he may be the possessor, and hope whispers that he shall bear a charmed life amidst the smoke and din of battle. But it bears no analogy to the heroism of him who voluntarily gives up his life to the interests of humanity, who consents to die that others may live, and makes this sacrifice, not that he may be crowned with glory, but that he may, by suffering death himself, bind up other broken hearts, and heal other wounded spirits."
REGULAR AND IRREGULAR PRACTITIONERS IN THE UNITED STATES.
The following table has been prepared from statistical returns, from entire States in some instances, and from cities and counties in others; and where no returns have been received, a comparative estimate has been made—so that although it is not presumed to be entirely correct in every particular, it is believed to be an approximation to a fair exhibition of the different classes of practitioners. We are sorry to find so large a number of empirics in the United States; but, at the same time, it is gratifying to know that in Great Britain, and everywhere on the continent of Europe, the relative number is far less, and we are well assured that as the public become more and more enlightened upon the subject, quackery of every kind will be less and less patronized here.
The whole number of regular physicians in the United States is about 31,000.
Irregulars, as follows:
| Homœopathists, about | 1000 |
| Hydropathists, about | 400 |
| Female Physicians, | 300 |
| Eclectics, | 800 |
| Botanies, | 600 |
| Chrono-Thermalists, | 300 |
Besides the foregoing, there are—
| Indian doctors, | Astrologic, |
| Clairvoyants, | Magnetic, |
| Natural Bone-setters, | Uriscopic, |
| Mesmerists, | 7th sons, |
| Galvanic, | Blowpipe doctors, |
| &c. &c. &c. | |
With a large number of itinerant nostrum venders; perhaps, in all, three or four thousand.
The whole number of regular physicians in the State of Massachusetts, at the present time, is about fourteen hundred; and the number of irregulars, of all sorts, is about two hundred.
The number of regular physicians in the State of New York, is about five thousand two hundred; and the number of irregulars, of all sorts, about eight hundred.
The whole number of regular physicians in the State of Ohio, is two thousand five hundred and forty; and the number of irregulars, of all sorts, seven hundred and forty-three.
The city of New York has about one thousand regular physicians, and about three hundred quacks.
There are in Great Britain thirty-nine or forty medical universities, which have, in all, about five hundred regular professors, with a large number of subordinate teachers. The average annual attendance at these institutions is about three thousand.
The average annual attendance at the regular medical schools in the United States, is about five thousand, and the annual number of graduates about one thousand.