The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

16 The Health Bulletin March, 1927
employoos. is a result of the fact tliat
most "suruooiis have so far contimuHl
to look askance at this work," and the
insistent demand of a certain class of
the public has naturally tempted the
advertising quack throu.uh the beauty
parlor to venture into this field which
has so many dangers, both to the
patient as well as the quack who undertakes
it. There would be considerably
more rt^ason and sense today in the
barbers uiidertakinfj to do major surgery
than there is for beauty parlor
attaches to pi-actice medicine as many
of them are doing in such things as
face lifting, wrinkle removing, and so
on.
In conclusion, it is probably true that
the richest field for quacks and nostrum
vendors is through exploiting the victim
of venereal diseases. Naturally
these victims fear disclosures of their
condition, even to friends, let alone
their physicians, and are easy prey to
the quack and the nostrum vendor,
especially as long as they have money;
and when they hear these false and misleading
advertisements, often posted in
public toilets and other places, advertising
as certain cure for diseases like
gonorrhea and sj^philis, "blood remedies,"
and so on, it is not surprising
that they yield and part with their
money, make their condition worse,
further menace the public through the
distribution of their disease, and delay
sometimes forever a cure.
We have no remedy to offer for these
things except the old one of honesty
in advertising; and we would also urge
the physicians tliemselves to be more
plain spoken with the public in matters
of these kinds, and he should also study
the mental needs of his patient along
with the physical and be governed accordingly.
Sometime we hope the public
will realize that the age-long struggle
against quackery is not a selfish effort
on the part of any physician, but is
simply a conscientious discharge of his
own duty to the public for the protection
of his fellowman.
PREACHER AS DOCTOR AND
DOCTOR AS PREACHER
In these days of rejuvenated controversy
over such things as mixing
church and state and religion and politics
there is a bewildering amount of
talking going on. We read in the same
issue of the same newspaper that "tliere
is no conflict between science and religion"
and on the next page some
pseudo scientist blatently proclaims
that "science and religion has nothing
in common, no relation whatever to
each other." And so it goes. One says
a scientific man cannot possess religion
because science deals with demonstrable
facts and religion is based on
faith. Another says the chief aim of
science is to destrf)y religion and undermine
all faith. Out of the welter of
wind and sound generated by two-byfour
bigots on each side it is refreshing
to read such statements as Dr.
Allan Craig of Chicago made recently
in a speech at Charlotte. Dr. Craig was
in Charlotte attending a meeting of
Physicians and Surgeons and was asked
while there to address the Charlotte
Parent-Teacher Association. The Associated
Press published the following interesting
report of his speech :
"Clergymen and doctors need to get
closer together and 'pi-eachers should
do more doctoring and doctors should
do more pleaching' Dr. Allan Craig,
Chicago, associate director of the
American College of Surgeons, told a
district conference of jia rent-teacher
associations in session here today.
"Dr. Ciaig came here three days ago
for the North Carolina Hospital Association
Meeting and with other noted
physicians has been holding a series
of clinics.