The Midwest pioneer, his ills, cures, & doctors - University Library ...

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required by this law to render to the president of the
medical society of his district "a true and accurate record
of all the births, deaths and diseases which may take place
within the vicinity of his practice." Any physician who
refused to attend the state meetings of the said societies
was to be fined $5.
That this law had little effect may be concluded from
the fact that, under the law of 1825, which divided the
state into five districts, the "practicing physicians" of each
district were authorized to elect a censor. The five censors
so elected were to meet at Vandalia in November and form
a board to examine candidates and grant licenses. Those
with medical school diplomas or licenses from any "respectable
medical society" were not required to submit to
examination. Once the board of censors was organized it
could certify the censor and physicians of each district, or
their appointees, to conduct the examinations. Any person
who practiced physic contrary to the provisions of this law
was subject to a fine of $20, which was to go to the county
poor fund.
Only about twenty persons attended the first meeting
of the "Illinois Medical Society" (the board of censors),
which was held at Vandalia in November. Most of these
were applicants for licenses.^"
The law of 1825 in its last section provided that the
board of censors lay before the next General Assembly a
plan for a permanent system of licensing. If they did so,
nothing came of it, for on January 25, 1826, the legislature
repealed the law of 1825 and no further legislation for this
purpose was passed until 1877.
Kentucky, which had some advantage in years over the
states of the Old Northwest, might logically be expected
to have pioneered in medical regulation. But it did not.
Prior to 1860 there was no definition by law of who was
a doctor of medicine. ^^ Practice of medicine was open to
all, subject only to the power of opinion and influence of
the various medical societies. An irregular or "quack" could
be professionally blacklisted or read out of the profession,