Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1908 — A Very Meritorious Ordinance. [ARTICLE]

A Very Meritorious Ordinance.

Some weeks ago Dr. Gwin, acting in the capacity of city health officer, had occasion to call upon an old doctor who Vas stopping at the Makeever Hotel, and whose ad vance advertising had proclaimed in glowing pterins that specialists from a great institute *of medicine and surgery would be here to heal all the sick that would apply to them. The advertising smacked eo loudly of deceit that the Republican refused to pablish it, and when the self-styled “specialists” arrived it developed they were traveling in the singular and that there was no tangible evidence of “eminence” about him. He looked and talked very quacky. Dr. Gwin decided that the proper fhing to protect die public from deoeits of this character would-be to have a city ordinance passed that ft would require these people to take out a city license in order to practice. The ordinance as proposed seems entirely reason able and we helieve should be passed by the| council. These traveling doctors are usually not successes in a located field and the people because they have made remarkable claims do so at'no small amount of risk. The bill is not introduced because the local M. Ds. fear|(soch competition, but is aimed to protect the public against fraud. It is not im probable that, so far as the local physicianr are concerned, they would get more business in correct ing the blunders that the quacks have committed than they would from the patients that patronize the quacks, if they had taken home treatment in the Ant place. The ordinance will not prevent any person calling a doctor from any other place, and is simply aimed to prevent quacuery. It would not effect Dr. Rose Bemmek, the optician as she is credited with a Rensselaer residence* As regards the effeot on business, these people patronize only the newspapers and the hotels, and they use the first to deceive and should be turned down by all just as the Republican turned the last one dewn. The passage of the ordinance will be a very proper preoeeding.