THE DENVER MEDICAL TIMES THOMAS H. HAWKINS, A. M., M. D., WESLEY T. SUNLEY, COLLABORATORS: Henry O. Marcy, M. D., Boston. Editor and Publisher S. H. Pinkerton, M. D., Salt Lake City. Bradford Galloway, M. D., Leadville, Colo. G. Law, M. D., Greeley, Colo. SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR, IN ADVANce; Single Copies 20 CentS. Address all communications, whether as to business or for the editor to 1740 Welton Street We will at all times be glad to give space to well written articles or items of interest to the profession. Entered at the Postoffice of Denver, Colorado, as mail matter of the second class. Editorial Department. Newspaper Doctors.-It seems that there are certain members of our profession-some of them good men and in every way, except their newspaper advertising weakness, strong men-who are given to periodical manias for advertising themselves in the daily press. Perhaps some new cure for hydrophobia, an idea obtained during a sojourn in Europe, creeps into their brain and they immediately, through the medium of cigars or a bottle of whiskey, creep into the daily newspaper with a long account of a new discovery. A distorted blood cell found under the microscope, and they rush for a reporter. Shame on these men! They are a disgrace to themselves and to the profession, but so long as time lasts we must be infested, or, rather, troubled by these parasitic neophytes. Usually these individuals try to be respectable so long as they can work the medical profession and the newspapers and the laity, and maintain their grip on the County Medical Society; but when at last it comes to a show-down-and sooner or later it does-and they are compelled to choose between conducting themselves ethically or stepping down and out, they generally choose the latter and spend the rest of their lives carping and prating about the narrowness and meanness of medical societies, the medical profession and the ethical doctors. More Taxes.-The Colorado School of Medicine announces a dental department which they want the people of Denver and Colorado to support from their private purses, and they also modestly ask that the dentists and the doctors of Denver send all their dental cases to their private infirmary, where dental services at a mere nominal fee may be secured. Poor dentists! You must not only pay your taxes to educate dentists, but you must give up your practice as well. There has been more or less abuse of the dispensary system connected with the colleges, but, up to now, we believe that no medical college has had the courage to send out a private circular to physicians, asking them to send their patients to a dispensary where medical services might be obtained at a nominal fee. "Free to All.-University of Colorado Dental Infirmary, Stout Street: Open Afternoons; Fees Nominal."-Some time ago we suggested the advisability of the State running a free laundry department. Doubtless the Board of Regents have been considering this matter and will very soon act. The above advertisment, which appears in one of the daily papers, is no doubt the beginning of the end in this direction. We intimated that possibly some poor washerwoman might object to the free state laundry, but then, what right has a poor washerwoman to kick when the rights of the state are being considered? It is barely possible that some of the dentists in Denver, who are not overly blessed with this world's goods and who are, perhaps, at present charging only nominal fees to some of their patients, may kick on this free dispensary; possibly, at least they may cry "Ouch!" It is noth 1896.-1896 is no more so far as we are concerned. ing to us now. So far as we have disseminated knowledge or garnered information or ideas others may, and we, possibly, will, profit. So far as we have sown the seeds of dissention or soured or wrongly biased our own dispositions, others may and we will possibly suffer. We do not belong to those who believe in taking a morbid and sentimental view of the past, nor do we believe that we should linger in meditation over the past-only just sufficiently long to learn the lesson taught by our mistakes or reap the benefit by noting the advantages of an upright course. Nor do we believe in New Year's resolutions or the turning of a new life every year. Children may need to resolve, and houses with cracked or defective walls may need props; but men who have arrived at full maturity, trained and disciplined as medical men usually are, need but to continue on in the even tenor of their way. A little retrospection and an occasional introspection, with a fixed purpose in life, is all that is necessary for an earnest and upright physician. Physicians who have not formed good habits, who have not acquired methodical methods of work, who have not learned to work in direct lines, who have not learned to be upright and honorable, who have not learned to deal fairly and charitably with their co workers, who have not learned to love and admire the beautiful until they enter the ranks of the profession as practitioners, will never learn these traits; they may profit, they may grow better, but they will never be truly good and upright; they will never be earnest students; as authorities they will never be considered reliable. In saying good-bye to 1896 we also desire to thank our friends most heartily for their sympathy, aid and friendship, and would bow most reverently to our enemies and bid them God-speed and, further, we assure them-our enemies-that we owe much to their proddings. The venemous arrows of our enemies often carry on their points gens of truth, and, as the arrows of our enemies are aimed at sensitive points, they usually make lasting impressions. True, most of our enemies are cowards; in fact, the quintessence of the animosity which makes one man an enemy to another is made up of cowardice, yet the keen desire to hurt will often arouse in these individuals sufficient courage to speak the truth and they have sufficient knowledge of human nature to know that nothing hurts like being told of our faults, and none else, save an editor, can do this kind of work like an old, true and tried enemy.-Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. Higher Medical Education and Medical Legislation.-Dr. D. B. St. John Roosa, in discussing this subject (American Medico-Surgical Bulletin), says that we should feel highly honored in being classed as medical politicians. He believes that medical politicians are absolutely essential to the integrity and progress of our calling. The doctor spoke of the abolition of the code of ethics in so far as it restricted consultations, which restrictions had in former times driven out of the ranks of the regulars some of the brightest and best men. The storm of criticism and excitement brought about by this abolition of the code in New York resulted in a reform, and the profession can now see the benefit of abolishing certain portions of the code. He believes that the passage of the law creating the Board of Medical Examiners, would not have been passed prior to the days of free consultations. A young man at present knows that it is his own fault if he fails to pass through his work. Every man must pass the same kind of an examination. The result is that a young man chooses the college best fitted to enable him to pass this work; therefore, the best colleges will flourish and the poorer go to the wall and no young man will want such a thing, whether he be doctor, eclectic or homeopathic. Dr. Roosa believes that the profession should stand shoulder to shoulder and work for better times and better legislation, and we would add that the time spent in wrangling over whether a man is an eclectic, homeopath or something else, had better be spent in a united effort to pass better medical laws and to enforce a better and higher curriculum in our medical colleges. County Hospital.-The medical staff of the Arapahoe County Hospital is unquestionably composed of good men. There are just as good men in the profession of Denver not represented on the staff. One reason for the exceptionably strong staff at the County Hospital is the fact that politics, up to now, has had but little to do with the appointments. There are three medical colleges, and each school is represented by from six to seven of their best men. In our opinion, it will be an evil day for the County Hospital and for the medical profession when the men on the staff of the County Hospital receive their appointments through politics, through wirepulling. We believe that each school should have, so far as possible, the same representation on this staff and that, when a man resigns from his school, he should resign from the staff of the County Hospital, or rather when he accepts an appointment on the recommendation of his school as a member of the staff of the County Hospital he should feel that he is under obligations to that school to resign from the staff when he is no longer a member of the college recommending him. Colorado State Medical Society.-Within a few short months the Colorado State Medical Society will again convene in annual session. It is earnestly desired by your executive committee that this meeting shall equal, in every way, its predecessors, and if such a thing is possible, surpass them in point of attendance, excellence and number of papers, new members, entertainments, etc. Your committee therefore appeals to you and asks for your hearty cooperation. Begin to think of your paper; get to work on it, and send in its title early so that a copy of the program may be in the hands of each member at least a week before the meeting. Talk up the Society to your physician friends who are not members and send in their names. If you have any suggestions to offer that will enhance the value of the Society and its meetings, we shall be pleased to receive. the same and give them due consideration.-Executive Committee, Colorado State Medical Society. By C. K. Fleming, Chairman. Western Surgical and Gynecological Association. The 5th annual meeting of the Western Surgical and Gynecological Association. will be held at Topeka, Kansas, Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29, 1896. We desire to extend to all regular physicians and surgeons a cordial invitation to be present and take a part in the proceedings. Topeka is a delightful city, noted for its hospitality, and the local profession have arranged for our entertainment. A strong program is assured. Opening session at IP M. Dec. 28. THE CARE OF THE FEET.-We once were acquainted with an old minister, formerly a circuit rider, who was in the habit of washing his feet every evening with cold water and who never, to our knowledge, had such a thing as a "cold." Unsuitable foot-wear is a menace to the proper development of the race, says Dr. J. B. McCassy (Am. Med. Surg. Bulletin, Oct. 24) in the course of a practical article on "Footwear in Relation to Catarrh." He inveighs strongly against the ignorance and vanity that have so distorted and deformed the strength and beauty of the natural foot, and asserts that compression of the blood vessels in this part retards the circulation and prevents the full development of the bones and muscles of the lower limbs. Other common results of tight and ill-fitting shoes, according to this writer, are headaches, heartaches, fainting spells, rheumatic and lithemic conditions, general fatigue, irritability, sleeplessness from cold feet, chilblains and loss of the proper elasticity in the step of these martyrs of fashion. Congestion and infiltration of the upper respiratory tract from chilling of the surface of the body is a very frequent consequence of unsuitable footwear. Wet feet, remarks the writer, has been the initial step in the causation of more sickness and deaths than any other agent. The old adage, "Keep the feet warm and the head cool," is the great safeguard of health. In conclusion, a proper shoe is one that has a broad, low heel and flexible upper and sole with round full toe. Shoes made of box-calf, or willow-calf, with heavy double sole or invisible cork sole, are suitable for winter wear, Tan leather is a good material for summer use, permitting the greatest venti |