930 
something to trade in the game and barter 
of legislation for something which would 
please a larger number of constituents and 
command a larger number of votes. In view 
of the fact that after all the argument of 
votes is the only one which appeals effec- 
tively to the average Congressman, it be- 
hooves this Association, in its efforts to 
conserve the interests of the profession and 
of society, to put itself in a position to in- 
fluence the largest number of votes. Every 
physician, therefore, should, in a perfectly 
respectable sense, become an active work- 
ing politician. This subject, however, is of 
such breadth and of such depth that it may 
be well for us to pause at this juncture 
long enough to consider, from the stand- 
point of fundamental facts, the relationship 
of physicians to each other, and of the 
medical profession in the aggregate as an 
integral factor in society. 
THE PROFESSION, THE ASSOCIATION AND THE 
COMMONWEALTH. 
In approaching a study, however brief, 
of the relation of the medical profession to 
the state or, as I prefer to call it, the com- 
monwealth, I feel that I am inviting your 
attention to an eminently practical theme ; 
one which may enable us to understand the 
influences by which we have arrived at our 
present estate, and the means by which we 
may advance to even greater achievements. 
As we approach this theme—this eminently 
practical theme—we discover that the status 
of the medical profession, like that of every 
other element of that complex whole which 
we call society, is a perfectly natural one. 
Whatever it may be, it has been attained in 
the process of evolution and has been and 
is determined by laws as immutable as 
those which govern the commingling of 
atoms or the sidereal strides of the planets. 
It is not the result of conventions or of 
resolutions or of statutory enactments; 
but these are to be interpreted rather as in- 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8. Von. XIII. No. 337. 
dicize, for the time being, of the position 
of the profession in the body politic. They 
are, indeed, consequences rather than 
causes, and as such they are subjects for 
careful inquiry. It is by a study of them 
that we are enabled in part to determine 
those laws, those natural laws, our har- 
mony with which is essential not alone for 
the present usefulness and continued prog- 
ress of the profession, but for the ability 
of the medical profession to conserve the 
welfare and promote the happiness of so- 
ciety at large. 
But I have said that the position of the 
medical profession is a natural one. The 
truth of this declaration is apparent when 
we go back to the beginnings of society— 
when we examine the evidences presented 
by primitive peoples. We are familiar 
with the classic example so frequently util- 
ized as a starting point in the discussion of 
sociologic phenomena—the example of the 
two aborigines, one of whom makes better 
arrows, and the other, better mats, than his 
companion, when, presently, one confines 
himself to arrows, the other to mats, each 
trading his own for the other’s products. 
Here is an example of the beginning of 
what the scientists call ‘specialization of 
function in the social organism.’ It is an 
interesting process, which, based upon 
varying necessities and diverse aptitudes, 
results in multiplication of handicraft until 
somebody is hurt. This is a new necessity, 
and it is met by a new aptitude, and the 
possessor of that aptitude—the medicine 
man, our honored progenitor—steps upon 
the scene. His companions, appreciating 
his services, reward him with their arrows 
and mats; and he, finding the life to his 
liking, restricts himself to his new-found 
vocation—and the medical profession is es- 
tablished ! As the necessity for his services, 
whether of charm or incantation, becomes 
more apparent, the esteem of his fellows 
becomes more pronounced. As events pro- 
