jAlfUABT 28, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



133 



disease, and this can be accomplished in 

 only one way, and that is, the development 

 and maintenance of medical research. This 

 is a national and community problem, and 

 that nation which does this most generously 

 and most wisely will dominate the world, 

 because it will become the strongest and 

 the best. At present it must be admitted 

 that Germany is in the lead, and the pre- 

 dominance of the German is due to his 

 universities and the encouragement that he 

 has given to scientific research. American 

 medical research grows stronger year by 

 year. There are numerous laboratories 

 that are turning out most creditable work, 

 but we need more of them and better equip- 

 ment for those we have. The nation, the 

 several states and the large cities can make 

 no better investment than that given for 

 the purpose of widening the knowledge 

 necessary to keep the people in health. 

 We may reasonably hope that the discov- 

 eries to be made in our laboratories will 

 tend to decrease poverty, diminish sickness, 

 prolong life, increase the effectivene.ss of 

 the individual, add to the comfort and con- 

 tentment of the people, and give to our 

 country in the coming generations stronger 

 and better men and women. A certain 

 number of medical men of the future must 

 give their lives to research work. How- 

 ever, this number will always be relatively 

 small. 



It is my intention to speak especially of 

 the medical practitioner of the future. 

 This individual's duties are to be quite dif- 

 ferent from those of the medical practi- 

 tioner of the past, and if the world is to 

 profit, as I hope it may, by the aid of med- 

 ical science, the attitude of the profession 

 toward the public and that of the public 

 toward the profession must radically 

 change. Heretofore the medical man has 

 been taught from the beginning of his pro- 

 fessional studies that he must not talk 



about professional matters to the laity. 

 He has been made to feel that his duty is 

 to practise and not to preach. To a cer- 

 tain extent this is wise and must hold for 

 the future, as it has for the past. The 

 practise of the profession, so far as the 

 relations of physician and patient are con- 

 cerned, is sacred and must not become mat- 

 ter for gossip. All imderstand this and no 

 man worthy to be a member of the profes- 

 sion will for a moment forget or cease to 

 hold sacred his relation to his patient. But 

 the medical man of the future must become 

 a public teacher, instructing his community 

 and advising with those in authority con- 

 cerning the good of the whole. In doing 

 this he must use, in a proper manner, of 

 course, the usual avenues of reaching the 

 public, such as the popular magazine and 

 the daily newspaper. Up to the present 

 time the only instructor of the public in 

 matters pertaining to disease has been the 

 charlatan who has made extensive use of 

 the daily press. This must be altered for 

 the public good. The medical man must 

 disseminate through this and other avenues 

 the knowledge necessary to combat disease, 

 and there has been nothing more encour- 

 aging in the attempt, just now begun, and 

 of necessity led by the profession, to stamp 

 out tuberculosis and to diminish the other 

 infectious diseases than the readiness with 

 which the newspapers of this country have 

 taken up the matter. The national anti- 

 tuberculosis society is sending twice a 

 month material bearing on this subject to 

 hundreds of newspapers, and they are 

 making proper use of it. I know of no 

 reputable newspaper that has declined to 

 participate in this great work. The best 

 and most accurate information concerning 

 the prevention of disease must be diffused 

 through the masses. The medical man of 

 the future must talk and write on these 

 subjects not exclusively for the benefit of 



