848 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. No. 544. 



In these later times our practitioners of the 

 healing art seem studiously to avoid the cares and 

 labors of political life. Occasionally you may 

 meet a plij'sician in the legislature — even this, as 

 some of their caste say, is unprofessional — but as 

 a body they appear to prefer the position of out- 

 fielders in this arena. There are two notable 

 characteristics of the active and skilled physi- 

 cian — a close observation of detail and a deft 

 attention to the matter in hand — ^the duty of the 

 hour, of the moment. These qualifications are 

 admirably suited to the requirements of public 

 life. No more favorable hope can be expressed 

 for the future than that the members of this great 

 profession will again resume an active interest 

 and prominent position in the political affairs of 

 the state and nation. 



The physician of the future will have 

 no easy berth, for, in his profession, as in 

 all others, fitness, tact, erudition and in- 

 dustry must win the way. The sluggard, 

 the ignoramus and the indifferent must 

 fall by the wayside. 



The number of people entering the med- 

 ical profession is probably too great. In 

 the United States of America, including 

 the Philippines, Porto Rico and Hawaii, 

 there were in 1901, 115,222 physicians in 

 a population of 84,332,610. The last com- 

 plete data we have concerning the number 

 of attendants in medical schools are for 

 1899. In this year there were, excluding 

 graduate schools, 156 medical schools in 

 the United States with 24,119 students. 

 The growth in the number of medical stu- 

 dents in twenty-one years has been 142 

 per cent. 



In addition to these undergradute schools 

 there are eight graduate medical schools 

 which had (in 1895) 624 instructors and 

 1,813 students, of whom 59 were women. 



In Germany the conditions are quite un- 

 satisfactory and the overcrowding of the 

 medical profession in that country is a 

 matter of grave concern. There are now 

 in the empire 29,200 physicians, which 

 doubles the number found in 1876. In 

 other words there is one physician in Ger- 



many for every 1,700 inhabitants. In the 

 city of Berlin 46 per cent, of all the physi- 

 cians have an income of less than $700, 

 and five per cent, of the whole number do 

 not have a sufficient income to return it 

 for taxation. 



On the other hand, in the legal profes- 

 sion in Germany 80 per cent, of the laAvyers 

 have an income exceeding $2,000. 



It is estimated that the preparation of 

 a man for the duties of a physician in Ger- 

 many costs about $6,000, and thus it is 

 seen that the income is often less than 10 

 per cent, of the fixed charge on the capital 

 invested. This leaves practically nothing 

 for the reward of his own personal serv- 

 ices, nor for wear and tear. 



What are to be the remedies for this 

 condition of affairs in the future? Shall 

 the physicians organize a union and admit 

 only a certain number of apprentices each 

 year, or shall they have the requirements 

 for admission, when properly applied, ex- 

 clude all those who are not extremely well 

 prepared? In the great school of the 

 Beaux Arts in Paris the number of ad- 

 missions is strictly limited and, perhaps, 

 the great world school of medicine will 

 have to come to this condition of affairs. 

 In fact, an approach has been made al- 

 ready in at least one great medical school 

 of this country, and candidates for the 

 degree of doctor of medicine are not ad- 

 mitted until they hold a previous degree 

 of an academic character or study equal 

 thereto equivalent to the course of study 

 required for the ordinary degree of 

 bachelor of arts. The effect, however, 

 which was anticipated in this particular 

 instance was not realized. Indeed, there 

 was at first a diminution in the number of 

 students in attendance, but, attracted by 

 the greater fame Avhich a degree from such 

 an institution would afford, this condition 

 was gradually overcome and the actual 



