228 
Modern  Medicine. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1915. 
so  rapidly  that  it  has  been  difficult  even  for  members  of  the  medical 
profession  to  keep  track  of  its  advance.  In  most  cases,  individual 
physicians  have  only  been  able  to  master  one  particular  field.  So 
far  as  the  people  are  concerned,  they  have  been  utterly  unable  to 
keep  pace  with  the  rapidly-growing  knowledge  of  the  profession  and 
are  consequently  often  unable  to  understand  what  physicians  are 
trying  to  accomplish.  Yet  the  most  superficial  survey  of  the  field 
will  convince  any  one  not  only  that  the  social  responsibilities  of  the 
medical  profession  are  to-day  greater  than  ever  before,  but  also  that 
never  before  has  there  been  so  wide  a  gap  between  technical  scientific 
knowledge  on  the  one  hand  and  popular  opinions  on  the  other. 
One  of  the  paradoxes  of  the  situation  is  that  we  have  to-day  a 
medical  profession  better  educated,  more  competent,  capable  of  doing 
more  and  desirous  of  doing  more  for  the  prevention  of  disease  and 
the  benefit  of  society  than  ever  before,  while  the  mass  of  people, 
although  more  intelligent  and  better  informed  on  general  subjects 
than  their  forefathers,  are  largely  unaware  of  the  benefits  which 
they  may  derive  from  the  application  of  the  knowledge  of  modern 
medicine,  and  are  hindering  and  delaying,  by  their  indifference  and 
at  times  by  their  open  opposition,  the  application  of  knowledge  in 
the  hands  of  physicians  which  can  be  utilized  in  protecting  the  people 
from  disease  and  in  prolonging  their  lives.  This  anomalous  condition 
has  long  been  recognized.  It  has  not,  however,  been  as  generally 
recognized  as  should  have  been  the  case,  that  such  a  condition  must 
be  due  to  definite  causes,  and  that  if  sufficient  study  were  given  to  it 
some  solution  must  be  found.  As  the  will  of  the  majority  is  the  only 
compelling  force  recognized  in  our  government,  and  as  the  support 
of  public  opinion  is  indispensable  for  the  successful  carrying  out  of 
any  social  measure,  whether  in  the  form  of  laws  or  customs,  it  is 
evident  that  the  recognition  of  the  causes  underlying  the  present 
situation  and  the  removal  of  any  obstacles  to  the  fullest  cooperation 
and  understanding  between  the  medical  profession  and  the  public 
constitute  a  problem  of  the  highest  importance  and  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  greatest  minds  in  the  profession. 
For  a  clear  understanding  of  any  problem  it  is  constantly  neces- 
sary to  revert  to  essential  principles.  Too  often  those  who  are  par- 
ticipating in  current  events  are  unable  to  estimate  correctly  the 
relative  value  of  different  factors  in  the  problem  on  account  of  their 
very  nearness  to  and  intimate  participation  in  its  phenomena.  Ac- 
curate history  cannot  be  written  until  years  after  the  events  which 
it  describes.   We  are  living  to-day  in  a  period  of  greater  importance 
