Life, 1913-07-10 · page 36 of 44
Life — July 10, 1913 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article mocks American medical establishment's resistance to Dr. Friedmann's tuberculosis cure. Friedmann was a real German doctor whose treatment, promoted around 1910-1912, ultimately proved ineffective. Life's satire cuts multiple ways: it ridicules both Friedmann (for presenting a failed cure) and the American medical profession (for prioritizing professional control over actual healing). The piece argues doctors resented Friedmann as an "outsider" and suggests the profession would have protected him had he been properly credentialed and "naturalized." The article's darkest joke: doctors should control medical discoveries *regardless of whether they work*—sarcastically noting vaccination "does not cure smallpox" yet remains profitable and professionally controlled. The satire exposes how medical authority depends more on institutional membership than efficacy, and how professional gatekeeping can obstruct innovation while protecting established practitioners' interests.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
for a sample cake We know that if you once look through this pure transparent soap, smell its delicate perfume, and feel its rich, creamy lather on your face, you will never again be satished with any toilet soap less pure and perfect. White Rose Glycerine Soap insures a soft, clear, beautiful skin. Three gener tions of refined women of both sides of the Atantie have proven its merits. Sold in every country where beauty is ad- mired, ot health is desired. For a sample trial cake send 2c. stamp today to Mithens & Kropf, Dept. L, 298 Broadway, New York Another of the many No. 4711 Toilet Prepa: that will deight you's the famoos No, 4711 E. Eau de Cologne. made in the ancient city of Cologne since ‘Sold by good dealers the world over. Ferd. tae Ne, 4711 Glockengasse, Cologne 0/R Germany U, S, Branch, Miithens & Kropf, New York Moth-Proof Cedar Chest ON FREE TRIAL—NO MONEY DOWN StzeoeetSx21320 8 26 Qeickly pays for itself by saving storage charges. Pro- Row tects arn, Leathers. fabrics frown mots, Siesonest ad on goa. A sober et, exauely mate. cial Hall er W Many other syle factory yrces, Wee fre Catalog Tooke Z_MUNMOWES (Og fut South ses hactinnd, Mele A Happy Marriage Depends largel; knowledge of the wh whole truth about self and sex and their relati a health. ¢ does not come in- a igently of itself, nor correctly from ordinary, every-day sources, SEXOLOGY (Iltustrated) ha Gh liam H. Walling, A.M, M. imparts in a clear jolesome way in one volume Knowledge a Young and Should ifave, her Should Have. art to His Son. hould Have. t to Medical fia ae fisvest® Danaher, All In one vole Mustrate, $2, postpaid. Write for Other Pe nd Table of Contents. Puritan Pub. Co. 776 ‘Perry Bldg., Phila., Pa. An Unfortunate Mistake HE great ethical question now to be decided is whether the simple fact that Doctor Friedmann's cure for tuber- culosis has been demonstrated not to cure is enough to bar it out? Personally we do not think so. That is to say, it scems to us extremely illogical to bar out anything in the medical line just because it docs not happen to cure peo- ple. We suspect that in Doctor Fried- mann’s case his great difficulty was in what the golfers term the approach, He came to us as an outsider, and his in- terference was resented by the American medical profession. ,They naturally feel when any new discoveries in medicine are to be made, which do not efi-ct a cure, that they should cortrol the field. The fact, for example, that vaccination does not cure smallpox is an incident compared with the great desirability of Lerforming the operation of vaccination at all the way from fifty cents to five dollars a treatment. What Doctor Friedmann shculd have done, therefore, was first to get himself naturalized and then properly installed as a member of the American medical profession. After this had been done he might have placed his “ cure" with impunity; then when it was demon- strated that it did not cure, his fellow members would have stood by him in the crisis and rendered inoperative any statement that he was trying to foo! the public, Perhaps Doctor Fricdmann’s jesson, kowever, will not be without its result, especially for other doctors who come from abroad with new-fangled serums. “To merchants the world is a bale or a heap of bills of exchange; for most young men it is a woman; for some women it is a man; for certain men it is a drawing-room, a clique, a district, a tow A GENTLEMAN WHO IS SOMLWHAT DOTTY The Reflections of a Beginning Husband Edward Sandford Martin Writer of Editorials for Life The witty and humorous handling of the marriage problem by a safe aod sane thinker, as done in this book, will prove a source of pleasure even to a bachelor.” — Boston Globe. “Every young woman, rich or poor, ought to read this book. It would help her married life, no matter what the fin- ancial status of her husband—when she gets one. Probably there are more daughters of the wich willing to marry poor but energetic and respectable youre men than we have any notion of. book may inspire some such young men to try the touchstone.” — Philadelphia Inquirer. “Can be recommended for reading aloud.” — The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer. “Once started the book refuses to be put aside, It is something new and good.” —San Francisco Chromile. “A. good book for those who are married and thore who are going to be.” —Savannah News. “Let husbands read this book; it will do them no gic — Los Angeles Times. “Quiet humor, honest sentiment and fidelity to life.”"— Brooklyn Times. “The combination of wit and sentiment in this story has a charm not unlike that of the unforgotten *Dolly Dialogues.’ ” — Nashville Demo- erat. “An example of just what con- temporary American literature needs.” — Louisville Courter-Journal. $1.25 net HARPER & BROTHERS WI Bu He En An “G Go, For He Th Th No Un f comicbooks.com