July 18, Dr. Morris Fishbein, Editor of the "Journal of the American Medical Association," some ago published a volume on New Medical Follies." This hook made ils appearance ax part of a well-defined campaign ducted by ethical and rebut physic the United States quacks, swindlers and fakers who were, and making tremendous fortunes of the miseries of the suffer Dr. Fishbein's hook isp larly valu at this in Shanghai, because m the frauds which he donau aire now oppe openly, som with regard to Fishbein use of electric devices has a definite place in the treatment of disease, It should not be thought, however, that any electrician or machinist is competent to use such methods. Blectricity is a Gwo-edged sword; in the ands of the ignorant, it_may wreak disaster. Actually its use should be limited to those who have had the training of physician fand then given special study to the use of electric devices or to competent echnieians working. under the direction of a phy-order diploma will not do Most of those who turn to the quack suffer from the psychological illness of wanting to be thin. More mischief has been done by the "reducing quacks" than by any other group of medical swindlers, Pastes, soups, waxes, mud, even chewing. xum have been put upon the market to induce slenderness.
Most of the nostrums, fortunately, produce no results so that the Patient does not suffer beyond 4 loss of money for her foolishness, but of others Dr. Arthur J.
Cramp, M.0., Director of the Bureau of Investigation of the American Medical Association, writes:
"Palpitation, excessively fast heart action, a sense of fullness in the head, Inssitude, trembling of the limbs, fever, sweating and sleeplessness are some of the symptoms that may result from the uso of thyroid. Such a powerful agent has no place in pro-duets "sold for self-medication, and its indiscriminate use by those who are ignorant of its dangers, and possibly even of its presence, is a distinct menace to the health."
In this connection, it is only possible to call attention to the need for medical registration and supervision by the Couneil—or better "till, would it not be possible for the three munieipali: ties that constitute Shanghai to draw up a single code to be made effective throughout the district? Even if some fraud-lent practitioners managed to evade the code through some weakness of the extraterritorial system, the mere fact of exposure and censure would do much to destroy their practice which is, after all, the principal yon ' of the' British and medical societies
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.