Review, and for that matter not only to them, or the Nebraska State Medical Association, but even to the medical profession of Nebraska and the great northwest, was the report of the Board of Censors and its precipitate disposition by the Board of Councilors and by the House of their recommendation, to-wit: That a committee of three be appointed to confer with the Review Company and if satisfactory arrangements could not be made at this session of the association to cancel the contract existing between the Review Company and the Association.

All this referred to the perennial pesky weed, illegitimate advertising, which does not only grow in the garden of the Western Medical Review, but in many a journal of the greatest, even if pretended, importance to the profession of medicine. Heaven only knows with what persistence publisher, the official body of the Review and the Association's Board of Censors have striven to extirpate this pest. And to a calm, unprejudiced mind it may possibly appear that their work has not been altogether in vain. A comparison of "then" and "now" in the advertising pages of the Review will quickly enlighten anyone who cares. Then why this precipitate action at this time? And one, and possibly a majority of the Board of Censors, did not even know that such a report would be made and the report itself certainly did not justify the drastic recommendations of the Council. Possibly the instigators of this report do not know that the price paid for the Review by its subscribers is only a drop in the bucket of the expense of its publication, and yet the only ambition all who are concerned in the venture have is to satisfy to the full the requirements of its subscribers. Has it occurred to these iconoclasts that there are other and far more sinister and more powerful forces at work to destroy the Review's desires for the good of the profession? The writer knows of one so-called "National" organization which would not hesitate a minute to turn over $5,000 to the Review with its present influence if the owners, editors and publisher would sell their advertising space to them-and lose their professional souls. All that is asked for is a square deal, gentlemen, and you will surely be satisfied. Remember, Rome was not built in one day

yet how easily it could be destroyed in one day! Why attempt this inglorious job in this instance?

Much could be said and written of this annual session. Suffice it to conclude this writing by the hope that many in attendance heartily enjoyed their visit to Omaha and to the meeting. The entertainments offered were very remarkable for their fullness and goodness. The banquet provided splendidly for the body and the soul-the former was well taken care of, and the latter when will it forget the lesson it received?. An exhibition by Mr. Truax of the beauties and magnitude and multitude of the wonders of this, our great country, was a lesson to all of the people that they should speedily learn that they ought to see all these things first, before they explore other con'tinents and other worlds. The smoker to the men? Never cleaner, never better and more thoroughly enjoyed, full of good music, good singing, dancing and other things, thanks to the efficient committee. Unfortunately the writer was not initiated in the doings of the ladies of the Association and their entertainers. He does not doubt for a moment, however, that they even outdid the other sex in their endeavors to please.

The management at the place of meeting, the Rome Hotel, showed the success of Mine Host Miller and of the committee by a hiding of the hands which were at the wheels, which moved noiselessly and smoothly to the great pleasure of all concerned.

The Annual Session has come and gone with its pleasures and lessons. Let us pull out the thorns, if any pricked; anticipate renewed pleasures at the next meeting at Lincoln, and take the 'lessons to heart for better work and increased love for one another and for our beloved Association and our great Profession. A. S. vM.

The Sophistication of "Soft" Drinks.

The near advent of the warm season with its attendant thirst, coupled with the great American habit of consuming large quantities of soda-water and other "soft" drinks, has prompted the New York city and Montana boards of health in recent bul

letins to deal with this subject. The Montana bulletin contains an article giving a long list of bottled, carbonated beverages which were found either adulterated or misbranded when examined in the state laboratory. Most of them contained saccharin; samples of "ginger ale" contained capsicum but no ginger, and the fruit beverages all contained artificial flavors and colors, which were not declared on the label. It is also stated that since saccharin does not aid foaming as does sugar the manufacturers are in the habit of using extract of soap-bark, which produces a good foam. Not only is this substance deceptive, but also the soap-bark contains a toxic principle, sapotoxin, which is markedly poisonous. The bulletin of the New York city department of Health sets forth a regulation prohibiting the use of soapbark in beverages and in fillings used by bakers. Violations of this regulation will be criminally prosecuted. The prevailing habit of consuming large quantities of bottled, carbonated beverages in hot weather is undoubtedly productive of much harm. The knowledge that poisonous chemicals are among the ingredients should discourage their use. Probably neither the conscience of the manufacturers nor statutory or health board regulations will entirely prevent the sophistication of these "soft" drinks.

SENATE FILE NO. 310.
A BILL

For an act to make it unlawful for any physician who is called in consultation by another physician to whom a patient is sent for treatment or operation to divide fees or pay commissions.

Introduced by Senator Dodge, of Douglas. Introduced and read first time February 3, 1913. Read second time February 4, 1913, and referred to committee on medical societies. Sent to printer February 4, 1913.

Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Nebraska:

Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any physician or lawyer to divide fees with, or to promise to pay a part of his fee to, or pay a commission to any other physician or lawyer or person who calls him in consultation or sends patients to him for treatment or operation. Any physician or lawyer who pays, or receives any money prohibited by this act shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred ($100) dollars and be liable in a civil action to the patient for the full amount received.

:

President's Address.

*By I. N. PICKETT, M. D., Odell, Neb.

Fellow Members of the Nebraska State Medical Association, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I wish first to express my appreciation of the unsought, and I feel unmerited honor which you conferred at our session, in electing me to the highest office within the power of the Nebraska State Medical Association.

The selection of a country doctor to preside at your deliberations, demonstrates the democracy of our organization, and the fact, that any member, however humble, is eligible to this great honor.

This is all the more noteworthy, when I consider and remind the older members that for the last 25 years I have been conspicuous for my silence and inactivity on the floor. Many times I have felt "parasite" would be a more appropriate term for me than a mere member of the "silent majority," yet during these 25 years, this body has generously and gracieusly given me all the honors within its gift. From the bottom of a grateful heart I thank you.

This last honor which you have bestowed, carries with it certain mandatory and onerous duties, which, to one unaccustomed to writing essays or delivering addresses amounts to an actual punishment, which I now begin to realize is the price of silence during that quarter of a century.

The selection of a suitable subject to write upon is in itself a most difficult task, and for me to present an address in a manner commensurate with the intelligence and acumen of this body, will, I fear be an impossibility.

In reviewing the addresses of my predecessors given before this Association, I observe a strange similarity of sentiment expressed in all. They are full of interest for the welfare and advancement of our organization and profession in general, which has for its prime object the health and happiness of humanityin fact, any subject foreign to man's misfortune in some phase of suffering would be entirely out of place here.

I shall therefore submit a few thoughts along lines already

*Deiivered before the Nebraska State Medical Association, at Omaha, May 13th, 1913.

discussed by my predecessors, but from a different view point -that of dollars, viz.:

Health as a Commercial Asset, with Preventable Diceases a Heavy Liability.

The Art of Healing or attempting to relieve suffering mankind no doubt was born in the obscure past, when man, yet in his primitive state felt a sympathetic desire to relieve a suffering fellow man, and antedates by many centuries the Heathen Mythology which credits one son of Appollo with inventing the probe and bandage for injuries and another son who taught tooth drawing and purging (1). Gradually as experience and observation (which was the school at that time), taught man that certain procedures in symptoms or injuries were productive of relief, those with most experience and natural talent in this field became in demand and their services correspondingly rewarded. Then, as now, each tribe or community had some individual member to whom it looked for relief in sickness or injury, pestilence and war. Then the cause of sickness and pestilence was regarded as a punishment inflicted by an angry and avenging deity. Now the clouds of ignorance and superstition are beginning to rift, and the cause of many diseases are found to be simply the operation of Natural Laws.

At that time, but perhaps not so universally as at present, people recognized the value of health of the individual of the community. Ttus the question of health has ever been a living, ever-present problem and will continue so to be as long as this mysterious life exists.

A man's value in a community is represented by his ability to do and accomplish certain things that are of benefit to the particular community in which he works. Another individual unit of the community may be of equal value, but his capacity lays in the accomplishment of some other thing that is also of a social benefit to his fellow man. The value of a third unit in a community, lies in his capacity to do some requirement or work not undertaken by other individual units. Thus the complex fabric of our social system is operated and sometimes controlled by specialized individual units to perform the various requirements of the commercial or industrial life of a community. This measure of ability, which includes capacity, is also the measure of man's value to the community, expressed in dollars. It matters not whether the man is a common laborer or the manager of a gigantic corporation, requiring the keenest mentality and an infallible judgment, the law governing supply and demand