Professional atmosphere and morals, or, Patents and secrets vs. liberal profession.

  • Meriam, Horatio C., 1849-1911.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Professional atmosphere and morals, or, Patents and secrets vs. liberal profession. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    The evil effects of patents and secrets in the profession are mani- fested as well by their effect on our instrument-makers ; they have become so thoroughly debauched by them that the first question seems to be always, not to supply what is needed, but to make that of which they can secure exclusive control either by secrets or patents. The advantage gained by a patent or secret process encourages the aggregation of interest; and, having secured the power to prevent all others from making one instrument, it was but a logical step to form an organization which should secure the control of all the re- quirements of dental practice, and under this system those who have patents or secrets to sell will receive more consideration than those who wish to introduce professional or open articles in which there may be subsequent competition. Some time after graduating I became interested in gutta-percha, followed it as well as I could from supply to source, and gave all I knew freely to students and societies. I received one day an application from a dealer who had been asked by dentists to procure it for them. I replied as follows,—I omit names, of course, because this is not a fight against persons, but for a principle: Yours of . . . . is at hand. I shall be much pleased to aid you in getting a gutta-percha filling before the profession, and will teach freely all I know regarding it to any one whom you may select. I shall require in return that it be professional in every way. Its formula must be printed both on the label and circular, both to be made out as directed by me. It must then be ranked among physicians' and surgeons' supplies, and sold at a uniform wholesale rate to all druggists, dental depots, makers and dealers in dental and surgical instruments, etc. Eegard for the standing of the profession, and my position as a teacher at the dental school, will not permit me to grant the use of my name except under these conditions. Were there any conditions imposed that any physician or teacher should not require ? Yet the substance of the reply I received was: On business principles we could not accept the conditions you mentioned ; it would be too much of a departure from business plans of the past for us to undertake. It was certainly my duty to require what I did, and I presume, also, the gentlemen who wrote me felt it their duty to The Com- bination to refuse to supply the gutta-percha as a pi-ofessional material. I notice that it is claimed by a speaker in a Western meeting that this association is just the same as the dental society, and organ- ized just as we are to keep out scalawags. Now, our societies are not organized to keep out scalawags, but by the scientific and liberal associations that should cluster around them to prevent members from