Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Quackery, Medical Treatment, Commerce, Expertise, Professionalization, Boundary Formation, Periodicals

    Identifying Mr Punch as the 'Censor of the Age, the Public, and the Press', notes the letters that he has received from fellow fathers urging him to prevent advertisements from quacks. Condemning the fact that such advertisers falsely proclaim themselves to be 'qualified practitioners', explains that, since 'advertising is forbidden by the rules of the medical profession', advertising quacks are not regarded as 'professional men'. Points out that since quacks do not cure and true medical practice results in healing, quacks certainly do not qualify as medical practitioners. Although the author recognises that these statements are 'stale', he believes that they need to be repeated for those who 'have not quite put faith in them'—in particular the 'unenlightened classes' and 'rustics' who fall prey to quacks. Surmises that since newspapers get paid to advertise quacks, they are unlikely to take notice of this plea. Appeals to those who are offended by medical advertisements to stop buying the offending periodicals.