The attitude of the General Medical Council towards doctors who,
through writing newspaper articles or giving newspaper interviews, come even within distant range of its vague but. stringent regulations regarding publicity has more than once been unduly rigorous. In spite of that the New Health Society, which believes in all the contact possible between doctors and the public, has been in the head-lines of the daily papers almost every day of its annual congress this week, and there is no reason to suppose the experience is distasteful to it. Dr. Elizabeth Sloan Chesser, who had just created a mild furore with an anecdote (immediately and sharply challenged) about Charles Darwin, denounces legal birchings ; Mr. Bernard Shaw, by putting a simple question, brings a lecture on stammering full into the limelight ; Dr. Jane Hawthorne stands up for children who tell lies ; Dr. John Colin Campbell stands up for cocktails ; and Dr. someone else consoles the obese by denouncing slimming. Having doubts about the effect of all this on the dignity of the medical profession I feel some sympathy with the General Medical Council.
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