Medical licensure statistics presented in this issue of The Journal reveal that, in 1939, 6,043 physicians were licensed (for the first time) to practice medicine. Here is no indication of a dearth of doctors. Quality, however, is more important than quantity and in this respect the situation is far from satisfactory. One hundred and ninety-five graduates of unapproved schools were admitted to practice in thirteen states (chart 1, page 1654), Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio and New York heading the list. In these four states there were licensed, respectively, seventy-nine, fifty-one, thirty-six and twelve graduates of unapproved medical schools.
A still more serious degradation of the standards of medical practice results from the trend in recent years to abolish the restrictions which have heretofore governed the practice of osteopathy. In seven states medical licenses have been issued to 118 osteopaths who are not graduates of any medical school. New Jersey has issued