Physical Therapy and Psychic Influence

To the Editor:  —There is need of commentary on certain remarks reported in the discussion on Dr. Philip Marvel's paper on physical therapeutics, The Journal, Sept. 7, 1912, p. 757.It is there said: "Remedial agents other than drugs . . . are of value from the standpoint of psychotherapeutics, the influence of mind over disease. They enable us to impress on the patient the fact that we have a knowledge of many methods of treating disease. Again, these various treatments interest the patient This meets competition by quacks, or those who are not considered quacks but irregular practitioners, who know little medicine but understand human nature. When you order for your patient medicine in a glass of water and tell him to take a teaspoonful every few minutes, the patient is then made to do something for himself. A regular practitioner too often orders for his patient a certain drug and tells