ABSTRACT
T he views of the medical profession on new proposals of health authorities for changes in medical practice, clinical or preventive, and the action taken by the medical profession in regard to these proposals in Britain and America, constitute a vital part of my recollections of the recent history of medicine and public health; and at this stage some consideration of the medicohygienic movements of the past thirty years in their political bearings is called for. The contents of the last chapter throw some light on this subject; but it appears to me that, without attempting an all-round review, we can obtain further light on the evolution of opinion and of administrative action by con trasting certain illustrative events, looked at from the point of view of the two great national Medical Associations, British and American, to which a majority of the private medical practitioners in the two countries are affiliated. These pro fessional Associations have great importance, for changes affecting their members cannot hope to succeed permanently unless these changes are approved by a majority of them.
