“H’m! Well, at least you are delightfully frank with me. Yet you have the effect of making me feel as if––as if I were in some way behind a veil. That––”
“Well, the human mind is very decidedly behind a veil––indeed, behind many of them. And how can it see God through them? Mankind just grope about all their lives back of these veils, not knowing that God is right before them all the time. God has got to be everything, or else He will be nothing. With or without drugs, it is God ‘who healeth all thy diseases.’ The difficulty with physicians is that they are densely ignorant of what healing means, and so they always start with a dreadful handicap. They believe that there is something real to be overcome––and of course fail to permanently overcome it. Many of them are not only pitiably ignorant, but are in the profession simply to make money out of the fears and credulity of the people. Doctor, the physician of to-day is in no way qualified to handle the question of public health––especially those doctors who say: ‘If you won’t take our medicines we’ll get a law passed that will make you take them.’ To place the health of the people in their hands would be a terrible mistake. The agitation for a federal Department of Health is based upon motives of ignorance and intentional wrong. If the people generally knew this, they would rise in a body against it. Make what laws you wish for yourself, Doctor. The human mind is constantly occupied in the making of ridiculous laws and limitations. But do not attempt to foist your laws upon the people. Tell me, why all this agitation about teaching sex-hygiene in the public schools? Why not, for a change, teach Christianity? What would be the result? But even the Bible has been put out of the schools. And by whom? By your Church, that its interpretation may continue to be falsely made by those utterly and woefully ignorant of its true meaning!”
For some moments they continued their meal in silence. Then the girl took up the conversation again. “Doctor,” she said, “will you come out from among them and be separate?”
He looked at her quizzically. “Oppose Ames?” he finally said.
“Ah, that is the rub, then! Yes, oppose ignorance and falsity, even though incarnate in Mr. Ames,” she replied.
“He would ruin me!” exclaimed the doctor. “He ruins everybody who stands in his way! The cotton schedule has gone against him, and the whole country will have to suffer for it!”
“But how can he make the country suffer because he has been blocked in his colossal selfishness?” she asked.
“That I can not answer,” said the doctor. “But I do know that he has intimated that there will be no cotton crop in this country next year.”
“No cotton crop! Why, how can he prevent that?”