The Great Land Debate
This is an example of Dr. Taft's "tough" side. The state dental association had some few years earlier adopted a Code of Ethics for the members. Among the provisions of the Code was a prohibition against professional advertising. Dr. C. H. Land was highly regarded in the profession both for his clinical skills and his therapeutic innovations, as well as being personally popular among the other dentists in the area. Dr. Land invented and patented a furnace to allow the firing of stronger and more attractive porcelain as a material to use in replacing teeth. This was a significant invention in that more durable artificial replacements for natural teeth helped enormously in preventing the spread of disease that followed as a natural sequelae from the practice of purchasing teeth from the poor for use in dentures. Dr. Land placed advertisements for his invention, and because of those advertisements, Dr. Taft refused to allow Dr. Land continued membership in the local professional associations. Drs. Taft and Dorrance of the University both stated clearly that Dr. Land was not considered a "quack" (ie. incompetent), but simply unethical. This decision was bitterly debated by both sides of the issue, and was cheerfully seized upon by the popular press, as you can see from the articles reprinted in this unique broadside.
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