J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)

J. Antall: State Interference and the Dilemma of Liberalism in the Field of Medical Training and Public Health

J. Antall: State Interference and the Dilemma of Liberalism. 45 the importance of prevention, the interdependence of the preservation of the health of the people and the progress of the nation. The state must concern itself not simply with the treatment of the ill but its primary duty is to guard over the health and good state of the people. STATE INTERFERENCE IN PRACTICE Previous to the Compromise of 1807 the one-time centralists around Eötvös were once more ready with their plans for a modern state. In their organ, Politikai Hetilap (Political Weekly) they published elaborate articles containing governmental and administrative proposals.

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4 The same was done in the field of medicine and health by the Balassa-group. So it was only natural that when in 1867, after two decades, Eötvös once more accepted the portfolio of Cults and Education he gave the direction of medical and university affairs to Markusovszky, which had been done in 1848 by Balassa. After the death of Eötvös (1871) his place was filled by his brother-in-law, Ágoston Trefort for sixteen years, but Markusovszky kept his post even longer. The Minister professed the triple catchword: "public health, political economy, public education", as he recognized the economic significance of those branches of the administration which were concerned with the proper physical and mental state of one of the major factors of production: manpower. The fundamental principles of the over-all reorganization of public health were laid down in the draft proposal of the Health Council. In 1869 a decision was taken to work out a Public Health Bill, which was passed after several years' preparation in 1876. This law served the health of the country nearly for a hundred years and was very progressive in its time, even going before the attainable realities in more than one aspect. It was the comprehensive achievement of state interference; it gave guidance and regulation, it ensured the smooth operation of professional work. This classical piece of health legislation was rooted in liberalism and codified the results of intellectual cooperation between the centralists and the medical school of Pest. One of the contributors of this great accomplishment was József Fodor, a member of the younger generation, who tried to introduce into Hungary his experiences gained in England. Another result of this reforming spirit was the regulation of examinations in medical studies in 1875. In 1848 only the principles, the loose frames of higher education were set down by Parliament codifying the freedom of learning, but the detailed plan could not be realized and it was destined to linger in the archives for nearly a hundred years. In his second tenure of office Eötvös once more elaborated a bill for the reform of higher education, but death prevented 1

4 J. Antall, "Eötvös József Politikai Hetilap-ja és a kiegyezés előkészítése. 1865 — 66". (József Eötvös's Political Weekly and the Preparation of the Compromise, 1865-66.) Századok, 1965. 6.