The Portland daily press., 1873-10-22

An adjourned meeting of the Maine General
Hospital Corporation was held in the Alder
mems room of the City Building yesterday af-
ternoon.
The meeting was called to order by w. L.
rotary, pro TEN.
CONCERNING PILLS.
The petition of the homeopathists for ward
in the hospital was taken up.
Judge Kingsbury addressed the meeting in
behalf of the petitioners He said the petit
ton had received 1000 or 100 signatures chiefly
of people outside of the medical profession.
He then called upon A. A. Strout, esq, to pre-
sent the argument of the petitioners.
| Mr.. Strout then proceeded to make his argu
ment, saying;
speak in behalf of citizens residing in the
| larger cities of the State, representing almost
| every profession and VOCATION men largely in
| terested in the SUCCESS of the hospital to which
| they have contributed from their private
| means. These men are homeopathists who
| have aided in common with the general public
| in the donations made by the State and the
! city, and they ask not to be excluded from the
| benefits of the hospital should sickness oblige
them to take refuge there. The provisions OF
the charter are of the most generous and liberal
character, designed to embrace all the citizens
| of the State.
The two systems do not necessarily clash. In
| cases of surgery and of poisoning the treat
| .nent is nearly the same. The hygienic and
| dietetic arrangements are the same. All these
| petitioners ask is that should they find it nee
essary to go to this hospital they may call to
their bedside, physician praeticing in school
| of medicine that has come to be recognized by
they Fave confidence. They do not ask that
any ward be set apart separately for homeopa-
thsts. They only ask that subject to the gen.
! eral rules established for the government of
| this hospital they may, in case of need, be ad-
mitted to bed and receive the attendance of a
homeo pathic physician if they so desire
| They ask that when the staff of surgeons
and physicians be selected, homeopathsts
may be called by such patients as desire them,
and that those patients may have all the ben
etts of attendance and nursery enjoyed by any
other patient in the hospital.
1t is not a question of two doctors, but ques-
ton of right TO these petitioners. If you deny
them, they must either submit themselves to
medical treatment they cannot approve or be
deprived entirely of the advantages of an insti-
tuition their hands helped to rear need not
remind you that before the last fair Homeo-
paths were given to understand that their
rights would be respected and preserved. We
are willing to submit to all the rules necessary
for the internal and police arrangements OF the
hospital, they bearing upon al alike. All we
ask is the same privileges that Others enjoy. If
it be said that the granting of the petition
would admit other physicians, of various and
irregular practice, answer, that when another
school arises which assumes the Importance,
and represents the intelligence of Homeopathy,
and forms so important an interest in COM
munity, then it will be time enough to discuss
its admission.
Mr. Strout was followed by Oliver Gerrish,
who thought that the opposing systems of
materia medica could never be reconclled in
practice, that the house would be divided
against itself. The State and city understood
the school of practice they were substituting,
and the petition of the homeopathists was an
after thought. The speaker wished to know
why they couldn't establish hospital of their
own.
DR.. Foster wished to know if the homeopath-
ic physicians favored the petition
DR.. Burr said the movement did not origi-
nate with them but with the laymen, still they
generally favored the move ment
Dr. Foster said the experiment had been
tried in New York and had proved failure.
1t was suggested that there was no hospital
yet and the time to consider the project had
not arrived.
On motion of J. T. McCobb, esq.,, the petit
tition was referred to committee of five.
The meeting then adjourned to next Tues
day at 4 p m.