The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-04-22

Dr. WILLIAM $. LUpLUM UPON THEIR ORIGIN,
PROGRESS AND EFFICIENCY

Il >.
PROGRESS AND EFFICIENCY.
At regular monthly meeting Of the New York
Medical Journal Association held last evening at the
hall OF the New York Academy Of Medicine, 20. IL
West Thiriy.irs street, Dr. William $ Ludsum. OF No.
800 West Thirty fifth street, read paper entitled,
'nspensarics; Their origin Progress aud Efficiency"
which was listened 10 by the members Of the assoca.
ton present with great attention. and created discus
SION among them, OF about hours length, regard
ng the abuses Of the charitable institutions which
the reader had chosen for the subject Of his discourse
The meeting presided by Dr.. T. 6. Loring,
President ofthe association and among the gentlemen
present who participated in the argument were prs
Gouvcrncur Smith, John w. Knox, Fred. T. hather.
+. b. Warner aud y. G. Plnar,l All the prin-
cpa dispcnsares of tho city represented al the
meeting. The following synopsis OF the paper read
by Dr. Ludlun. in which, il should be here said, the
reader borrowed literally from other writers and
speakers of recent date the topic:-
In contrast with hospitals dsp,nsarles Of com.
paativcly establishment; aud IT is curious that
SO little has been collected In relation to Their origin
and history II may surprise my hearers TO carn that
encyclopedias those books OF lniycral reference
almost barren OF Information upon the subject and
this remark applies no, only those language,
but also TO the elaborate works OF the kind In
France and Germany Even in the very last OF these
productions the american Encyclopaedia the
word dspcnsary docs not even occur. II
appears strange that among nations so
refined and cultivated the Romans and
the Greeks, hospital or institution where the
sick could be taken care of was established The first
hospital of which have any knowledge was founded
by benevolent Dishop named Menus, at Odessa, IN
Mesopoamia, A. d. 400, place then Tor It's
school theology and the FIRST Institution 81 the Kind
ia Europe was built IN the same century at Rome by
Fabola n Roman lady. In the sense, however, IN
which we understand it, an institution devoted cx
clusively to the reception and care OF the SICK the
eleventh century Attached 10 nearly every monastery
was ''almonry," from which We get our
modern word .'almshouse." Tho almoner visited
the sick Mt their places of abode This officer
necessarily possessed some little knowledge OF medi-
cine, but it very limited. The art Of medicine had
then made little progress Bleeding the remedy
almost universally resorted TO- In that age however the
aimoner of nestnablc value 10 the poor. As tho
knowledge of medicine advanced physicians began to
practise in the cities and Zurich and many of the
German cities there was what was called Sadfdr, or
city physician. He prescribed for the poor and re-
Ceived city honorable recognition or his
services certain household benefits such his yearly
ircwood pipe OF wine. in addition TO which he was
repaid for the medicines lie supplied to the poor.
After the dissolution OF emonasteres the duties of
the almoner very much neglected. A want was
felt and this led to the origin Of the modern dspen
middle OF the sixteenth century, and for which the
world IS nuebtcd TO a woman In A. d. 1863 the wife
OF Duke Christopher then reigniug Duke OF Wurtcm-
berg caused apothecarys shop 10 be erected in the
duca palace Stuttgart, Tor the purpose OF supplying
med cine the poor, which she maintained
at her own expense In 1900 her example
was followed by the w1fc Of Philip H.,
OF Grubeahangen, princess OF brunswick IN lasl,
another apohecary's shop al the Court OF Dresden,
which renewed in 1909 by Hedwg. the wife Of the
Elector Christian H. The dispeDsary, a separate
institution had its rise in England US result OF the
dispute which occurred before the close the seven
teenth century between regular practising physicians
and the apohecarcs, whogave theiradvcc gratis TO all
persons who purchased their medicines. These disputes
give rise a law defining the difference between the
two bodies of antag Tho dispensary, per-
manent institution, was not established in France until
1908 Chamouset, the son OF a distinguished judge,
devoted large part OF his iie with The NEST untring
zeal, to practising gratnitousy as physician among
the poor of Paris and devised the plan which enabled
poor man, by the payment OF u small of money,
10 be provided with the best medicines and medical
advice when necessary. In 1903 the Phanthropc So
ciety OF Paris established dispensares that city,
The Royal General Dispensary the Hrst cstab-
lished in London, and, within twenty after its
establishment, nine others were founded in the
city, and they ali still IN existence. In ireland
early as 1905 an act was passed by Parliament provd
ing for the establishment Of dspcnsares throughout tho
whole country, well for tho NEST sparsey settled
parts us for the cities and populous towns 1t was
defective plan but in 1888 there 4g4 organized and
In operation under In 1851 Parliament made rad-
cal change for the better, and the result shown in
this sidc-vz., that instead OF there being $4,000
deaths from smallpox as from lSil to 1851, there
only IL 25 deaths by the same disease from 1851 TO
1861.
1t appears that the city of Philadelphia established
the first dispensary on this contincni-thc Philade
phia Dispenary which established in April 1856,
and incorporated in 1896 The city OF New York io-
lowed next by establishing the New York Dispensary
in 1891, and It was Incorporated IN 1895 This dis
pensary suggested by the Rev DIR. John Rogers.
Az first it occupied an humble building on the north
west corner OF hickman and Nassau streets,
but 1t finally located the northwest
corner Of White and Centre streets, where
1t now stands. Tho dIspcusary that
Boston, established in 1896 and Incorporated in 1901
In OF time other dispensarcs into being,
anu In 1874 there forty nine in tho state OF New
York. and OF these twenty IN the city OF New
York, and they very good examples OF dispense
ries. General Mathcr says that dlspensarles
better than those the other side uf tue Atlantic
The reader then into minute description OF tho
good effected and the illness prevented BY the many
dlspcnsaries of the city, and concluded his
reading follows 1.-The old Northern Dis
pensary will always continue not much larger
than good sized sentry box long II
stands on ITS present site, for 1t is not now mach
larger than good szcd sentry box but II Is very
eGectua sentry box the matter of guarding against
the ncursions of pcstiencc and death and the dis
which may attack the rich through their neglect
OF the sanitary condition of the poor" He then badc
the citizens they valued their household
to take good ofthc ouposts and buwarks and
surcd them that then their habtatons would be safer
they cOuld 10 otherwise