Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-27
Solunal allo Galnier.
Thursday Morning, May e7, 1880.
Local News. [For other Local News see Second Pagel Connecticut Medical Society,


 Choice of Officers, National Convention 1 Delegates and the COmmfttees-The Presidents Address-Imp portant Matters. The eighty-ninth annual convention of the Connecticut Medical Society was opened yes
 terday afternoon at o'clock when the Eel
 lows meeting was held. Sixty or seventy
 Fellows were present. The attendance upon
 the convention is by delegates or Fellows,
 who are appointed by the respective subordi-
 nate societies The convention holds it's ses-
 sions in the Common Council chamber, City
 Hall Dr.. A. R. Goodrich, of Vernon, pre-
 sided, his health being sufficiently restored to permit the discharge of the duties of the of-
 fee. His presence and improved health was
 source of great pleasure to the society.
 The following members were registered upon
 the society book:
 F. D. Edgerton, Middletown; F. w
 Brown, Woodbury; Rufus Baker, Middle
 town; N. Nickerson, Meriden c. A. Sears Portland; M. c. White, New Haven; M.
 A. Lewis Plainfeld Isaac R. Sanford, West l Cornwall; William Deming, Litchfeld !; ]
 J. A. Coates, Mystic Bridge; R. W. Matthew son, Durham; B. Swasey, New Britain V. |
 w. Rockwell, East Windsor Hill; c. E.
 Hammond, Portland; Wm. N. Clark, staf- ! ford; Gurdon Russell, Hartford; G.
 Smith, Stafford Springs; John Cotton, ! East Woodstock; Gideon L. Platt, Water
 bury; A. M. Wainwright Hartford l.. J.
 Sanford, New Haven Charles M. Carleton, ! Norwich Charles H. Pinney, Derby; Henry Fleischner, New Haven. 1 The president in his address expressed his
 qualification at being able to officiate. and in- vited attention to the past, present and future | relations of the society. He referred to the 1 [ iDoT0 1foT1f
 the State, and pointed to highly valuable l 1 work the society had done for the State in | the past; part of this work being the shap- ! ing of sanitary legislation for the protection | of the powerless and the development of the ! weak-minded; and another part being the origin and promotion of legislation regarding the collection of vital statistics The address ! proceeded: In determining the degree and extent of fostering care and kindly criticisms which may properly be exerted in these directions. we need no volunteer aid and cannot tolerate any foreign influence with our domestic affairs
 until our own incompetency is clearly demon strated." Aid or countenance, it was ad vised, should be withheld from all schemes of doubtful expediency or questionable philan thropy ''Ihe State Board of Health, still in ! It's infancy, deserves to receive the active I sympathy and support of every intelligent citizen. It has hopes of brilliant future in the possibility of conferring upon the common wealth benefits of inestimable value and it | should at all times receive the hearty co-op- ! eration of the society in it's wise efforts to I promote by all lawful means the public ' health, and thus increasing as no other agency ! can the value of life and with it the great 1 working capital of the State.
 The progress already made in this country | Tn sanitary science is very pleasing twenty three States have already established State boards Of health. Iowa, New York and North Carolina have since our last meeting fallen | into line.
 In view of the facts which have transpired n 1. the otate the past year, would call your attention to the free and unlimited sale of | poison, especially the most commonly used TOT suicide and criminal purposes This in discriminate sale should not be allowed in 1 the State. Every safeguard that the law can 1 provide for the protection of life and the prevention of crime should be furnished.
 Preventive medicines, like conservative surgery, will be considered in the near future as aHord1ng the highest possible illustration ! ot professional skill. It was a wise act of the ! Ieneral Assembly to place under the admin istration of this board, the collection and | registration of vital statistics already proyid ca Tor by the statutes There is however ! one very important if not fatal omission to which beg to invite your cordial attention. ]
 u mas 1aIlen under my personal observa- t tlon that in some parts of the State and ! f presume 1t is true of majority of the towns ! the valuable records of vital statistics are not cared for in manner atsEal1 appropriate to | the tnelr very great and increasing importance 1 ( They are often left lying about in public view, open to public inspection and gossip subject to being copied for improper purposes lia bIe to criminal multilation and abstraction. t and even to the purloining of the books ( themselves Instances of each of these ( abuses could be cited. It should be remem- ! r oered that these records contain the private ! hlstor1es of all persons who are or may be | E porn, married or dead, in the State infor- E nation which the public has no right to DOS n publish VI I
 The present status of medical expert testi- tt nony IS reproach to the profession and it O. s s hlgh tune some steps were taken to remedy II he most glaring evils connected with this ' ubject Either consciously or unconsciouslv n ne expert becomes the medical advocate of M ne person by whom he is called instead of m ID impartial witness of the facts as best h znoWn to medical jurisprudence, and it is to ! I ,e reared that too often the fee is made con- It lngent upon the amount of damages secured u nrougn the testimony of the expert. Men g7 re too often summoned as experts that have l -; 10 special fitness either by position or ac- !ulrements, that require the devotion of a lie work to comprehend and elucidate. much ! nore to decide ex cathedra"
 The address in it's concluding pages asked ttent!on to the indiscriminate practice of medicine by the ignorant and unoualifed ] ef erms applied to impostors and uneducated ID persons, in regard to which bill was before l h' recent Legislative body, and which it was | su bought would have passed had it been suita CT 'ly amended; and then paid a tribute to tbe hl nf he fo,, | ear, Drs. H. M. Knight of the School for l Lakeville; ex-President B. H. Cat | " n n of Meriden and A. B. Halle of Norwich. 1 SGl he address was ordered incorporated in the R roceedings of the society. w A committee was appointed to consider and eport upon the subject of ''Expert Testimo- Pl y, its uses and abuses, the remedy, etc. of lz: G. W. Russell of Hartford S. G. Hub 1e cid
 On ''vitaI Statistics" the following commit ee was appointed: M. C. White of New Iaven W. A. M Wainwright of Hartford. :. M. Shew of Middletown. sb On Sale of Poisons" the following com llttee was appointed Rufus Baker of Mid L., letown. William Deming of Litchfield. s. H. a lal ronson of New Haven. St. committee on the insane was appointed 1 lz: A. M. Shew of Middletown. Fl. P mi learns of Hartford, D. A. Cleaveland of Mid IL letown.
 SS~-A---ASoOO . B. Lyon of New Britain, O. J. Fox of lal V1ll1mantic and E. c. Kinne of Middletovn. eported. The report was not accepted, the F, being against adopting the plan at an resent. e.. .n Report was made by the committee on the 'O ledlcal examiner system in place of the oo oroner, the committee being Dr. Wainwright :e : Hartford, Dr. Wording of Southington enl Gill nd Dr. Chamberlain of Hartford. The re- Su S@. ort stated that the committee visited Bos- -'A' 'n, being present at the annual meeting of le State society. Massachusetts has the ar ledlcai examiner system, having substituted Ter Tor the coroner system. Its working was Ga rononnced emlnently satisfactory and a ca ca reat improvement over the old. but as tbe I'll ssult of consultation made with eminent .wyers of this State, etc., it was deemed ad- ca lsaple not to recommend the substitution in l ha lis State at present. as 1ne cnaL announced for the committee on pc le essays for the next annual meeting, Drs. tn fhlte of New Haven, Fuller of Hartford so.