Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1881-12-08
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE
STATE UNIVERSITY.
Where shall 1t be Located.

| TO TIE PEOPLE or TENAs:
We desire TO bring before you few
facts concerning the location Of the Medical
Department oftle State University.
While there are number Of places in
the broad State well suited for the location
of the Academic and Legal Departments
OF the University, Galveston offers by far
the greatest advantages for the Medical De
partment of that Institution.
In order that the science and art Of Med
icine may be properly taught, certain IA
cilities, which we will briefly enumeratc,
are absolutely essential.
To acquire knoledge of anatomy, or
the structure of the human body, which
lies At the very foundation OF medical edu-
cation. an abundent supply Of material for
disseciienS IS indispensable. To learn the
chansS.s produced in the organs and other
tissues OF the body by disease, post-mor-
TEN examinations by the student himself
arc necessary. These advantages can only
be had in connection with the Lighthouses
of large and public hospitals. The impor-
lance of clinical, or bedsides instruction, to
| the medical student can harilybe overcsti-
mated. To study diseases il is necessary
not only TO have them taught theoretically
by the teachers, but 10 actually see them in
all their mu,tifom phases. To learn the
art Of setting fractured bone, or amputa-
ting limb, something more than an oral
description is required. The student should
see these things done, and assist ia their
performance In other words, to teach the
science and art of Medicine, and prepare
the young physician for combating disease,
the intimate combination Of practical with
theoretical instruction is a vital necessity.
Practical instruction. can be given only in
connection with large hospitals. 10 which
the student has free access, and where he
may closely watch the progress and treat
ment Of the different diseases from begin
ming to end, and, in cases ending fatally,
have the opportunity for the study of the
morbid changes wrought in the body by
those diseases, in post-mortem examina-
tons.
Galveston can furnish by far the best |
facilities for such thorough and practical |
medical instruction. While her pcpula- |
ton may not so far exceed some other CT |
ties, beng a seaport it's cosmopolitan and |
floating, aud hence furnishes much larger |
proportion of hospital patients. There arc
two very admirably constructed hospitals |
located in Galveston, with 4 capacity Of |
$50 to 500 beds. The wards contain not |
only sick from among her own citizens, but
also large numbers Of patients from all por.
lions Of Texas, conveyed thi.her by the pu-
merouS railroads convergins at the coast.
In addition, the shipping, American and |
foreign, that trades at her port, furnishes
an amount and variety Of clinical material
ten-fold greater than can be afforded by |
any other city in the state.
By resolutions adopted by the city coun-
Gil, and laid before the legislature at its re-
cent session, the spacions hospital build
ings Of Galveston, with an elegantly fitted
up lecture room. dissecting hall, etc at
tached, capable Of accommodating one
hundred students, has been placed at the
disposal Of the state. By the same resolu-
tions the citizens of Galveston stand 'pledg-
ed to liberal contribution for the purchase
of block of lots and toward the erection
OF college buildings" Hence, as ques-
ton of economy, GalvestoIis the best place
in the state for the Medical School.
Numerals precedents for the separate
location Of the Medical Department-em-
bracing, too, many OF the most eminently
successful and honored institutions Of
America, can be cited, and which go 10
show that it has always been recognized as
question of the first moment that medical
schools should be located in populous ci-
ties, and especially in seaport cities, a. fur
nighing the largest amount and best va-ie-
ty of diseases for the purposes ofteaching.
Among others, the University of Louisiana
located at the state capital, Batron Rouge,
has IFS Medical Department, the largest
and most successful Medical College in the
south, located at New Orleans. Central
University, Richmond, KY, has its Medi-
cal Department, Aourishing school, at
Louisville.
These are but few Of the many cases
which could be cited.
In large majority ofthe universities Of
both Europe and America having all their
departments in the limits Of the same city,
the medical schools, with separate and full
faculty, have their lecture rooms, etc., 10
Gated frequently miles distant from the aca-
demic and other departments, and always
adjacent TO, or, in many instances, in the
largest hospitals.
The medical departments of even the
best endowed and most hourishing univer-
sites OF Europe and America, were located
In the smaller interior places, and hence
not connected with large hospitals, havein-
variably ranked as second or third rate med
ical schools-certainly they are recognized
as only preparatory schools.
The medical department of the Univer-
sity Of Virginia located at the small inte-
rior city of Charlouesvillel, Justly honored
and beloved and widely pafronized as that
University is, has not proved an exception
to this memorable rule; despite the fact that
accomplished medical scholars have Tor
years filed the chairs, the didactic teach
ing necessitated by the want of hospitals
proves an insuperable obstcle to the sue
cess of the medical department, which had
class Of Only fifty students at its last ses-
The liability Of Galveston to yellow fever
Is not valid objection. as medical instruc-
ton the world over is only carried on du-
ring the months Of winter and spring. Ger
tainly the success Of the New Orleans med
zeal schools negatives this objection be-
sides, for the past fourteen years Calves
ton has not had an epidemic OF yellow fe-
yer. Indeed, Of late years she has been
less subject to it than some interior places.
We desire to emphasize the fact that
Galveston is a candidate for the Medical
Department only. The facts above men,
toned are incontrovertible; the express
object Of the Legislature in allowing the sep
araiion Of the Medical Department was to
locate ii in Galveston. The petition sent
up to Austin by ISo physicians representing
every part OF the state explicitly stated that
their object in asking q separation of the
Medical Department was that it might be
located in Galveston. We trust that the
people Of the state will SO decide and there