New-York tribune., 1882-04-23
ATTACKING A MEDICAL COLLEGE.
SUIT AGAINST AN ECLECTIC SCHOOL.


THE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY SEEKING TO EN-
JOIN THE UNITED STATES MEDICAL CoLLEGE
FROM ISSUING DIPLOMAS.
The New-York County Medical Society has becpn
an action through the Attorney General of the
State against the United States Medcal College, at
No. II East Thireenth-st to enion il from issnR
any further medical diplomas or asserting in any
way the rights of medical college DR.. frederick
X. Sturgis, the president Of the County Medical
Society, Is the complainant In behalf Of the
people. The summons and complaint served
on DR.. Robert A. Gum, the dean Of the college, on
April 10. Edward c. Ripley, attorney for tho
Medical Society, said OH Friday that the action WAS
begun on the ground that the college not
legally incorporated and had no ugnt 10 issne
diplomas, inasmuch as il bad not complied with tho
terms of the act OF 1858, under which medical col
leges must be Incorporated.
Tie United States Medical College was organized
in May. 1875 with the following physicians as
trustees: Robert A. Gum, Benjamin j. stow Hail
W. Allen, Alexander Wilder Theodore a. Grander,
Mark Nyisoa and Dennis L. Smith. All
these physicians we're of what Is known the eclec
tic school, and the college is of the same order
II organized by filing a certificate with
the County Clerk under the act of lsis. as amend.
ed in 1870, which provides for the organization OF
corporations for scientific and other purposes The
Medical Society, however, CAIN that the act does
not authorize the formation OF medical colleges.
There was general act passed IN 1898 Tor that
purpose, which authorized the Board OF Regents OF
the State University 10 grant charters 10 medical
colleges, and which requires that they shall have
paid-up capital OF $4,000, and imposes other re-
strIctiOns which the Medical Society claim tnat
the United States Medical College has not complied
with.
Robert A. Gum, the dean of the college, was
asked by tribune reporter what action
the trustees would take. :" We viii take such
actiOn,O he said, as Will make Dr. Sturgls and hls
cotcrle sick OF this business. 1t is not pTosecu-
tiOn but persecution. Ever since the college be-
gan We have been subjected to persecution by the
sO-callcd regular physicians because OF Oni
liberal ideas. This acton was begun at thn
time for the sole purpose of inJnrng the col:
lcge before the public and because OF professional
ia.4lp = u a L. "A
cause | opposed 4 bll In Albany IN which ne was
interested. the effect OF which would be, II II be-
came q law, 10 prevent amy person from administer
ing any medicine 10 members II his own iainiiy Gr
TO person Injured IN the street or To Anybody
until Il regular physician could be called IN ana
give directions. lhe United states Medical
College has a regular faculty Of twelve
professors. Instruction Is given III all the
dIderent forms OF materIa lnedica, aiiOpathy,
homeopathy, electric and magnetic therapeutics,
and III everything connected with medicine IN
which we may see any good. II Is because OF this
iiberaty Of ideas that we are subject 10 prosecu-
How many students do you graduateW
"Our last class consisted Oh thirty-one We
have graduated altogether ninety stu
was after the new Constitution came INTO
effect prohibiting special legislation, Ihc GOvernor
had the year before vetoed DIll to incorporate
college because it special act. We wrote to
the secretary of the Board OF Regents iOr lnsruc-
tons as 60 how TO proceed to organize under the
act OF 1893. lie replied that the board had never
issued a charter to medical college under that act
and advised us to organize under the act OF 1913 a
amended in 1870. We consulted Attorney -GeneIaI
SchoOnmaker, aud he advised that We could or
ganIZe under that act. Attorney General NaId
gave a similar opinion when he came IN Olee. We
consulted ex-Judgc Fitnan, eX-Juige Jones and
other counsel OF this city, and they gave similar
opinion 20 we organized under that act. Inc Ned
zeal society refused 10 give subjects lOr dissec-
tion but under an act which was atlerwaru passed
it was Obliged to do Ii then got
the Board of Health to refuse TO recognize our dl-
pOmas We lana all the papers before the counsel
10 the Board OF Health and lie decided t1at the coli
lege was legally organized. The Corporation COuA-
sci gave similar opinion and the Board ol Hedlth
then recognized our diplomas. Now they have go5
the Attorney General TO consent To brng this ac-
ton. TueTe Is not a medical college IN the state
organized under the act OF 1898, and only ono
College OF Physicians ami SuIgeons-;ls required by
that act. All the other colleges were Incorporated
under special of the Legislature, ana since tho
Constitution was amended prohibiting special acts
there have been several allopathc colleges organ
lied III the same way thC United Staies MedlcdI
College yet no acIOn Is faken against them. Iho
medical college Of the syracuse nitcrslty ~
organized solely under the act oI 1915, Dlt tnero
Is no complaint that IFS diplomas are lrIt guar. iho
Columbia Veterinary College and the American
Veterinary College of this clty-all OI Inc pi0ies
sors III both being members Oi the County AieulcdI
COlege-are organized in the same way precisely as
the United States Medical College, but no action
is taken against them. here Is a case from Buhaio
before the supreme Court now TO test tbs lnatleI,
and tie action was begun against us III allucl-
puton of that decision in order 10 do us an INJURY
by getting tins suit widely advertised"