The Indianapolis journal., 1884-06-04
MARION COUNTY DOCTORS.
What They Saw and Learned, at the
American Medical Association.

| The Marion County Medical Society last night
listened to the informal report of the delegates
| to the American Medical Association DR.. T.
B. Harvey, by request, opened the report Civ
| ing the main points in the address of President
| Austin Flint, ST. DIR. Flint defended the medl-
cal colleges, not standing as an apologsts for the
colleges good and bad alike, but advising more
union and sympathy between the profession at
large and the colleges A majority of the dele
gates decried the colleges, but took no steps to
| improve them. DR.. Harvey said in comment
| that, for his own part, he was willing that the
profession, through the State medical associa-
tions, should run the colleges, and take
the examining power away from the
colleges and vest it in an examining board, if
they would come to the front and support the
colleges and endeavor through them to elevate
the standard of medical education.
DIR. Harvey then reviewed the papers given be-
fore the section on diseases of women, passing on
to the post-humous paper of DR. S. Gross, who died
during the meeting. DR.. Gross advocated
turn to the old practice of blood-letting in puer
peral fever and the like which was opposed by
DR.. Harvey and others, although the paper was
indorsed by the eminent Drs Beatty and Camp
bell of Georgia. DR.. Gross took ground against
the common use of instruments in labor, which
view had both its upholders and opponents DR..
Harvey reported that DR.. Farmod opposed the re
cent view that consumption is a parasitic and
contagious disease; it il not known whether the
bacill are cause or effect.
DIR. r. V. Woolen was much disappointed in
many of the papers he card. They were mere
opinions and drivel that are without force in
scientific bodies Many of the best papers were
of young men. They were scientific and not
dogmatic. iii &.
Dr. Woolen thought 1t pity that DR.. S. Gross
ever wrote his paper it was backward step
and bemish on his earlier teachings and prac
tice
DIR. Joseph Eastman attended some Of the
meetings of the section on surgery. He was
much pleased with DIR. Parks paper treat
ment of wounds of the abdominal cavity, as it
confirmed his own views as to the necessity of
opening the body and sometimes sewing up the
ruptured intestines.
DR. Eastman said that some of the papers
lacked force, merit and originality; they had
neither wit nor words or worth, and would not
be well received in many of the Western work
ing county societies. Doctors who do good
work in their home societies and attend them
regularly are the ones who come to the front
with good work in the State and national socie-
ties.
Dr. Chambers was much pleased with the CEN
| sures passed by DR.. Shoemaker, of Philadelphia,
a city which is notable offender in this line
against the little aristocracieS in medicine of
specialities, who bound themselves together
against the interest of the profession at large
They select this that specialist in the various
cities, admit him to their conclaves, advance his
interest and turn the cold shoulder to equally
good men.
Dr. Harvey then, by special request gave
racy and instructive account of the weeks stay
of himself Doctors Waterman and Chambers.
They visited all the great hospitals, the New
York Polytechnic, and the post graduate school.
They were received very cordially by professors
! Thomas, Sims Skene, Munde, Emmett and
| other specialists, who kept them in constant
motion from one clinic or hospital to another,
where they saw these eminent authors and sur
| geons perform tho most notable operations on
| the abdominal cavity. One thing was done at
| the New York Polyclinic for deformed children
under two and half years old, which DR.. Har-
vey said pleased him more than all else The
physicians Strengthened the crooked bones of
| little children by breaking them, both arms-and
legs in one case, putting them straight under
! plaster paris bandages. The children are an
| 8sthetized, and the bones broken and straight
ened by hand
| DR.. Chambers reported that solution of bi-
chloride of mercury is taking the place of car
bolic acid as a dsinfectant in New York hospi-
tails, and that cat-gut and silver sutures are
mainly used He thought the work done in both
medicine and surgery. in all their branches, in
| New York was surprisingly good and he could
see no reason for Western students, or indeed
any American doctors. going to Europe to study
| any department of medicine or surgery,
although he educated himself in the
European schools
| The delegates from the Marion County Med
cal Society to the State Society organized last
night and elected DR.. G. V. Woollen chair
man, and DR.. George J. Cook member of the
nominating committee for officers of the State
Society.