Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1889-12-11
December II, 1889.
ID .M'GU RES TILK.
1 Brilliant Rrricw Of the SOHih--Hcr
Piof dHd Present
From hle Riclmond S,a,e

From the Richmond Sa'e
DR.. lluut,r McGuirc, of this city, was
the president of the Southern Surgical
aud Gynec logical Association, recent,
in session in Nashville, Team. The tren
ing Her,H reports DR.. McGuire's al
dre>s ut length. Among other things h
sad:
III may he said with truth that until
o. late the South has not kept pace with
the N.r,h in medical progress and devel
r2mcnt. Thi. has arisen from variety
. cIusrs. Prior to the late war slavery
vas antagonislic to the development o
lynSe p,pu,atim>, fertile areas were mo
nnpoli,cd by the large planter and h'
-enerally occupied more space than h'~
agricultural neelsr q iired. lie believer
ia what he called plenty of elbnw room
lie was opposed to outside inIruders' aud
le.ired neither the development Of town
noi the growth Of cities in his vicini'y
Criucise this pol cy a' YOU may, condemn
it il You will, | am not engaged in de-
ending it, but am merely stating patent
facts, in order to account f,r the manner
in which it retarded the development Of
medicine. While this was true, vet thi-
state Of society produced splendid mel
and women, probably the grandest on thi.
continent Culture grace, elegance, sell
reliance. were its legitimate on-shooi-
Orators, poets, statesmen, s'lliers, Sc
eutisjs, lawyers, ministers and physician,
the first and greatest in the whole land.
came out Of il. What orator have ".
like Henry or Yancy, whal poet like Poe.
what scientist like Matthew +. Maury
what statesman like j, iitrson, what juri,
like Benjamin, what divine like Hog
what soldier like Stoncwal Jackson, wha
surgeon like Sims? And the women -
how can describe them they were ii
cultured as they were refned. they wcr
rs beautiful us they were quecnIy, tn
l,vIicst OF sweelh.arls, the noblest of MA
irons
Men of southern birth and souther
rtarins were the successful generals II
the war of 1872, and the central fgur,
III 1916. The acquisition Of lerritor,
was made during the admins ration "a.
southern men. Louisiana, Florida, Ten
as and California were acquired during
their terms of Office Upon the Suprem
Court Bench of the United States The.
are to be c1n>picuou>ly found. The che
iu,iiceship was he'll continuously 10
slx'y-Ihree years by southern men. nee
not speak OF the orators and Statesmen
produced in every State in the ooutl.
they are household names.
History but repeats itself; like occa-
sions produce like results. The pairio
o. to day Is hut the reflex Of the palrio
of the past. In our late civil contest
/ if ii be proper 10 call it so-ior was it no
rather lwo s,vereignlies wagiug war, Tie
one against the other? The men Of th'
South once more displayed the same grea
qualii,s that had characterized their al
crslor, IN the American revolution.
Modern Europe stool hast at th
daring OF a people they bad been laugh
10 I, gard as eliminate. They had eX.
pccted than an ephemeral struggle woui'
b. made near AKIN TO those which hao
tr quenlly taken place among the nike
Spaoish population 20 The south Of IL
Climate, temperature, the peruicious ei
fccis OF slavery we're all believed to hay,
had their influence, and TO have produce
a weak and vacillatiug people. Hal lux
ury enervated them. had they become e.
fcnina:c, hal the increa-e of wealth in'
the impress Of slavery rendered ther
physically and intellectually inferior I'
the men Of the North? (? Ii any 50 believe