The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-03-25
AN ANSWER TO DIR. INQUIRE
FROM THE FACULTY OF TbL hED'-
CAL COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA.
His Letter which Appeared In the 'i"e'
Last sunday is Replied to section oJ
sec,ion-Tbe state Appropriation.

versy. and it's reply TO DR.. Hunter Nc
cures article Of the 18th instant VIZ
De as brief and simple as IL can y
made. OF the Mushbach letter. WHICH
originated the controversy, We Shai'
say no more. That it was most discfeul1,
able TO DR.. Mcclure, and mat the Doiu
face which he has assigned in attemp1ln3
TO defend 1t has not avaiIed hlH' az
must see. To disprove the assertion u
DR.. Mcclure that the State appropriation
or some part OF it, is divided amohs
our Faculty We submit the following
statement.
The Medical College Of Virginia IS a
State institution. and holds its chartered
existence and all its property at the
pleasure Of the legislature. The Legs
lature appoints its visitors with only the
limited power TO the Governor TO III
vacancies that may occur by death, resis-
nation. or otherwise. The Legislature
| has continuously made an annuai appro-
priation for its maintenance and sup
port ever since February -, 1866. Inc
dean Of the Faculty is it's executive oih-
Ger. He receives from the Auditor TINS
appropriation and receipts for IL. 10 IS
disbursed by him on the approval OF the
Faculty. 1t is designed TO meet such
expenses as insurance, clerks, and Jani-
tors, salaries and wages, water, gas
fuel, stationery, printing, the purchase OF
APPARATUS for the illustration Of lee
lures, repairs and permanent Improve
ments. Annually the dean make a re-
port to the board Of visitors Estate
officers. who carefully audit and pass
upon his accounts. The board in turn,
as is required by law, makes its report
TO the superintendent Of public lnstruc-
ton and the same is embraced III MS
printed report, a State document, and
thus becomes accessible 10 every TAX
payer in the State. 1t is thus Wlthlh the
mower Of any inquirer to acquire fun
knowledge Of how this appropriation is
d"ispOsed Of. As d matter OF .act the APP
propriation TO the college is rarely sufli-
cient to cover the items Of expense for
which ii is designed, and has nearly
always to be supplemented by an assess
ment on the private funds of the Faculty.
The deficits Of the past ten years 10
January /, 1894, have amounted 70 over
twelve thousand dollars, and this sum
has been made up by the Faculty, al
though IL was r%ightfully chargeaDle 10 the
State. The appropriations for the ensu-
Ing wear and the next following have
not yet been expended, but when they
are the public will know what becomes or
the money if it cares 10 peruse the
report Of the Superintendent Oh Publc
instruction. We would add that II there
is ever any portion Of this appropriation
left ~unexpended in any one year, the
same is not divided among the profess
sors. but is held 10 be used along with
subsequent appropriations, as the pub
lished report TO the Superintendent OF
Public instruction viii show. To main
tain his charge that our Faculty intended
to divide the State appropriation among
thmselves, DR.. Mcclure has drawn INTO
the discussion the strictly personal and
private affairs of one OF our colleagues,
an improperly much TO be regretted. but
by DR.. Mcclure rather than by us.
Professor NJ. l.. James, who Is the gen
tleman to whom he refers, authorizes
us TO say that Whatever differences may
have been drawn by the merchant. DR..
James afirms that he had no wish nor
expectation that any money would be
paid to his order out Of any funds derived
from the States appropriation, nor did
he design TO make such an impression
on the mind Of the merchant. The order
only referred to the money collected from
the students, whenever in the future
there might be a sufficient amount of
such funds derived from the students
in the hands of the lean to divide among
the professors. When applied 10 by the
merchant, the dean without hesitation
declined either officially or personally 10
take cOgnizance OF the order, there not
being i'm his hands money thus derived
from students 10 make n payments
TO the professors" The action Of our
lean is an all-important part Of this
transaction, the mention of which DR..
Mcguire in justice to US should not have
suppressed in his account OF the mat
ter.
DR.. McGuire's assertion that our Facul-
ty once, some years ago. appealed TO the
Legislature TO exempt its students from
going before the State Medical Examin-
ing Board is incorrect. 1t was not the
Faculty but the students who appealed
for the exemption from this supplement
tary examination and not for themselves
only but for the students Of all the
Virginia medical schools. The charge
that the Faculty melted its students to
insult the opponents of the measure is
surprising 10 us. We never heard OF
il before. and as far as the present
Faculty knows is altogether ~unfounded.
Two or three of our Faculty were in
favor of the students petition, for rea-
sons which at that time seemed valid,
but which no longer exist; but at least
one Of the Faculty addressed the legls-
lative committee in opposition TO it and
the action Of the Faculty as a body was
also in opposition TO II, as Is shown by
an official letter from the Faculty TO
Or. w. G. Dabney, president Of the
state Medical Examining Board, in which
this fact is plainly stated.
We shall be pleased 10 show this let
ter to any one interested In II. or to
publish 1t If requested. For further proof
OF the correctness Of our statement we
refer TO the report of DR.. II. j. Moore.
chairman Of the Committee on Legisla-
ton relating TO the Medical Examining
Board, made 10 the Medical Society of
Virginia at the session Of 1883, and pub
lished in its transactions Of that year.
Or. McGuire's insinuations that our stu
dents are not sufficiently well instructed
TO meet the ordeal Of an examining
board is, we think, Offset by the fact
that not only have our graduates readily
passed these examinations. but so have.
from time TO time, some OF our half pre-
pared first-course students, while MANY
whom we ourselves have been Obliged To
reject for falling below our own standard.
We're YET up to --~ standard of the board
ana nave been passed BY it. DR.. Nc
CURE is scarcely just TO us when he CON
Veys the idea that we were opposed TO so
meritorious an object as a State hospital
for the sick poor because we opposed the
use or the Virginia Hospital for this pur-
pose. on the contrary. we advocated a
state hospital and introduced a bin be-
fore the Legislature providing for the
establishment Of one. and such onposi.
ton as we made vas only in the line of
Ordinary and legitimate business connect
ton. Naturally We wished to secure this
great advantage for our town hospital
ana ours being a State institution. we
oeiieVed' ana we think justly, that we
hau d clalm 10 1t superior 10 that Of a
private corporation. such az the Nirofpia