Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-03-14
OR. MculRe's LETTER


A Reply from tho Faculty Of the Medical
College Of virEini..
(Communicated)
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA.
RICHMOND. VA. March 10. 1884
While the bill making the usual annual
appropriation 10 the Medical College OF
Virginia was under discussion In the State
Senate, towards the close OF tho recent
session. the following letter was intro
duced by Senator Mushbach. The name
OF tho writer was withheld until II had
been urgently demanded when II was re-
luctantly revealed. and was thus dis.
covered to be that OF DIR. Hunter Nc.
CURE, president OF the College Of Physi-
clans and Surgeons now called the Uni
versity College OF Medicine. OF this city:
HUNTER INQUIRE. sls Z. GRACE.
RICHMOND. VA. March 1. 1894.
MY Dear Senator,-I see from tho
papers that the Finance Committee Of the
Senate and the House have advised the
appropriation of 500 to tho Medical Col
lege of Virginia. No sick poor are to be
cared for with this money or poor men
to be educated, but this sum Is TO go to
dozen doctors, and added to the fees
they now get from their class. This COL
lege has already $4,000 OF State pro-
perty. and pay no rent or tax. The SEN
ate Finance Committee declined, as you
know, 10 help the sick poor OF the State
by small appropriation. but now can
give 5000 to help the salaries of ten or
twelve Richmond physicians. Cover IL up
by words In any way you please. II simply
amounts to this. Can't you stop IL?
Very truly yours.
HUNTER INQUIRE"
Hon. George A. Mushbach." ~
"P. S.-One per cent on the value of the
huildings. or 500, amply covers Insurance
and repairs, according To all real estate
agents, and this the college should bear
themselves
Dr. McGuire has now had ample time
for making some kind OF explanation
OF this ulbecoming and unprovoked treat
ment or us. but his silence forces us TO
notice Il.
We believe that an assault OF this char
acter delivered in such fashion Is alto
gether unprecedented In the dealings OF
one institution OF learning with another.
Whatever of truth there is in DIR. Me-
CURES letter is most dsingenuously pre-
sented. while some OF the statements are
not only contrary to the fact. but. In our
opinion, Or. Mcclure is I'm a condition TO
know that they are contrary to the fact,
since no was for many years q member
of the faculty OF the Medical College OF
Virginia, and consequently was aware
OF the disposition which was made OF
the States appropriations. We have long
been cognizant OF DR.. McGure's hostility
to the Medical College OF Virginia, and
have heretofore from time to time caught
glimpses OF his hidden hand" We have
had experience Of his methods OF warfare
and are therefore not surprised that he
should perpetrate an act of which we
are sure his own fair-minded colleagues
feel ashamed. Every friend OF his, while
making full allowance for the rage and
humiliation naturally arising from his
inability to divert the bounty OF the
State from its own institutions to his
private school, must regret that he could
not conceal his feelings. or, al least,
that he did not display them in a man
ner more credaable Ito one in his
position.
The part of this letter which Is the
most unjust to us. and which we con-
slider TO be the most deserving OF our
special notice, is that which alleges
that the sum appropriated ''ls to go TO a
dozen doctors and added 10 the fees
they now get from their class" We em-
phatically deny that this Is so. Lest
any candid and sincere person might
ignorantly surmise what the unctndld
and insincere DIR. Mcclure 30 audaciously
asserts. our dean. In his conference with
the Finance Committee. explicitly assured
its members that not one cent Of IL
would be used TO pay the professors
fees.
Even with respect 10 the indirect adj
vantages which may come rom this APP
propriattpn IL can be no more truthfuiiy
| said that the $500 viii help the salaries
| OF our ten or twelve Richsnond physt-
| cians'' than that the $1,000 Which Or.
| McGulre did hi; best and hts worst 20 get
! would have helped the salaries OF him
| and his ten or twelve Richmond physi-
| clans.
| The truth IS that In accordance with
| tradition and custom, If not with law.
| the State appropriations have been de-
| voted solely to the maintenance of TIA
| college, and not OF the professors. DR..
| Mcclure knows this, and we will venture
| TO assert that even when he was one of
| our professors this money was not d.
verted from this purpose. Evidently these
! appropriations are proper To be made,
| for the college is absolutely the property
! OF the State and should therefore bo
| cared for by the State, and IN fact they
| have been made annually ever since the
| war; nor did DR.. Mcclure even detect
any improperly in them as long a. he
| himself was connected with the institu-
| ton.
| In reply to the assertion that no sick
| poor are to be cared for or poor men TO
| be educated with this money, II Is suffi-
| cient tn point out that the sum u not
| large enough TO enable US 10 do all that we
| might wish to do. and that its use must
| be restricted TO the purposes for which
| IL was asked and granted Neverthe-
| less, we are able to say that numbers OF
| sick poor have been and are now being
| cared for In our hospital, and, moreover.
that they are cared for not at the ex-
| pense of the people OF the State nor OF
| the charitable ladies' and gentlemen OF
| Richmond, but at the expense OF our
| selves az individuals.
| We NAV now safely leave the conduct
| OF DIR. Mcclure I'm this matter 10 the
| Judgment OF all Unbiased persons. We
| leave Dr. Mcclure himself 10 digest the
| modification he feels as he realizes that
| he has done a most discreditabIe thing.
| and that he has done IL 50 bungiingly as
| to be caught In the act, and that after
| all he has ANONYMOUSLY failed to ae-
| complish the object for which the dis
| credltable thing was done
| THE FACULTY OF THE MEDICAL
COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA.