The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-01-15

largely attended and considerable busl-
ness transacted. In the absence OF Pres-
ident Gordon and Vice President
Weeks. the assembly was called to or
der by Dr. A K. P. Meserve, who su bmlt-
ted list of men recommended for NOM
bership. The members elected were:
Thomas B. Reed. WV. Thomas, Jr., Will
liam P Frye, Eugene Hale, Nelson Ding
ley, Henry A. Nealy, Asa Dalton. Hen
~ Blanchard, Gardner Ludwig, William
Wood, j. M. Bates, Sewall G. Strout, A
J.Fuller, William z. Whttehouse, Alonz
Garcelon, Thomas H. Haskell, William
B.Swan, George E. Brickett, Il. B. Fuller,
ia. Josselyn. F.W. Huntington, Frank
R. Ridlon, Nathan W. Allen, TT. Stew
ems, j. A. Randall, ]. S. Sturdsvant,
David Driscol, F.W. Searle. CA. Baker.
Leon L. Hale, f. H. Gardiner, c.. Den
nett.
DR.. Charles E. Banks of the United
States Navy, was elected corresponding
mem ber
The following communication was
presented:
At the regular January meeting OF the
Portland Medical club. committee was
appointed to present to the Maine Acad-
envy of Medicine:
Whereas, There is now manifest An
unusual interest in thessub ject of d1ph-
liberia in this city owing to the recent
epidemic; and whereas an early dag
nosis is often difficult but extremely
important in preventing the spread OF
md WI
be eradicated by almost thorough dis
infection; it would seem to be an OPP
perfume time to consider the feast bllity
of establishing a culture test station in
this vicinity, and to also ask this city
to make an appropriation sufficient to
enable the Board of Health to employ
skilled officer TO see that disinfection is
properly done; and to this end the
Portland Medical club invites you to
cooperate by joint committee or in such
other manner as you may deem best.
In accordance with this request the
following were constituted committee
to act in cooperation with the Medical
club: Drs.A.K. P.Meserve, B. B. Foster
and b P. Merrill.
A committee was appointed to urge
upon the legislature the passage OF
Medical Registration bill-the commit
tee consisting OF Collector Dow, DR..
Gordon and Judge Peabody.
DIR. Charles "A. Ring read thoughtful
and suggestive paper on diphtheria. its
causes, course and cure, which summed
up tersely the present state of medical
knowledge upon the subject. and mem
toned the prevailing specuiations. The
L he cd oYnori-
ment in cure-anti-toxine, and the
methods of it's preparation were given in
detail. DR.. Ring declined to express II
positive opinion upon the merits OF anti
toxine, in default of personal experience
in it's administration.
followed by general discussion. partic-
ipated in by Drs. Fuller, Bassford,
Cakes, Small. n. P. Merrill. Bray, Mes
serve and Twitchell.
The prevalent opinion was one Of eau
ton with the new remedy, though DIR.
Merrill reported three cases and DR.. Bray
one, in which it had, apparently, effected
a cure. Being asked if the old, conven-
tionall treatment, was pursued in con-
neotion with the exhibition of anti-tox-
inc, these practitioners replied in the
affirmative. So it is yet to be settled
whether these four patients are indebted
for their lives to the ancient method of
treatment or the new.
The discussion took a wide range, but
one too technical in language and too
professional in treatment to be of gener-
al interest to newspaper readers.
The discussion, however, deveoped one
gratifying fact-that diphtheria is not
epidemic in this city, and it's ravages
have been greatly exaggerated by cur
rent reports; many cases of ordinary
sore throat being confused with the ma
lignant disease by alarmists.
1t also emphasized the very unpleasant
fact that our people are careless about
taking sanitary precautions, and that
Portland is more indebted to good luck
than to prudence for its escape from
epidemic diphtheria. Children with sore
throaus are given the free run of the
streets. 4 In most cases their complaint
may be trivial; in some it is certainly
dangerously infective-so the only safe
course is to isolate each case until the
danger point be passed.