The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-12-06
An Unusually Interesting Meeting in
Which the Science of BacterolOgy
Figures ConspicuousIy Hypnotism
in Medicine Treated of by DR. AM
drews Officers Elected and Other
Business.

friends and neighbOrs. The session
was called to order by President DR..
Merritt, of St. Peter, who called upon
Rev. Beattie for prayer, after which
the minutes of the previous meeting
were read and approved The calling
of the roll was postponed until after
dinner as several trains upon which
members were to come had not ar
rived.
The election of officers was then
taken up and resulted as follows:
Presdent-Dr. &C. Stricken, New
Ulm.
First Vice President-Dr. Jacoby,
Mankato.
Second Vice President DIR. Tom
lingson, ST. Peter.
Third Vice Presldent-Dr. Hirsch,
New Ulm.
Secretary DR. E. d. Steel, Manka-
to.
Treasurer-Dr. j. II. James, Man
kato.
DR.. Spaulding's paper on "Appende-
citis," having been left in his satchel
at DR.. Warmers office, was passed for
the time being aid DR.. Davis paper
on "Micro-Organisms and their
Relation to Disease" was called for
and read.
The following were in attendance
Tuesday forenoon:
A. E. Spaulding, Luverne; w. r.
Hand, Kasota; G. f. Warner, city; G.
Hirsch; New Ulm; w. Jacoby, city; D.
s. Cummings, Waseca; Geo. B. Wiser,
New Ulm; j. w. B. Welcome, Jr.,
Sleepy Eye; w. II. Rowe, ST. James;
L. r. Foster, ST. Peter; l. d. Webster,
city; HI. A. Tomlinson, St. Peter; j. H.
James, city; c. j. Beise, Mapleton; J.
w. Andrews, city; j. Williams, Lake
Crystal; o. G. Stricken, New Ulm; o.
III. McMichael, Vernon Center; A. j.
Gillett, st. Paul; j. w. Daniels, St
Peter; e. j. Davis, city: DR.. Badeaux,
city; G. f. Merritt, ST. Peter; A. G.
Jacoby, Gilmore; G. o. Cooley, Madelia;
Z. G. Harrington, city; w. A. Jones,
Minneapolis; E. H. Kinckerbocker,
Henderson; D. A. Kirk, LIE Sueur; f.
A. Dodge, LIE Sueur; G. J. Spratt,
Minneapolis.
Dr. Andrews, of this city, read
thoughtfully prepared paper on
"Psycho-Th Therapeutics" the main por-
tion of which is as follows:
acknowledgements means hypno-
tism in medicine, or hypnotism DIS
means of curing or ameliorating dis
ease. The idea is not altogether
new one, indeed it dates back to the
old Grecian and Roman period, the
cradle of so much scientific knowledge
long buried and forgotten, but in the
wonderfully progressive ninteenth
century again reSurrected.
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, had the
power of hypnOtiZing his sick subjects
by passing his great toe over them
History tells US that his manner of
healing was to lay his patients in
Supine position, and by passing his
collie and diseases of the spleen. The
Emperor Vespacian cured nervous dis
eases, lameneSS and blindness by Law
ing on of hands. King Olaef healed
Egill by laying hands on him and
and singing proverbs. The kings of
England and France cured diseases of
the throat by touch. In England this
class OF disease was therefore called
"klng'S Evil" Some of the German
Princes were able to cure Stammering
by a kiss. Pliny says: "There are
men whose whole bodies possess medi-
cinal qualities and can cure the bite
of serpents merely by touch" In the
seventeenth century the gardener
Levret and the notorious Streeper
performed cures in London by stroking
Ing the hand. History tells us that 10
1917 and 1918 Richter, an inn keeper
of SILICA, cured many thousands in
the open fields by touching them with
his hands. Agrippa Won Nettisheim
says, There is science known to
but few of Illuminating and instruct
ing the mind, so that at one step, it is
raised from the darkness of ignorance
to the light of wisdom" Here this
great German writer evidently refers
TO nypnotlSm, Tor he concludes by say
ing, "This is produced principally by
species of artificial sleep in which
man forgets the present"
We must admit, that even now at
the c4ose of the nineteenth century,
psych Therapeutics is in rather
chaotoic state. think this is par
TALLY dne to two facts; first, the fear
of ridicule on the part of the medical
profession, and second, the un-
scientific employment of this valuable
agent in treating disease by charla-
tans and quacks under the guise of
Christian science, clairvoyance, etc.
gressive profession in the world. and
the tenets of our profession are to
CLEAN truths from all sources, let us
turn the search-light of science on
this therapeutic agent until we shall
be able to adopt the good and reject
the bad. Truth is never dangerous,
Ignorance alone 10 dicorpoa1 Co..,