The times., 1897-08-15
WOMEN WHO WELD
THE FORCEPS.


feinember-when you tied up your swollen
face Gin August, possibly in a woolen
comforter, seated yourself in a springless
country wagon, and with courage eozir.s
out at your fingers ends, allowed yourself
10 be carted TO the torture chamber of a
village dentist 70 have yoHT suffering faol4r
extracted by main stTength-from tflos.
days 70 the present there has been a seven
league stride in dentistry. Endless i'm
Proyements and alterations have made
thcir appearance; but the greatest, and if
we leoka little way back, the most startling.
innovation, is tie woman dentist
The latest data show that there are about
so women GentIsts praeticing In the
United States-whieh h in this respect is be-
hind Germany, where nearly every town
Possesses al least one frau or fraulein who
can wire the formidable letters, D. D. 5,
after her name. statistics, however, are
difficult: tSr as ore clever and successful
representative of the profession said. ''Yog
see there are women everywhere, esp pseiaIIy
10 partsof hte West, who viii practice with
cut a full course or a diploma in States
where the regulations regarding such things
are nOt stFi,t. Such woman are not, of
Course. officially registered; but il they
were counted ia the total would be greatly
increased"
The National Woman's Dental Assoela-
ton, organized In Philadelphia, but with
members every where IS five years old and
has about fifty nemmbers. Its officers are.
PTesitle'.t, Elizabeth H. Davis; vice presl-
dent, II. ReDecea Rauch; recording seerss-
taTy, Frances G.. Crouch; corresponding
secretary. annie Focht; treasurer, Emily
"
Jewell Washing ngton, D. c.; Mary GalIuD,
Massachusetts; Hester ]. Baker, ILLINOIS,,
Alice ]. LELAND, New York; Sarah z. Gar
diner. Wyoming; Fannie E. Hopes, Mary
land; Jennie Gallup, Rhode Island. ALICE
A. Graham. Missouri, and sara May Town
send, Colorado.
The ancient sign No ThoTOughfare TO
Women, = is still tacked up on 50 many col
Iege doors. however, that many women ara
obliged 20 make pilgrimage OF hundreds
OF miles TO be received oa equal terms with
men. Fully half the female students ara
German woIaen, VINO are more enthusiast
ticaIIy received b y the laity Of the Fdther-
land than by The faculties Of dental col
leges.
Philadelphia. which has cradeled a sur
prisieg nur.ber OF the woman move
TO graduate women IN this profession, and
naturally the greatest number OF them
flcck thither; only one dental school. thas
of the University Of Pennsylvania. being
closed 20 them. Tie Boston Dental Col
Iege has let down its bars; and though Har-
ward has not yet surrendered, one Of it's
professors lately said 90 a woman. You
are knocking at TIE doors SO loudly that
va 4sur 70 ud
does not admit women 10 any Of its dental
schools snd New York state is equally
tnhospit able, as is also the city OF Sc,
Louis.
This year witnessed the graduation from
the Pennsylvania College Of Dental Sur
gerry Of ar interesting woman from far
japan, Miss Yasa Nakamura. Miss Va ka-
mura's object is not merely TO practice ths
most painful Of the healing arts among
japanese women, bus TO establish a school
of dentistry of her own A mental picture
of tie pretty aInond-eyed little ladies' OK
the aesthetic kiInoua and the filtration
fan, handling the terrOr-inspiTing forceps
OF spinning the dreaded drilling machine
with a daintily -saHdaned foot, seems in
cOneruous; yet doubtless their sufferias
countE women will be rising up 70 call
them blessed when the tooth is safely out
Although not such a steep and thorny way
as the entrance into medicine. the story OF
woman s introduction into the uHtried Held
OF Gencrsty Is a story Of struggles. As mas
often happened IN such eases. The entering
wedge vas first inserted by d man, Dr.
JAMES Truman. Of the Pennsylvania Col
lSge Of Dental Surgery, who in 1856, in
an address 70 the graduating class OF that
institution. launched a bomb in the form
Of a suggestion that women and dentistry
were peculiarly fitted 70 one mother. AU
d date when a female physician was
thing TO be shuddered at, the idea OF a
woman dentist was simply a combination
OF the out RI geouS aud the impossible. With
IN two years, however, the eternal femf-
nine made her appearance 81 the form OF
FlauIein Henr.ette Hirsehfield, who, when
refused admission by the dean OF the Penn
sylvaria college. appealed to the faculty
It was discovered thai she had left Ger
many fcT America fully persuaded that
there in the 'wOrIan's country she would
have no difficulty in attaining to a dental
education Furthermore, she had been
promised by the minister Of public instrUc-
ton that she would be allowed TO practice
in heT own country IL size secured a q plOma
in America. Her distress and her dilemma
softeled the heart OF the dean, who finally
admitted her TO matriculation-
Although II Is contested that in $50 \
woman was admitted 70 the Iowa College
through the influence OF the Dental S0-
ciety, t!ere Is no positive proof that Dr.
Hirschfeid is not the first woman graduate
in dentistry. She stiH practices III Ger
many. having established both clinic and
bcsoitai fer women in Berlin, which she
supports by her individGal exertions- This
dangerous precedent, however, vas not
followet. in a hurry by the college, which
rejected all subsequent applica tons from
women, until one of the disappointed can
ditates was taken in by the Baltimore Col
eee OF Dental SurseTy-the first and last
woman ever received there This spdrred
the rival college in Pennsylvania into for
maIly opening its dOerS TO women, IN which
il was followed by the Dental College OF
Cincinnati, and by those OF other States
and cities
Now no one worries about the woman
dentist. The tender s0licitude over her
health. always shown when woman en-
-ers a paying profession, has subsidized;
the diseourteSies at first offered her by
-oascgliue rivals have been exchanged for
me hand of fellewship-and she is making
money
1T is because there are so few OF Us.
OF course" said one OF these successful
recently, THAT women seem
more prosperous in this profession, COM
paratively speaking, than men, IL Is lot
such ehoked-up opening as most OF
those we hear about for our sex. Yes,