The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-14
MEDICAL SOCIETIES SPLIT.
sAVANNAH's DOCTORS NOW IN TWO
SEPARATE CAMPS.


the Last Three or Four Years HIS
at Last Resulted in the Division
of the Profession Into Two Dis
tinct Sccieties-The Trouble Be
gan With the st. James Dispensnry
and Has Been Continuous Since.
Rule as to Consultation May Have
to BE Changed.
The Georgia Medical Society and the
Savannah Medical Society are now two
entirely separate and distinct institutions.
Theoretically they have been so all the
time. but as a matter of fact the men,
bers of the Savannah Medical Society were
all members of the Georgia Medical So
ciety. and abided by its rules so that. prac-
tlcally there was only one medical So
ciety.
Such is no longer the case. The mem.
bers of the Savannah Medical Society
have all resigned from the Georgia Med
ical Society, and their designations have
been accepted. The two societies are now
distinct and separate and, it must be con-
fessed, with not the most friendly feelings
in the world toward each other. The sep
aration came as a result of the pickering
which has been going on in the ranks
OF the doctors for the last several years,
beginning with the establishment of the
st. James Dispensary and the St James
Clinical Society three or four years ago
The members of the latter society felt
that they were not getting the clinical
advantages enjoyed by the physicians as,
ISOLATED with the hospitals and sought in
this manner to obtain such advantages.
While at the same time comforting incl
dental benefits upon the poorer portion of
the population.
The st. James Dispensary had a check
er5d career from The start. The public did
not appreciate the advantages offered and
the hospital doctors ridicued it, and as
serted that its professions of benevolence
were entirely Vershadowed by the aims
OF its members for clinical practice. Some
OF the most en- husiastic members of the
dispensary and the Clinical Society fell
away and were received with open arms
by the no spital people, accomplish ng their
object, as they claimed. of securing posi-
ton on the hospital staffs.
The st. James Dispensary was aban-
doned, but the spirit of dtssension re-
manned. The bitterness engendered by the
novemt Mt only smoldered for little
while to break out again with increased
heat There were some heated sessions of
the Georgia Medical Society one or two
of which were reported in the Morning
News almost in detail, very much to the
surprise of the physicians. The Savannah
Medical Society was organized and those
who had remained true to the St. James
Dizpensary, with others of the younger
physicians, became members. There was
constant friction between the opposing
factions with occasional charge of unpro-
fessional conduct
The fight before the City Council several
months ago to have that body demand the
privilege, as a large contributor to the
support of the hospitals for the purpose of
securing admission or appointment to the
hospital staffs of some of the physicians
who had been unable to secure this privi-
lege, increased the bitterness between the
opposing factions. The fight degenera ted
into personalities which were freely aired
before Council and in the neWspa pers. The
hospital arrangements sided with the
Tins" and although the Council SEEM
ed favorably disposed to the outs" the
fight accomplished nothing. 1t was pro-
posed to cut off the hospital appropria-
tons unless Council was granted the right
to name physicians on the hospital staffs
but this step was not taken and a partial
compromie was arranged between Council
and the hospitals by which the appropria-
tons were continued for six months and
the Mayor and the health officer were
made members of the hospital boards
The fight was switched for a time to
Council and the hospitals, but the Coun-
cilmen, who We're very hot at one time in
behalf of the younger physicians, seem to
have lost interest in the matter, and the
question was practically dropped there
some time ago.
In the meantime the fight in the ranks of
the physicians kept up. and there was con-
siderable unpleaSantnesS at some of the
meetings of the Georgia Medical Society
charges being made against members of
the Savannah Medical Society of unpro-
fessional conduct. which were hotly de-
bated and afterwards tabled. The fact
that these charges We're simply tabled
and not withdrawn, and that the parties.
who brought them were not required to
substantiate their statements, seems to
have been the straw which broke the
camels back, and finally resulted in the
total separation.
Contrary to expectation the divorce was
accomplished very quietly and with no SEN
sational features. The resignation of the
members of the Saannah Medical Society
were simply accepted without discussion
at the last meeting of the Georgia Society
The results which are likely to follow such
a separation and the existence of two rival
medlcal societies have been quietly can
vassed among the physicians, but they
| have been little disposed 10 discuss the.
matter with newspapers. Members of the
Savannah Medical Society, when asked
ABOUT the matter, have simply said that
in the majority of the cities of the coun-
try there is more than one medical So
clety, the large cities having quite a num-
Der, and that there is no reason why the
same state of affairs should not exist here
They find the methods pursued in their
own society and its associations more to
their liking than those of the. older so
ciety, they say, and as they have failed
to receive the advantages which they had
a right to expect from mem bership in the
older society they saw no reason why they
should continue their membership there.
The one point which remains 10 be get
tied and the only one in which the public
generally is likely to be interested from a
medical standpoint is that of consultation
The Georgia Medical Society has a rule
that no member of the society can consult
with any physician who is not a member
of the society, who has been in the CITY
longer than six months. If this rule re-
mains II would apply against the mem
bers of the Savannah Medical Society all
of whom have been residents of the city
longer than six months and who are no
longer members of the Georgia Society
With the bitterness which exists between
the members of the opposing societies II is
not likely that consultations be-
tween them will be frequent. At
the same time it is not unlikely
hat