The Washington herald., 1907-05-19
LONG And STEPHENS
Georgia Will Send Their
Statues to Washington.
WERE CLASSMATES IN BOYH0OD
Latter Gained Fame as States
man, Former Through Discovery
and Application of Anaesthesia.
How He Struggled for Recognition
and Died Before Gaining IL.

Z
Unusual interest attaches TO the two
statues which Georgia will send to
Washington 20 occupy the inches allot-
/ ted to that state in Statuary Hall at
the Capitol. The statues viii be those
Of Dr. Crawford ". Long, now almost
universally conceded 10 be the discOy-
erer OF anaesthesia, and Alexander H.
stephens. at one time vice president Of
the Confederacy, member Of Congress
and governor of Georgia. Most of the
statues now at the Capitol perpetuate
the memories Of men who gained fame
through military channels, but the
honors won by Long and stephens are
| Of an entirely different character.
oddly enough. the two men were
| classmates and roommates at the Uni
| versity Of Georgia in their youth, and
both graduated from that institution.
stephens renOwn as a statesman rests
On most substantial basis In the
/ South, and both he and DR.. Long have
been highly honored by the State in
which they lived. and which they served
so well in their respective fields A life
/ size portrait Of Dr. Long hangs in the
/ capitol at Atlanta. and the university
/ hospital, at Athens, bears his name. At
/ jefferson. where his discovery Of anaes-
/ thcsia was made, a bronze tablet is set
/ in the walls OF his Office TO mark the
spot where an anaesthetic was first
used. March 80, 1892. Dr. l. G. Hard
man. of Commerce. Ga. through the
/ Medical Society Of Jackson County.
some time ago presented to the Gown OF
/ jefferson a monument 10 mark the spot
where Dr. Long first operated on a pa
tient- under the influence Of an anaes-
thetic.
DIR. Longs Title Established.
While IL has been claimed that Or Long
was not the original dlscoyerer Of auacs-
/ thesla, his right 10 that title seems to
have been very clearly established. II is
stated on excellent authority that those
for whom claims of priority have been
made were at least four years behind DT
Long in the practical use 0f an anaes-
thetic The patient on whom Dr. Lone
nrst used his anaesthetic. I'm the year al-
ready mentioned, was James Neuable
from whose neck several yirulsut tum0r-
We're removed. About the same time DR.
Long performed several other simila,
/ operations. employing sulphuric ether
and conducting the work without any
pain whatever 90 his patients Thcs.
facts are said % Doe of record. having
/ become at once known To AN the practie.
| ing surgeons in that portion of Georgia
I'm which DR. Long lived. Il was not unit
some four years later. 1T about 1876 that
Dr. Morton. Of Massachusetts. had one of
his own teeth extracted paiuI4ssly Will,
under the influence of ether He immedL
atcly reported the case o. The 0Iassa.
| chueetts General Hospital where On.
anaesthstic was adopted and used viii
/ entire success. Five years from the datr
of br. Longs first painless operation. SI
James Y. Simpson. u. d.. of Edinburgh
began the use Uf e preparation Of ChlOrO
form as an auaeSthet.c iu his practice
I'm spite Of the prior claims of Ur Long
which his friends say are iudisputahle
both Boston and Edinburgh have erected
handsome monuments 20 DTS. Morton am,
simpson respectively. as the discoverer
OF auaesthesia. As a matter of fact. f.
seems that the claims Of DR. Wells. u
Connecticut, auted8ted those of Dr. Nor
ton.
DIR. Henri Stuart's Gift.
Many persons outside of Georgia hav,
recognized the justice Of the claims mad,
on behalf Of Dr. Ions In ISs2 DR.. Henr
stuart, prominent surgeon Of New
York, presented 90 the State Of Georgia
portrait Of Dr, L-.E a~ the originator o.
painless operations. Being Of modest an,
unostcntatious temperament DIT Lon.
himself took no positive steps To- estab
lish his right 90 his epochaI discovery
He was fully content with the though
that he had ameliorated human suffering
and was only anxious that the mean
should become the property of all thos
able 10 administer them intelligently
Henry W. Grady, the famous Ge0rgi
editor said az one time: 1T was Craw
, ford ". Long who gave 90 the worl,
.The priceless boon Of anaesthesia.' Alex
ander Stephen in an address before tn
alumni of the University of Georgia. Of
August 3. 1872, said of the university. tha
it had given TO the world Or. Long tn
disc0vertr Of anaesthesia. "a discover
. which ha.. done more 10 alleviate human
suffering than any other Of the time.
. The orleans Parish Medical Association
passed a resolution uniting with the medi
cal fraternity Of Georgia in recommend
ing that the memory of Dr. Long b
statue. The members Of the association
, referred TO Or. Long as one whom the
regarded with pride and admiration
not only as one Of the South's most illus
tri0us sons, but as one Of the creates
s bencfactors that America had given I
( the world" His claims for the recogni
y ton and gratitude of his fellow men,
, the resolution went on to say rest upO
benefactions which are not limited by tn
boundaries Of his State or nation, but ar
as vast as humanity ITSELF
: Action of National Eclectic Associa
tiOn.
The National Eclectic Association. a
, an annual meeting held al Cleveland
. Ohio. June IS, 1879. passed a similar resc
d, luton unanimously.
This association. it said, takes thi
, action to declare its appreciation an
q recognition Of the ineStimable seTviC
. rendered 10 medical science and human
4 ity, and to express It's consideration &
> the vast debt OF gratitude (hitherto W
@ recognized due to the late DR.. Crswfor
\ W. Long. Of Athens. Ga. the discovere
g Of anaesthesia. and hereby agrees to col
a daily unite in any public endeavor
= honor his memory.
d DR.. Westmoreland, of Atlanta, in
paper which he once read before III
2 Georgia Medical Society, gave some IL
y teresting facts about Dr. Long and h
d time. In Or. Longs vicinity" said d
' WestmOreland. 'it was customary in II