The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-02

There Is hardly any other phase of
American development as remarkable as
the advance our physicians are making
I'm the treatment Of human Ills. Consid-
erIng that The knowledge and successful
.nethods of tho present daN would have
seemed absurd In the time OF our grand
fathers. II may not be too optimistic To
expect medical science 10 eventually Grad
lcate all causes of death except accident
and old age. Old physicians, speaking
oynically one to another. used Ia say;
I'VE treat disease of which we know
we know less, remedy OF which we
know nothing. Roughly stated, that
was wha, empiricism meant. With
limited knowledge OF chemistry. physics ,l
mechanism and functions OF the various
parts of the body, and almost no knowl-
edge OF the causes of many tatai dise9ses'
doctors sailed by dead reckoning. Pre-
Ventive measures were speculative, ana
In treating many diseases now easily con
uuerahle. the best practitioners groped In
the dark.
Mark Twain's Notes of an Old Physi-
rian," containing excerpts from the diary
OF a practitioner who bled and starved
and poulticed the life out Of patients, re-
fusing them air when they needed it, and
water when they were perishing OF feYer,
and who soemnly set down at the end OF
the history OF each case, 'notWithstand-
Ing this careful treatment the patient
died" has afforded mirth 10 many n lay
man, but to the modern American physl-
cian. il Is not much more humorous than
The real diary OF real physician OF that
nay would he. SO numerous and SO impor-
tant have been recent discoveries
t- hut
than 100 years old. II was In 1865 that
the first attempt was made, at the College
OF Philadelphia, 10 teach medicine in thlS
county,. Two years later the occupation
OF the city by the British troops caused
the college TO be closed 1t was reopened
In LIS, finally becoming the medical de-
partrnynt OF the University OF Pennsyl-
vania. Another attempt was made IN
New York In l7GS at Kings College, but
only twenty-five pupils, part OF them
when trouble resulted from body snatch
Ing" the school was closed. II was not
reopened until 1892, and no good iacill-
listed until after the beginning of the
nineteenth century. Before America had
medical schools a few wealthy students
went abroad and took degrees in London
Ednburg and the German universities,
but the average physician read medicine
ns an apprentice TO n pracunoner. be,
coming first bachelor OF phEslck X, 1md a,
tie knowledge OF medicine.
John Morgan. one of the most erudite
men of colonial days, was prominent In
lmpreSsing upon the public mind the need
of better facilities for educating physi-
clans. He was the first professor in
chartered college of medicine. and he was
known as the father of medical training
In America He was one OF the founders
OF the American Philosophical society,
the College OF Physicians OF Philadelphia.
and one OF the first TO donate books 10
..sy.s ,s.li fret n
suggest the practice of writing prcscrip-
tions TO be filled by pharmacists. Nor
gan was the son OF Welsh merchant
who was n crony Of Benjamin Franklin.
lie was born in 1875. and after studying
at an academy, entered the iust-foundcd
College Of Philadelphia, at the same time
being apprenticed TO physician. There
were at that time only six drug stores In
Philadelphia, mostly owned by physicians
who mad their apprentices to mix drugs.
az Il surgeon In the colonial army, DR..
Morgan evidenced such ability that he
was advised 10 go abroad TO study. Sen
iamin Franklin, agent OF the Province Of
Pennsylvania in London. introduced him
to number of notable surgeons and ply
sicans. From London he went 10 Edln
bursh, where he took a degree. He after
ward studied anatomy under sue In Paris.
and because of valuable contributions to
medical and surgical literature was ad-
mitted. as a corresponding member, To
the ROYAL Academy OF Surgery When he
returned TO America he interested HIM
self In promoting education.
The hospital of America antedates the
medical college. The first hospital was
stan being Thomas Bond, Phineas Bond
and Lloyd Zachary. The idea originated
with DR. Thomas Bond. n native of Cal
yer, county, MARYLAND who had been
tu try to interest capitalists In the pro-
iect. and Benjamin Franklin indorsed his
ideas and lobbied through the Legislature
t.tt1 Zf Eh
hospital After the bill had been
signed by the Governor in May. 175i,
Samuel Rhoads. a contributor to the fund,
and BIZ vocation a builder MAS appointed
tto look for boards whercwith To build the
hospital in the meantime n residence
on Market street was rented as a tenn
puTary hospital and i'll February, 1852, the
FIRST patients were received.
An idea OF the rapid growth OF facilities
OF medical education in America may he
gained from a comparison Of figures IN
this country in proportion TO population
as there are In Germany, but the United
States, with one and third times the
population OF Germany. has 126 medical
faculties. while Germany has but twenty.
The ratio OF students TO population In
each country Is one to 5000, Philanthropy
in America has aided greatly in equipplng
her system OF hospitals. which is now sec
ond 10 none In the world.
IN a rapidly expanding country, the
great useU mas DSel lot flSlu TeSuJallons
rs To requirements for graduation from
medical colleges and organization has
made giant strides In this direction. The
physicians Of northern New Jersey or
sanize1 the first society Tor the maiLte-
nance oi medical ethics AT New Bruins
wick In 117G. In 1871. the Massachusetts
Medical association was incorporated, but
ihe great organization known as the
American Medical association, was not
organized until 18iI. Nathaniel Chap
man was made president: Johnathan
Knight Alexander H Stevens, James
Moultrle and a. II, Buchanan. vice pres
idenrs: John w. Dunbar and Alfred
Steele. secretaries; and Isaac Hays, treas
urer The association admits TO member
ship amy reputable physician. and has
done excellent work for the elevation of
the profession in America. For a time
the clinic seemed TO drag behind the ad
vance of surgery. This was due 10 n gem
cral lack of knowledge as to causation,
Now this is made a speciality. and today
the aim of medical science is TO prevent
disease rather than TO get what salvage
is possible from human wreckage. Ori-
gins and the nature OF infections have
become the subject of exhaustive and ef
fective research Bacteriology has ac-
complished more In the direction Of pre-
Yenton in the last thirty years than was
accomplished III the preceding three cen