The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-18


 I great cities in this country have such colleges. believe, therefore. that what | ever action is now taken by the trus- tees should squarely face the fact that, | if not at this time, then quite surely I in the not distant future, a competing
 medical college of some kind will be esta blished in Birmingham, unless that | city is to enjoy an experience in this di- 1 rection quite different from the experi- | ences of other great modern cities. l l am convinced that we may safely as 1 sume that Birmingham is, sooner OF l later, to have a medical college. That !, college will be either a strong college | or a weak college. If 1t is strong college we have on our hands dan gerous competition. If 1t is weak col l lege, 1t means a demoralizing force in
 medical education in Alabama Further
 more, the responsibility will in & sense ! rest upon us, since we now have the opportunity presented to us to get charge | of the whole situation and to control 1t. | I am aware that it has been suggested | that, even if we do get control of the situation at this time, no one can guar antee that some other medical college or | colleges will not later on spring into l existence at some point or points in Ala l bama. I desire to say, in reply. that 1 the entire trend of events in medical ed- | ucation-its stiffening standards its grow | ing cost. its increasing demands, and it's enarging necessities-is quite sufficient | guarantee that in the future no man, or | set of men, will be apt to attempt to
 organize a school of medicine outside of | a great city unless 1t Is in conjunction
 with a great college. In either event an
 indispensable desideratum in the clinical years is a modern hospital. Moreover, l the state examining boards and the great national standardizing agencies are per petual protection and guarantee that his- | tory will not repeat itself in this par l ticular field of human endeavor.
 "I do not believe, therefore, that any
 sincere minded man will seriously ad- vance the argument that, outside of Mo- l pile or Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, there | is the slightest hope of the establishment of school of medicine in Alabama, so | far as can now be foreseen. The field has already been pre-empted in Mobile. The control of the Hllman hospital in Bir- mingham has likewise pre-empted the | field there. The university is Itself To- | cated at Tuscaloosa, and, of course, the | time may come when a school of medi- l cine will be established there. It would, 1 therefore, be strainng matters to de- | gree if we allow the nightmare of hypo- l thetical institutions that may spring up | here and there to enter seriously into the | | cussion,
 1 Must Be First Class
 | There is but one other phase of the matter that I need now discuss. It is | this: l am strongly of the opinion that | the University of Alabama cannot afford | to maintain under it's protection any kind | of institution. whether at Mobile or at | Birmingham, that is not first class. It
 would do us infinite harm to maintain at | ohi cbn nf alo of medicine Such a school would not | help us even in Birmingham. I have al
 ready stated that do not believe that the
 state of Alabama is able at this time or will be able in the next quarter of cen tury, to maintain more than one standard
 medical college I do believe that, with
 clear field, we can maintain standard
 medical college. and a polyclinic. I be-
 lieve that Birmingham Is more favorably
 located than Mobile with reference to a polyclinic, since Mobile Is so much nearer | to the already established polyclinic at
 Tulane. I know that some will take the
 position that many practitioners will con-
 tinue to go to New York and other great
 cities for such work That is doubtless
 true. We should be gratified that it is
 true. But even conceding this, I believe
 that many other men whose need of such | facilities Is greater will take advantage
 of an opportunity of this kind If 1t is of | fered to them, and perhaps these men are
 the very men who ought to have special consideration in establishing such an in- stitution.
 Financing Birmingham School Tn the event that the trustees con- cur in the views set forth in this paper
 it is, of course, essential that there shall
 be some affirmative suggestion concern
 Ing the matter of financing a polyclinic
 at Birmingham without drawing upon the | funds in the university treasury. My l judgement Is that there should be no agreement made that will not definitely
 releive the university treasury of all finan- cial responsibility It should be clearly understood and stipulated that the uni-
 versity, in accepting the Birmingham proposition (when, and it, 1t is modified | in accordance with the suggestions made | In this paper), and in assuming control | of the poyclinic, takes such action under an explicit agreement made in advance to the effect that the Birmingham au-
 thorities shall provide the revenues for maintaining It. pending the time when the
 legislature shall appropriate funds for the purpose. Meantime, the Birmingham au- | thorties, as now legally constituted, | should be permitted. under conditions to be agreed on, to continue on their own | responsibility, and independently or uni | versiy protection and aid. the undergrad | uate work now being oone III the Dii in''is ham Medical college until the classes
 which have already matriculated shall have graduated in May, 1915 It seems
 clear that. if such an agreement IS ef-
 fected. no financial responsibility Is as
 s,imed by the trustees
 T ask permission to add that fee
 the utmost appreciatio nof what has been and is being, done In Mobile to build ur
 a standard school of medicine. l am deep. iy interested in the progress of the school feel peculiar interest in the nn' city in which 1t is located and in the section of Alabama of which 1t is tht metropolis. I want to help. and not te