The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1914-08-05
WOMEN! PHYSICIANS
ARE WINNING FAME
Or. Lillian South, of Kentucky,
Has Seven TitIes-AII Ardent
Suffragists.

NEW YORK, Aug 5-That women
are taking a rapidly increasing part in
the medical profession in New York
and other States, and even in India,
was demonstrated at the recent annual
meeting of the New York State Medical
Association, which was held at the
Academy of Medicine, in West Forty
Qird street The convention was attend
ed bv more than 150 women physicians
and surgeons who practice in this State,
by several women doctors from other
parts of the country, and by the in
teresting DR.. Grace Ilahi-Baksh, who is
a native of Rajputana, India
DR.. nahi-Baksh, a slender little black
haired, dark-skinned girl of the Orient,
was one of the youngest physicians at
the meeting. She attended the sessions
Ias a guest, Ito learn as much as pos
si5le from your American doctors" She
also attended the annual dinner OF the
Women's Medical Society of New York
Monday night, April q, at the Park
Avenue Hotel, appearing in simmer
ing native costume OF sky-blue silk
caught up with jeweled silver buckles.
women doctors rare in India?" she
repeated. smiling. Yes. So are men
doctors, Rajputana is a district Of
many hundreds of inhabitants. My
mother is the only physician in the dis
trict"
Her mother. who is a full-blooded ma
tive OF India, was one Of the first TO
introduce modern scientific methods of
treatment of disease in the part of the
cast in which she lives. She, too.
Gained her knowledge of medicine in
America, and, with her husband, an
other native, graduates from the Uni
versfty of Colorado. On returning to
India her husband became a mission
airy. He died several years $50, and
the mother has since managed her mis-
sion hospital alone.
Have to Learn in India.
In India" said DR.. nahi-Baksh.
physicians have to learn something OF
every branch of medical science, there
are so few OF them. IN her last letter
my mother told of her first experience
at pulling teeth, though she has done
other dental work before. would like
10 practice with her, but cannot, for
il would be wrong for two doctors TO |
live together where there are so few"
at the New York Lying-In Hospital
DR.. 1lahi-Baksh is continuing her
studies. She Will later take a post !
graduate course. She graduated from |
the Buffalo Medical College last June. |
The titles accompanying the name OF
another guest at the convention proved |
Gecisiyely that in Dixie the woman doc |
tor is making enviable progress. DR..
who lectured Oh The HOokworm,
which is the plague OF many Southern
States, at the day meeting Of the ~o-
mems Medical Society, Is third vice |
PRESIDENT Of the American Medical As |
ISOLATION and the only woman officer
the association ever had. She is also /
secretary OF the National Association |
OF State Medical Secretaries and Edi-
the Association Of Southern Medical |
Women. business manager OF the Ken
lucky Medical Journal. business man
aver OF the Kentucky Medical Associa-
I'm q F--srH--- -
tkE-D Medical Society and ore Of the |
commissioners on public health Of the |
State She was graduated from the /
Wonen's Medical College Il Philadei- |
phis-
Dr.. South has a laboratory in Bowl
ing Green, and boasts that Il Is the
only one in the country IN which none
but women are employed
Even the janftor Is q jznftress" she
laughed when asked II the rule applied
all the way 10 the basement and
every woman in the building Is q suf-
fIagist The walls Of The Railways are
srature, which has been tackled Up for
quick reference when EubEtsnfiz-ton Of |
arguments Is needed" The workers in |
the laboratory, she said, are working |
stead Of through necessity, all Of them
being club women
From New York State. however. there
came q number Of equally interesting 1
Potter, Of Rochester, the retiring pTeEt- i
dent Of the Women's Medical Society, Il
and DR.. Eliza N. Moshsr. Of Brooklyn i
Dr. Potter Is married and has a son i
never found that the practice Of nedi- 4
cine interferes with housekeeping. Her
husband is also physician. and The
couple practice their profession to-
Rether. DR.. Mosher. who IL an honorary
president Of the society. has been prac-
ticing medicine since 1915 and doesn't /
hesitate to acknowledge that she was q /
pioneer. The University Of Michigan l
first admitted women in the medical /
department in Is70 She entered in 81 1
and since her graduation he's seT>~ed six /
years as the only woman professor the /
university has ever had, holding the
chair Of hygiene She was also dean of
the women's department and has since i
served as an instructor at Nassar and /
Wellesley, besides engaging IN private
practice. She is now neeply interested /
in the proposed work OF the American
Posture League. of which she was one /
of the incorporators and directors.
An inventor among the women. Dr..
Resale Slaughter Morton. of New York. |
aroused interest at the day meeting OF /
the women's society by illustrating a /
lecture with new medical instruments |
she had invented herself.
Few Drank Coffee.
whether pertinent, or not, the fact |
is interesting that the feminine doctors, |
at their own banquet, did not prescribe |
spirituous liquors Of any kind for them |
selves, and. although coffee was on the |
menu, few of them drink It The after |
dinner speeches were not accompanied |
by cigarettes Another point of marked |
difference between the meeting Of the !
women doctors and the average meet
ing of men doctors was that the wom- |
en- neither hid behind pillars nor look |
ed furtively about to see II there was |
danger Of arousing professional jeal- |
ousy when approached by reporters.
The ethics Of the profession are as |
highly respected by feminine doctors as
bv masculine" one explained, but
getting into the papers won't hurt |
their old ethics bit, and will help the /
modern feminist movement, for enter |
ing the medical profession is merely |
part OF that big movement of which |
woman suffrage is another part
A conscientious search woman Il