Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1947-12-20
1913 Legislature To Get So, $4,000
Medical School Bill
Less Than so Negro Doctors In State
PremedicaI Courses Lacking
In Negro Colleges


A bill seeking $3,735,000 for err
ection of four-year medical
college in Mississippi will be in
troduced in the 194S Legislature
to be convened next month by
Representative Hayden Campbell
of Kinds County, one of the spon-
sors of the 1916 legislation for
the facility. Mississippi now pro-
vides two-year premedical
course at the University of Miss.
Expected to have a major part
in securing enactment of the ap-
preparation measure will be Re-
preventative Littleton Upshur of
Lefore County, who led the fight
for the enabling act at the pre-
vious session. DR.. T. H. Henry,
Senator of Columbus, is expected
to handle the measure in that
branch.
FOUR YEAR COURSE PLANNED
Representative Campbell, who
headed a statewide drive for the
hospital program in 1916, said
plans are for all four years of
college to be provided at the in
stitution to be built in Jackson
since 'it is the only city in the
state with a population large
enough to furnish clinical facil-
tiles for a fully accredited four
year medical college" The 1916
enabling act provided that the Sc
hool be a part of the University
of Mississippi.
In announcing plans of his
group, Representative Campbell
said:
''We have waited far too long
to provide for our young men
and women as other states have,
many of them long years ago,
and as we have waited, our state S
doctor shortage has become stead
lily worse. And, though, we have
taken steps recently towards the
alienation of this serious problem
the fact still remains that Miss
issippi today has only one doc
tor for every 1880 persons, and
in some sections of the state the
ratio runs as high as 5000 to one
doctor. A large percentage of
these doctors are over go years Of
age.
Mississippi must take steps to
provide for the training of her
own doctors and nurses in Miss
issippi's own medical college and
hospitals, else our fine hospital
program will not be complete.
Mississippi was the first state
to have its statewide hospitaliza-
ton plan approved and accepted
by the Federal Government, which
plan is now being used as a model
for the Nation. Every section of
Mississippi has been provided for
in the plans of the basis of ade-
quate beds and facilities for the
training of interns and nurses.
1.-THE 1916 Mississippi Legisla-
ture took another step forward in
setting up the Medical Board with
funds for awarding medical scho-
larships to worthy qualified Miss
issippi boys and girls to study
medicine, this being the first sue
cessful medical scholarship pro-
gram set up by any state in the
country.
with the increasing difficulty,
and often total inability of many
Mississippi boys and girls who
are qualified to study medicine to
gain entrance into medical Sc
hools every year, it is well that
at long last our people have been
thoroughly aroused to the abb
solute necessity for having, in the
State an accredited four-year me-
dical school under university man.
agement and control"
Although there's only about so
Negro doctors in the state, which
has a population OF more than
million Negroes the proposed
Medical College will be for White