The Midwest pioneer, his ills, cures, & doctors - University Library ...

146
were to be its medical and surgical attendants, with the
privilege of introducing their students for clinical instruction.
The fees of admission were to constitute a fund for
the purchase of chemical and anatomical apparatus, and
books for the college. By contract with the Secretary of
the Treasury the hospital became also the Marine Hospital
of the United States.
Some delay attended the erection of a building, but one
was completed in 1823. Tlie hospital became enmeshed in
the troubles of the college, particularly after the rise of
rival schools which demanded a share in the clinical advantages
of the hospital. In 1839 the legislature passed a law
which extended its use to the students of all medical colleges.
In 1853 the hospital fight became a public scandal
when brought to the fore by the Eclectics, rival schools,
and even the Methodists who were disgruntled by the failure
of Wesleyan University to create a medical department
in 1850. The trustees of the hospital, torn between conflicting
forces, finally admitted students of the Eclectic
Institute to clinical demonstrations. The result was almost
daily fights between the two sects, and for nearly a year
the clinical lectures had to be suspended. In 1855 the trustees
were empowered to sell tickets to students of all colleges,
a procedure which seemed to restore temporary peace.
The absorption of the Miami Medical College by the Ohio
Medical in 1858 also helped to ease the situation somewhat.
Drake's "Cincinnati Eye Infirmary," which he had opened
in 1 827, in later years provided in a very meager and inadequate
manner clinical material for his Medical Department
of Cincinnati College.
In 1852 the City Infirmary was established. Orphan
asylums which had been set up in different parts of the state
relieved the hospital from the responsibility of caring for
parentless children; the Lick Run, and later the Carthage
(Longview), lunatic asylums likewise limited the functions
of the old Commercial Hospital. Control in the late 1850's
and early 1860's passed to the hands of specialized boards.
In 1865 the crowded condition of the hospital was relieved