History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

74 History of Medical Practice in Illinoissketches of members of the Society reported. They recommended to theHouse that the work of the committee be restricted to sketches of deceasedmembers. "The object of the volume, at the end of one-third of a centuryof Society existence, is to preserve in an accessible form, brief biographiesof the members of the Society who have passed away." The committee feltthat the work of the founding members and the early physicians engagedin active Society affairs should be preserved for ready reference. There wasmoney in the treasury and the House felt that subscriptions could besolicited from the membership. After the material had been assembled, itwas to be submitted to Dr. J.H. Hollister as editor-in-chief who was toedit and publish the volume "at as early a date as practicable and furnishedto subscribers or others at actual cost." 8After serving as Treasurer for twenty years, Dr. Hollister tendered hisresignation tothe House, which was accepted "with reluctance." A certifiedcheck in the amount of $779.19 had been turned over to Dr. N. S.Davis prior to the meeting, and was delivered to Dr. Walter Hay, the newTreasurer.In Dr. Alex T. Darrah's address as President, he discussed the Code ofMedical Ethics in detail. Revision of the Code was under consideration byphysicians throughout the country, the most important problem being"consultation with irregular practitioners of medicine." It was this portionof the Code which the New York State Society had altered in their ownConstitution and By-Laws. As a result, none of the delegates to the AmericanMedical Association House from the State of New York was seated."New York's hasty action was the subject of adverse criticism throughoutthe country, and if persisted in, its course can have only the effect of dividingthe profession in perhaps the greatest state in the Union. It does seemthat if a change was desirable in the Code, the American Medical Associationwas the place to effect it. New York's greatest fault was in assumingtoo much. Had it presented the issue where it properly belongs, itwould have had the sympathy of very many who are now alienated fromthem, and might have eventually succeeded ineffecting the change desired."Illinois elected 40 delegates to the American Medical Association House,but gave them no instructions relative to the national problems discussedat the Peoria meeting.1884— ChicagoThe annual meeting in 1884 was stormy. The sessions of the House werepacked with subjects of a controversial nature. Men were outspoken, andthe rulings of the presiding officer were frequent to maintain a smooth8 See Page 1 in the Preface to this Volume.—Editor