History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

400 History of Medical Practice in Illinoisany more medical college enterprises to spring up in your midst, until atleast you are sure your best clinical material is not under the control ofthe political ward bummer, who, under your gentle form of government,has reached the goal of his ambition, and is placed where he can decidewhat is best for medical educators to do."Paraphrasing the dictum that "eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,"the guardians in the demonstrators' association—such men as Dr. Albert B.Strong—have maintained the effectiveness by and large of the AnatomyLaw since its signature. In the presidential address of Dr. E. Fletcher Ingalsat the session of the state medical society in 1893, there is reference to thefailure of needed measures in medical education which could have beenattained if a different course had been pursued; alluding to the comparativelyprompt passage of the Anatomy Act which was accomplished severalyears ago by a few energetic men working in a systematic way, he remarked:"I am informed that in securing the bill just referred to, the Committeesent out 87,000 pieces of paper including envelopes and enclosures, probablyamounting to 35,000 letters, by which the support of four-fifths of thephysicians in the State was obtained, and through them practically allof the legislature. Yet even then, and although the bill finally went throughwith an overwhelming majority, it would have been pigeon-holed andlost, had not Dr. Strong been on hand at the closing of the session to seethat it was brought to third reading."Though the "Anatomy Act" of 1885 in Illinois assured an adequatesupply of material for dissection and teaching, "body-snatching" did happens2>oradically even after that time to satisfy some doctor's scientificcuriosity. He may not have been fully familiar with the clauses of the lawor, in his immediate pursuit, did not care to be bothered with possible"red tape" or with the deposit of a sufficient bond as demanded by thelaw. Reference will be made here briefly to one such episode which occurredin the "nineties" and which was detailed to me verbally and vouched forby an officer of the Ogle County Medical Society. Because of its occurrencenot so long past—only 60 years ago, the names mentioned in my notebookare withheld. A good-for-nothing young man, arrested for rape, had beenincarcerated for a prolonged period in the county jail at Oregon to awaittrial. To contract illness and thereby, perhaps, receive a more lenientsentence, he consumed great quantities of scrapings from a lead pipe. Thiscircumstance was discovered at the time of his death not long after.Evidentlythere was no one who cared to claim the body, and it was buried inthe potter's ground. That night a young dentist and two physicians whoshared the same offices and who were curious how the lead affected thetissues, dug up the body and conveyed it to their barn for dissection. Aftera few days the stench of decomposition became offensive, might arouse