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History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

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Organization <strong>of</strong> State Medical <strong>Society</strong> 53Dr. N. S. Davis, <strong>in</strong> his address, mentioned the <strong>in</strong>stallation <strong>of</strong> sewers <strong>in</strong>the streets <strong>of</strong> densely populated cities. The ratio <strong>of</strong> mortality was reducedsome 25 per cent. Construction was be<strong>in</strong>g regulated, and public and privatebuild<strong>in</strong>gs now had "ventilation." There were workhouses for the poor,hospitals for the sick, asylums for the <strong>in</strong>sane, and prisons for the crim<strong>in</strong>als.Laws <strong>of</strong> contagious and <strong>in</strong>fectious diseases were be<strong>in</strong>g developed. Pleaswere be<strong>in</strong>g made for postmortems, and stillthe pr<strong>of</strong>ession fought for theregistry <strong>of</strong> births, marriages and deaths.In the By-Laws as amended there is found the follow<strong>in</strong>g statement relativeto a violation <strong>of</strong> the Code <strong>of</strong> Medical Ethics: "Ground for suspension:In case <strong>of</strong> charges preferred aga<strong>in</strong>st any member which might lead to hiscensure, suspension or expulsion, the Secretary shall give the accused awritten copy <strong>of</strong> the charges preferred. All such matters shall lie over to thenext annual meet<strong>in</strong>g."Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Constitution, delegates were seated <strong>in</strong> the House to representcounty <strong>medical</strong> societies, <strong>medical</strong> colleges, hospitals, asylums andother <strong>medical</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitutions. They were elected for one term, "until anotheris appo<strong>in</strong>ted to succeed him." One delegate was allowed for every five membersand major fraction there<strong>of</strong> from the county societies; two delegatesrepresented each college and school <strong>of</strong> medic<strong>in</strong>e, and each hospital was entitledto one representative. The annual meet<strong>in</strong>gs were to be held the firstTuesday <strong>in</strong> either May or June, were never to be held <strong>in</strong> the same place twoconsecutive years, and this was to be determ<strong>in</strong>ed by a vote <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Society</strong>.1866— DecaturThe turbulent waters <strong>in</strong> the canyon <strong>of</strong> civil war had run out. The whirlpools<strong>of</strong> reconstruction sucked and eddied through the land. Johnson hadreplaced the attorney from Spr<strong>in</strong>gfield <strong>in</strong> the White House. Hostilities hadceased, but the wounded were still to be cared for.Interest at this meet<strong>in</strong>g was largely scientific;the bus<strong>in</strong>ess affairs <strong>of</strong> the<strong>Society</strong> were slow to get under way. There was an air <strong>of</strong> lethargy prevail<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> the House, as if the scars <strong>of</strong> the war were too raw and new to allow themen time to turn from medic<strong>in</strong>e to matters <strong>of</strong> economic <strong>in</strong>terest.Dr. N. S. Davis was not able to attend the meet<strong>in</strong>g, and it was reported tothe House that he "suffered from a severe illness."Adams County brought charges <strong>of</strong> unethical conduct aga<strong>in</strong>st Dr. AddisonNiles <strong>of</strong> Qu<strong>in</strong>cy. A copy <strong>of</strong> the charges had been sent to him and he wasnotified to be present at the next annual meet<strong>in</strong>g for a hear<strong>in</strong>g. By properaction the House voted "that we charge Dr. Niles with hav<strong>in</strong>g violated theCode <strong>of</strong> Ethics by represent<strong>in</strong>g the so-called Qu<strong>in</strong>cy Medical <strong>Society</strong>, whichwe consider irregular, be<strong>in</strong>g composed, <strong>in</strong> part, <strong>of</strong> members who had beenexpelled from the Adams County Medical <strong>Society</strong>."

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