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History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

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Organization <strong>of</strong> State Medical <strong>Society</strong> 69<strong>in</strong> the front rank among the states which have been and are do<strong>in</strong>g most <strong>in</strong>provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stitutions for the care and the treatment <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>sane, shestands alone <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g some <strong>of</strong> the conditions for their admission the mostbarbarous and <strong>in</strong>human, <strong>in</strong> a law that has <strong>in</strong> it a relic <strong>of</strong> the cruelty <strong>of</strong> thepast, and that is a disgrace to the fair name <strong>of</strong> Ill<strong>in</strong>ois. No other state <strong>in</strong> theworld requires this unfortunate class <strong>of</strong> sufferers to be dragged before acourt, like common crim<strong>in</strong>als, and made a public spectacle, that <strong>in</strong> many<strong>in</strong>stances is shock<strong>in</strong>g to sensibilities that are capable <strong>of</strong> most acute suffer<strong>in</strong>g;and this absolutely required <strong>in</strong> every case before they can ga<strong>in</strong> admissionto an <strong>in</strong>stitution."Humor, too, found its way before the House. Dr. Edmund Andrews,Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Surgery at the Chicago Medical College, presented a paper,"The Chiropodists." "They (the chiropodists) readily comprehended thatmen who propose to live permanently among their patrons must not playtricks; so that permanency begat honesty, and honesty begat respect, andrespect stimulated a genu<strong>in</strong>e effort to be worthy <strong>of</strong> the good will <strong>of</strong> theirfellow citizens. Thus the corn-doctors became chiropodists, and thoughmost <strong>of</strong> them are still very deficient <strong>in</strong> education, they are mov<strong>in</strong>g upward,and bid fair to establish a specialty as legitimate and as well def<strong>in</strong>ed asdentistry. There are five chiropodists <strong>in</strong> Chicago, and they number amongtheir patrons the best families <strong>in</strong> the city."The Committee on Medical Education (Drs. David Pr<strong>in</strong>ce, E. Ingalsand R. G. Bogue) presented a comparison <strong>of</strong> the educational statistics <strong>of</strong>different countries which showed the percentage <strong>of</strong> physicians to the population,as follows:Number <strong>of</strong> Graduates Ratio to PopulationUnited States 3000 i:6o°Great Brita<strong>in</strong> 1750 1:1700France 75° 1:1800German Empire 600 1:3000Austrian Empire 600 1:2500Italy 200 1:2500In comment<strong>in</strong>g on this situation, the committee stated:"<strong>Society</strong> disposes<strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the multitud<strong>in</strong>ous progeny annually cast upon it from the fruitfulmatrices <strong>of</strong> our numerous <strong>medical</strong> schools, after short gestations andeasy deliveries, by the more slow and pa<strong>in</strong>ful process <strong>of</strong> starvation. Thepeople who <strong>in</strong>habit the banks <strong>of</strong> the Ganges are said to rid themselves <strong>of</strong>overcrowded numbers by drown<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong> its waters."The House elected Dr. Ephraim Ingals, <strong>of</strong> Chicago, President, listenedto Dr. J.H. Hollister present his seventeenth annual report as Treasurer,and went on record as plann<strong>in</strong>g to meet <strong>in</strong> Chicago every third year.There were 370 members <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Society</strong> at this time, and the year closedwith a balance <strong>in</strong> the treasury <strong>of</strong> $231.24.

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