FIRST DAY-AFTERNOON SESSION. THURSDAY, June 14, 1894. THE American Institute of Homœopathy assembled in its FortySeventh Annual Session, and for the celebration of its Fiftieth Anniversary, at Denver, Colorado, June 14, 1894. The session was held in the First Baptist Church. In view of the "Jubilee Celebration" of the Institute's organization, the platform of the audience room of the church was tastefully decorated with tropical plants and flowers, and the front of the gallery displayed the names of those who had united in forming the organization in 1844 and had passed away from the scenes of their earthly usefulness. The names of the five "Founders," who are still living, Joseph C. Boardman, M D., Lewis Hallock, M.D., James Kitchen, M.D., Charles Neidhard, M.D., and Isaac M. Ward, M.D., were represented on shields suspended in the rear of the stage. All the names of these pioneers were surrounded by the National colors, artistically draped. Upon the platform, were seated the Officers of the Institute together with ex-Presidents I. T. Talbot, M.D., O. S. Runnels, M.D. and A. C. Cowperthwaite, M.D. At a quarter past three o'clock, P.M., the Institute was called to order by the President, James H. McClelland, M.D., of Pittsburgh, Pa., who delivered a brief address relating directly to the interests of the organization, as follows: BUSINESS ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. To the Members of the American Institute of Homœopathy: In convening the fiftieth anniversary of the American Institute, I take occasion to again acknowledge to you the honor you have conferred upon me. I beg I may have your indulgence and assistance in conducting the affairs of this body. It shall be my aim to do so impartially, and to the best interests of each and all. The Annual Address usual on this occasion has been deferred until Friday even ing. The program will indicate to you that this session will be marked by unusual proceedings. It is our Jubilee Year, and is to be made the occasion of special celebration. With this reference I will pass to the notice of certain matters which pertain to the interests of the Institute, and as has been the custom from time immemorial, offer some suggestions for your consideration. There is much less necessity than usual for offering recommendations for change of By-Laws, as at the last meeting they were carefully overhauled and revised. However, there are a few matters which will perhaps claim your attention. First.-I would suggest as a verbal change that the office of Provisional Secretary, which has now become distinctively that of Recording Secretary, shall be so named, as the name will then be descriptive of its duties. Formerly, the Provisional Secretary had little to do save to act in the absence of the General Secretary. Now, distinctive duties have been applied to the office, which makes the present name a misnomer. Second. I know I will voice the sentiment of nearly every member when I recommend to you the restoration of salary to the General Secretary to the amount which pertained to that office some years ago, viz.: $1000. Upon very careful inquiry I am assured that when the expenses of this officer have been paid, the Institute absolutely remains in his debt, a state of things which I know the members will not tolerate. Our body has doubled in numbers in the last few years, and the labors have been increased accordingly, and there is every reason for making the change which I suggest. I would suggest also, in view of the fact that our General Secretary during the past year has had the added labor of publishing the proceedings of the Columbian Congress, which it was expected would be published under other auspices, that the increased salary, which I now recommend, apply to this current year. Third. I recommend the creation of the office of Registrar, the Committee on President's Address to report a By-Law defining his duties. In brief, I would explain that the enrolling of members, preparation of roster, and distribution of badges should distinctively belong to an officer of the Institute charged with these duties. This proposition is endorsed by the Chairman of the Committee on Registration. Fourth.-I venture to call the attention of the American Institute, as representing a large class of educated medical men, to the position occupied by the school in public affairs. Medical men, and particularly the practitioners of Homœopathy, were formerly occupied in studying the immediate necessities of their calling and devoting themselves to the requirements of Materia Medica. It was, therefore, his chief, and apparently only, duty to heal the sick. That it is the duty of the physician to heal the sick quickly and safely goes without saying, but there has dawned upon us a new science, which goes under the name of Preventive Medicine. This branch has developed largely in the last decade, and has manifestly come to stay. It is now apparent that one of the chief duties of the medical man is to prevent disease and save the population from epidemic invasions. I would, therefore, earnestly call the attention of the members of this body to the importance of Sanitary Science and all that pertains thereto, and would respectfully recommend that a resolution be carefully drawn, recommending the colleges in affiliation with this Institute-as, I am happy to say, all of our colleges are-to extend their present courses of instruction in Hygiene and Sanitation, so that a comprehensive knowledge of the whole subject of Preventive Medicine shall be embraced therein. Fifth. And while upon the topic of our relations to the public service, I beg to introduce a subject very nearly akin to the above. We well know that practitioners of Homoeopathy have not been recognized in the distribution of governmental and other public offices, because it is said that they constitute a sect in medicine. The real truth simply is, however, that the practitioners of Homœopathy, in addition to their acquirements in medicine, common to all thoroughly educated medical men, have added a knowledge of drug pathogenesis as required by the fundamental law of drug action discovered by Hahnemann. Nor does he claim exclusive right to the use of this added knowledge. It is free to all, and is only adopted by him because, so far as at present known, it is the only scientific basis for the application of drugs to disease. It is not denied that the Homœopathic physician is a thoroughly qualified man, nor is it claimed that he is less qualified than the members of the other school for the rights of citizenship. In view, therefore, of the foregoing, I would suggest that this representative body make an authoritative deliverance which shall represent the position of our school upon the subject. The following is offered: That the practitioners of the Homoeopathic School claim their just share of public recognition and place, not because of any preference they may have in the application of drugs to disease, but as citizens and qualified medical practitioners. They, however, demand that they shall not be denied their rights as citizens and medical men because of their preference in the matter of practicing therapeutics. In short, we do not claim our rights because we are Homœopathists, nor do we propose to be denied our rights because we are Homoeopathists. Upon this grand platform of right we may appeal to the American people for justice. On motion, the address was referred to a committee consisting of Drs. I. T. Talbot, Wm. Tod Helmuth and L. H. Willard. THE REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE was read by the Provisional Secretary, Dr. T. M. Strong. Following is the report : DENVER, COLO., June 14, 1894. The Executive Committee would report that all the routine duties assigned to it by the by-laws have been duly attended to. The date June 14th, as the time for the opening of the present session, was determined after full conference with the Committee of Local Arrangements, care being taken to avoid, as far as possible, any interference with the closing exercises of our medical colleges, and to choose such a day of the week as might best obviate the necessity of Sunday travel to those living at great distances from the place of meeting. The question of publishing the Transactions of the World's Congress of Homoeopathic Physicians and Surgeons was referred to this committee for consideration, with authority to act. Under this au thority the committee received from the Congress officials the manuscripts of the Congress, and published them in the form and style of the recent Institute volumes. The volume thus becomes, to all intents, a valuable part of the Institute's file of publications for the benefit of all its members. The arrangement of the business of the present sessions, because of the changes in the By-Laws recently adopted, required more than usual care. It will be found set forth in the pages of the annual circular recently distributed among the members. We respectfully recommend that it be formally adopted as the order of business of the session. J. H. MCCLELLAND, M.D., PEMBERTON DUDLEY, M.D., On a motion to accept the Executive Committee's report, Dr. T. P. Wilson objected to its having included in it the reason assigned for choosing Thursday as the day for opening the session and moved that said portion of the report be stricken out. The subject was discussed by Drs. J. E. James, H. M. Smith, Pemberton Dudley, T. Carmichael, C. E. Fisher, Wilson A. Smith, and by the author of the motion. The motion was lost and the report was then accepted. The order of business recommended by the committee was then, after a slight correction, adopted. THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION was also read by Secretary Strong, and was accepted with the thanks |