PERSONAL AND GENERAL ITEMS

Dr. David M. Gardner, class of 1900, B. U. S. M., is taking a trip around the world with Mrs. Gardner, stopping on the way in Manila, Japan, Singapore, Rangoon, Calcutta, and Naples, and is to return to this country about August. He writes of meeting Dr. Motokuro Kawase (class of 1899) and Dr. Jungo Sugimoto (class of 1902) in Tokyo. The former has charge of the work of the New York Life Insurance Company in that city.

Dr. Edgar F. Haines, class of 1906, B. U. S. M., is now stationed at Manila, P. I., as First Lieutenant in the Medical Department of the United States Army.

Dr. Thomas E. Chandler is spending the summer with his family at Hull, keeping his office hours at 259 Beacon Street, Boston, by appointment only.

Dr. Albert S. Briggs has removed from 661 Boylston Street to the Charlesgate, 535 Beacon street, Boston.

Dr. Ralph W. Hayman, class of 1905, B. U. S. M., has removed from 638 to 672 Broad Street, Providence, R. I.

A competitive examination will be held on Monday, September 12, for candidates for appointment as resident house surgeon to the Hospital for Deformities and Joint Diseases, 1919 Madison avenue, New York City. The service is from October 1, 1910, to April 1, 1911, and a salary is paid. Applicants who have served as hospital internes will be favored. The hospital has a capacity of sixty beds; dispensary service, for ambulatory patients, exceeds one hundred patients daily.

Dr. Walter B. Whiting has removed from Florence Street at 161 Ferry Street, Malden.

Dr. Charles R. Bell, of Waltham, was married on Wednesday, June 22, to Miss Blanche Irene Daley, at Williamstown, Mass.

Dr. S. B. Wolbach has been appointed Assistant Professor of Bacteriology, and Dr. W. R. Brinckerhoff, Assistant Professor of Pathology, in the Harvard Medical School.

For the second time within a few years a Cleveland physician has journeyed to Massachusetts to obtain for himself a helpmate in life. It seems that only a few months ago that our genial friend, Dr. Schnider, visited the Bay State for this purpose, and now we note that Dr. A. E. Ibershoff, also one of our Homœopathic. friends of Cleveland, has recently married Miss Mary Storrs of Ware. Mrs. Ibershoff is a warm friend of Mrs. Schnider, having been a college mate some time ago. At the wedding were Drs. Schnider and R. S. Copeland of New York, A. L. Innes and H. C. Luck of Cleveland.

It is reported that Mr. J. C. Eaton of Toronto, Ont., has undertaken, at his own expense, to construct the entire surgical wing of the new general hospital of that city. This wing, it is estimated, will cost about $250,000, and will be a memorial to his father, the late Mr. Timothy Eaton.

The late Mrs. Mary A. Mason of Great Barrington, Mass., has bequeathed the sum of $500,000 for the purpose of erecting a hospital, to be called the Henry Hobart Mason Memorial Hospital.

PENNSYLVANIA.

THE HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA held its regular monthly meeting at the Hahnemann Medical College on Thursday evening, June 9th, 1910, at 9 P. M. The paper of the evening was presented by Dr. Edwin L. Nesbit:-"The Comparative Method of Studying the Action of Drugs." The election of officers for the ensuing year, reports of Standing Committees, and other important features relative to the management of the Society came up for action. PERCY A. TINDALL, M. D., Secy.

THE PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY OF MEDICINE held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, May 17th, at 9 P. M. The scientific programme of the evening consisted of a paper on "Modern Ideas Regarding the Etiology of Cancer," by Theodore J. Gramm, M. D.; a paper and demonstration on "The Use of Carbon Dioxide in the Treatment of Cutaneous Neoplasms." by Ralph Bernstein, M. D.; demonstration of a case of "Transposition of the Viscera," by G. Harlan Wells, M. D.

The business portion of the meeting proved a very important one. The committee appointed to present a plan for the legal protection of the members of the Academy against suits for alleged malpractice made a comprehensive report and were instructed to take active steps to carry out the plan as outlined in the report.

Dr. W. H Yeager called attention to the gradual falling off of the income of physicians in general owing to the lack of any attempt on the part of physicians to obtain adequate compensation for their services and introduced a resolution to the effect that a committee be appointed to canvass the medical profession in Philadelphia with a view of ascertaining the fees received by doctors and to learn whether doctors in general would be willing to co-operate in an effort to secure them a fair compensation for their services. After some discussion the resolution was adopted and the committee consisting of five men appointed.

The following resolution, introduced by Dr. Shute, was unanimously adopted:

"WHEREAS, it is eminently proper that a physician representative of the membership of the homeopathic profession of the eastern section of the United States should be honored by election to the office of president of the American Institute of Homœopathy at its coming session in July, at Pasadena, and, whereas, Dr. Thomas H. Carmichael, of Philadelphia, has by his earnest efforts to advance the cause of homoeopathy and by his long and faithful service as a member of the Institute, shown himself to be especially fitted for the office of president of the American Institute of Homeopathy, Therefore we, the members of the Philadelphia Academy of Medicine, representing the sentiment of one hundred and fifteen homeopathic physicians of Philadelphia and vicinity, do hereby cordially endorse Dr. Thomas H. Carmichael as a candidate for the office of President of the American Institute of Homeopathy, and furthermore do hereby instruct the delegates of the Academy to the Institute to use every influence in their power to further the election of Dr. Carmichael." RALPH BERNSTEIN, M. D.. Secy. THE GERMANTOWN HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY held its regular monthly meeting on Monday evening, the 16th of May, at 9 o'clock, at the Union League, Broad and Sansom Streets, Philadelphia. Dr. Warren C. Mercer presented a paper on "Abdominal Pregnancy at Term, with the Report of a Case." The Censors reported favorably upon the names of Drs. J. P. VanKeuren, of Chester, Pa., and Fred Jones, of Camden, N. J.

LANDRETH W. THOMPSON, M. D., Secy.

The Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital held its sixty-second annual commencement exercises, both for the conferring of degrees in Medicine and Homeopathic medicine, on Thursday, the second of June, at 12 o'clock, at the American Academy of Music, Philadelphia, the oration being delivered by James H. McClelland, M. D., of Pittsburgh.

Dr. D. Bushrod James has been elected professor of gynecology at the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Society for Clinical Research held its annual outing at the Orchard, Essington, Pa., on Wednesday afternoon and evening of June 15th. Athletic events, baseball games, a tennis match and other out-door sports were indulged in; while the annual banquet was partaken of in the evening at the Club House. The meeting was well attended, quite a number of guests from the surrounding country were in attendance. The affair was in charge of Dr. W. M. Hillegas.

On Tuesday evening, May 31st, the Alumni Association of the Hahnemann Medical College held a smoker at the Hotel Walton, Corner of Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia. About 200 physicians were present, and the exercises of the evening were in charge of Dr. L. P. Posey.

The annual banquet of the Alumni Association of Hahnemann Medical College was held at the Union League on the evening of June 2nd, 1910, over four hundred members of the Alumni Association being present, Dr. I. G. Palin acting as toast-master. The orators of the evening were the Hon. Edwin S. Stuart, Governor of Pennsylvania, Hon. John E. Reyburn, Mayor of Philadelphia, A. L. Monroe, of Florida, Dr. Hugh Baker, of Philadelphia, and Dr. C. J. Richardson, of Pottstown.

Dr. Wm. B. Van Lennep has been elected dean of the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, succeeding Dr. Herbert L. Northrop, who was not a candidate for re-election.

In an address before the Alumni Association banquet Dr. W. B. Van Lennep announced the endowment of a chair of Homeopathic Materia Medica and Therapeutics by Walter E. Hering in memory of his father, Dr. Constantine Hering, known as the Hering Chair of Homœopathic Materia Medica and Therapeutics.

Dr. Horace Bacon Ware, of Scranton, was elected president of the Alumni Association of the Hahnemann Medical College for the ensuing year; his associates being: First Vice-president, the Hon. D. P. Gernerich, State Senator from Lebanon, Pa.; Second V.-P., Charles W. Perkins of Chester: Third V.-P., M. L. Munson, of Atlantic City; Fourth V.-P., Wm. H. Keim, of Philadelphia; Permanent Secretary, W. D. Carter, of Philadelphia; Provisional Secretary, D. B. James, of Philadelphia; Necrologist, H. M. Gay, of Philadelphia.

Dr. Theodore J. Gramm has been elected president of the Philadelphia County Medical Society for the ensuing year.

Dr. Clarence Bartlett was presented with a loving cup as a token of esteem and regard by the Graduating Class of the Hahnemann Medical College.

Dr. C. S. Raue, recently confined to the Hahnemann Hospital with an attack of typhoid fever, is convalescing at Atlantic City, and expects shortly to spend a few weeks in Maine.

Dr. Edward M. Gramm, after an absence of five years from the Clinical Department of Dermatology at the Hahnemann Medical College, has again returned, being re-elected to that Department; his associates being Drs. Ralph Bernstein, Romaine C. Hoffman and B. B. Fenimore.

Dr. Samuel Sappington has been elected to the Governing Faculty of the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia.

Dr. Augustus Korndoerfer, Jr.. has been appointed consulting obstetrician to the Hahnemann Hospital of Philadelphia.

By CLAUDE A. BURRETT, Ph.B., M.D., Ann Arbor, Michigan. Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Genito-Urinary Surgery, University of Michigan, Homeopathic Department.

These are indeed wonderful days in the development of medicine. So much so that we are approaching the time, if we have not already reached it, when the square and compass may be used with a high degree of accuracy in determining not only the diagnosis of disease but also the therapeutic measures necessary for its relief. In other words, we are at the dawn of a scientific demonstration of the medicinal cure of disease.

A well-trained scientist recently remarked in a conversation with your speaker that "it had not been proven that abnormal bodily conditions have a counterpart in drug diseases." My friend's statement was incorrect, yet it called forcibly to mind that we have not sufficiently demonstrated the fact that drugs will and do affect the same bodily cells as are affected in ill health. Such a time will come when men who fully appreciate the above principle are permitted. to do research work in laboratories like the Rockefeller and Carnegie Institutes, side by side with other scientific workers of the day.

The clinical evidence of the past and present are of the greatest importance, but they only convince those who are willing to come half way. The history of sectarianism in medicine has seen such rivalry and jealousy that more than a report of demonstrable proof is required.

Who would have thought twenty-five years ago that we should even look to the bacteriologist as the one to prove a law of cure? Yet that condition is established today. While Von Behring, Metchnikoff, Ehrlich, Koch and others have recognized the important part that bacteria play in disease, and their products in its cure, yet not until Wright led the way was the full meaning of the relation of bacterial products to the cure of bodily ills

*Read before the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of Ohio.

made clear. Let me go one step further and state that before the full meaning of this opsonic work became plain, it was necessary for Wheeler to suggest to Wright the broader application of this principle.

It was not news that phosphorus, when indicated, should increase one's resistance to the tubercle bacillus. Clinical evidence of that point is in the minds of many present. The manner in which that process takes place and its proof, as shown in the opsonic index, had paved the way to a positive determination of the value of any remedial agent in germ diseases.

As to just what takes place in the human economy to increase vital force we are indebted to Wright for our knowledge. We have been wont to tell our patients that the medicine we give them assists nature in making the cure. That statement is true, but it has taken centuries to determine in what manner it assists nature. We now believe that if silicia is the indicated remedy in the treatment of a given case of a germ disease, it will increase the patient's opsonic index to the causative germ. We do not mean to imply that the above process should be instituted in every case, for it is a long and exceedingly difficult procedure. For practical purposes it has been shown that the clinical signs manifest by the patient are a sufficient guide to determine the indications for a drug.

Whenever the body is attacked by disease, or by a poison, it at once begins to react whether the causative factor be the toxin from the development of bacteria in the body, from a lack of equilibrium of the body cells, or from non-bacterial poisons that enter the body. The degree of resistance which the body sets up depends upon the nature of the foreign poison and the previous health of the body. Should the disturbance be but a slight bacterial toxemia, the resistance of the body will be but slight and will be shown by a low opsonic index. Should the infectious organism be more virulent, Eke Klebs-Löffler bacillus in diphtheria, the resistance of the body will be increased, but it may be unable to develop sufficient resistance within itself to overcome the toxin thrown off by the germs. The first case requires some remedial influence that will stimulate the body cells to develop antitoxin or, in other words, to build up bodily resistance sufficient to overcome the toxin thrown off by the bacteria. For that purpose Wright used a certain number of dead bodies of the bacteria causing the disease, together with their toxins. The object being to throw into the body additional amounts of the toxin that the body might be driven to produce an increased resistance. He was able to prove, by examination of the blood, that he had increased the patient's fighting powers for the given abnormalities.

In the second case (that of diphtheria) we are confronted with a different and unusual condition. The virulency of the toxin thrown into the system by Klebs-Löffler bacillus is so marked that, while the body reacts greatly, yet it is unable to develop of itself sufficient antitoxin to neutralize the toxin. It is in such