W. K. West reported a case when the first
symptom was a convulsion. He delivered and
on the third day the patient died of pulmonary
oedema.
James Hosking^ Sec'y.
Houghton County Medical Society held a meet-
ing in Hancock, Jan. 4th.
R. J. Maas presented a paper entitled "A
Foreign Body in the Urethra." The most
varied substances have been from time to time
introduced into the urethra by sexual perverts.
The foreign body I wish to report this even-
ing is that of a piece of gold-plated watch
chain 3^ inches long, introduced in 1889. It
did not cause any great annoyance until Au-
gust, 1895, when I first saw him professionally.
He gave a history of feverishness, chilly
sensations, loss of appetite, furred tongue,
diarrhoea, headache, etc., which had troubled
him for the past four weeks. His temperature
was 100° F. As there was present at that time
an epidemic of typhoid fever, I concluded I
had a walking case of typhoid to deal with.
I ordered the patient to bed and made several
subsequent visits. During one of my calls
he drew my attention to a bubo in right groin.
He denied ever having gonorrhoea or sexual
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87
intercourse. Am ttere was no discharge from
â– icatiia, I thought it a complication of ty-
phoid. By rest in bed and hot applications,
the bubo had about disappeared at my last
visit. He later told me that some few weeks
later, the bubo discharged pus for a few days.
In August, 1896, he called at my office on ac-
count of an acute orchitis. There was no his-
tory of injury, so I again accused him of hav-
ing intercourse. He said, no, he could not
have intercourse on account of pain and hem-
orrhage on erection. On examining the penis
I felt something hard in urethria. He then
confessed that he had introduced eight years
ago a gold-plated chain. He said he had intro-
duced part of the chain, but could not with-
draw it and so cut it off near the glans penis
with a hammer and chisel. He could always
pass urine but in a small stream. On looking
into the meatus, I could see a link of the chain.
I tried to dislodge it with a tenaculum but could
not. I then made an incision into urethra
about one inch from meatus, and after cutting
through the granulations, succeeded in remov-
ing the foreign substance. I am fully con-
vinced that the chain was the cause of the
supposed typhoid, bubo and orchitis, that
the reason of its causing no disturbance for
so many years was on account of the gold
plate, which, as you now see, has been gradu-
ally dissolved, probably by the acid urine.
When the urine began to act on the brass
the trouble of which he complained during the
past years 1895-1896 began. •
A. I. Lawbaugh read a very practical paper
on "Diagnosis of Head Injuries." The paper
was discussed by J. E. Scallon andN. S. Mac-
Donald.
James Hosking, Sec*y.
INGHAM COUNTY.
The Ingham County Medical Society met
in Lansing, Jan. 14th, 1904.
PROGRAM.
Election of Delegate to State Medical So-
ciety.
Reports of Cases.
Paper — "Some Prevalent Skin Diseases," F.
A. Jones.
Discussion led by S. H. Culver.
Paper — "Complication in Typhoid Fever," F.
N. Turner.
Discussion led by J. W. Hagadorn.
L. Anna Ballard,
Secretary.
ISABELLA COUNTY.
Isabella County Medical Society held an
informal meeting at Shepherd last month in
the offices of Dr. King. Dr. McMullcn, of
Cadillac, was with us, and we had a splendid
social meeting.
There were sixteen present, the largest
number we have yet got together.
Dr. King is a royal entertainer, and there
was nothing lacking to make the evening a
very enjoyable one. It accomplished a great
deal toward promoting a better feeling among
a number of those present.
C. M. Baskerville,
' Secretary.
JACKSON COUNTY.
Jackson County Medical Society held its an-
nual meeting at Jackson, January 5th, 1904.
There was a large attendance and it was one
of the most successful meetings in the history
of the society. The following officers were
elected for the year 1904:
President, D. E. Robinson, Jackson.
Vice-President, C. D. Hubbard, Parma.
Secretary, R. Grace Hendrick, Jackson.
Treasurer, F. W. Rogers, Jackson.
Delegate, N. H. Williams, Jackson.
Alternate, J. C. Kugler, Jackson.
program.
Reading of Minutes.
Admission of New Members.
Payment of Dues.
Election of Officers and Delegates.
President's Address— N. H. Williams, Jack-
son.
"Clinical Demonstration; Examination of
Neurological Cases" — Wm. J. Herdman, Ann
Arbor.
"Clinical Demonstration; Physical Exam-
ination of Thorax"— E. L. Shurly, Detroit.
Clinical Cases — By the members.
The banquet was held at 8 p. m. Toastmas-
ter, Albert E. Bulson.
Music — Messrs. Skinner, Foote, Bennett and
Scotford.
Loyalty— E. L. Shurly.
The Silver Lining — Victor C. Vaughan.
Music — Messrs. Skinner, Foote, Bennatt
and Scotford.
Opportunities — George C. Hafford.
Idealism— William J. Herdman.
Music — Messrs. Skinner, Foote, Bennett
and Scotford.
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COUNTY SOCIETIES.
Jour. M. S. M. S.
The Point of View— Rev. Fenwick W.
Fraser.
R. G. Hendrick,
Secretary.
ANNUAL ADDRESS
ESTIMATION BY THE LAITY OF THE
MEDICAL PROFESSION.
NATHAN H. WILLIAMS.
I have ventured to select as the subject for
the annual address of the president of this so<
ciety, a matter not often mentioned, and, in
my opinion, too much neglected, namely, the
way in which we can place ourselves in our
true light before the public, in order that the
medical profession may have the estimation
and appreciation that is its just due. That such
is not the case now, I think all candid men will
agree, and as every man is solicitous of his
own reputation and jealous of his own honor,
so we* as members of this profession, in which
we expect to live and die and to which we are
giving all that is in us of energy and devotion,
must realize that this devotion should not be
lost, but that our calling should be estimated
at something like its true value by our fellow
men, should have a position in public opinion
worthy of its merits.
Without hoping that he can present anything
particularly new upon the subject, your presi-
dent has thought of bringing to your minds a
few things which have a bearing upon the
popular estimation in which the profession is
held and upon the way in which we, as indi-
viduals, may influence such estimation.
One way in which medical men are injuring
themselves is in belittling the action of med-
icinal substances. It is frequently said by
physicians, more often by surgeons, that the
physician of the future will not use medicines;
that it will be all surgery, hygiene, dietetics,
This is easily said, but will it be all? The sur-
geon who performs a laparotomy with a bril-
liant result, thinking quite correctly, that he
has done something that medicine could not
do, blinded by the more or less meretricious
glitter of what he has done, at once says, med-
icine is all a delusion, surgery is everything.
He is calling a part the whole. The patient
work that has been done by wise men in the
past hundreds, yes, thousands of years, cannot
be brushed aside in such a flippant way. The
accumulation of the results of accurate scientific
work in all the departments of knowledge is a
part of the knowledge of the world and the
facts regarding the action of medicine are as
much a part of scientific knowledge as the the-
ory of gravitation or action of light.
Who can hope that surgery will ever take
the place, in relieving suffering and restoring
health, of the salicylates, of quinine, of mer-
cury, of opium? When, by putting into the
blood of a patient, morphine to the extent of
one part to half a million, we replace agony
with comfort, are we victims of a delusion?
When we use anti-toxin and save a little pa-
tient's life, are we following a will o' the wisp?
Should not the wonder of it rather incite us to
further research among the secrets of nature,
that perchance other as great blessings may
be had for the asking?
If it be true, as possibly it is, that nerve force
is identical with electricity, that the action of
medicines is but electrical energy acting, of
course, under exact laws, if it be true that the
anaesthetic action of chloroform consists in
simply changing the conductivity of the nerve
fibres by its solvent action upon the fat con-
tained therein, if these and a hundred other
equally wonderful things be true, is it not
true that the field of therapeutics offers as
great rewards to the searcher after knowledge
as any other possibly can? When we look
candidly upon these things, must we not say
that he speaks hastily who says that medi-
cine is passing, and is it not a mistake to ex-
press to the laity a lack of confidence in our
armamentarium ?
Probably the most deplorable feature of the
whole matter comes from the failure, on the
part of the public, to discriminate between
the pretender and the qualified physician and
between the honest man and the knave, for the
most dangerous quacks are the educated ones.
'Laws will help us some, but we cannot have
a perfect medical practice law until the pub-
lic is educated to the necessity of it. Hence
it devolves upon the physician to do what he
can in that direction, by making the more in-
telligent, at least, understand the relation in
which we stand to them as physicians; that
we are simply representative of the present
state of medical knowledge; that we are bound
to and are able to give them the benefit of
what is known of medical science up to the
present time; that no one can do more than
that; that we stand in the same position as
other skilled professions. The mechanical en-
gineer gives his clients the benefit of the
knowledge of mechanical engineering up to
the present day and his clients are satisfied,
but the art and science of medicine looks so
mysterious to the laity and is so juggled by
the unscrupulous, that we who are trying to do
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February, 1904.
COUNTY SOCIETIES.
89
a plain and simple duty are classed in the
popular mind with them.
In time, how long, oh, how long we can-
not know, the one in need of medical advice
will go to the honest physician as his final
authority, and will no more< expect the won-
derful, than the railroad president will expect
his engineer to build a bridge in a night.
The idea that there are different schools
of medicine, radically opposed to each other,
has a strong hold upon the public mind and
powerfully affects it, for they say, that if two
so-called schools disagree, one must be wrong^
and whom can we believe? That view is
shallow and the conclusion the result of ig-
norance, but it is a condition that exists and
we should so consider it. The way to rem-
edy this evil is to stop contention, which does
no good and makes a ridiculous spectacle
before the public, and lessens its respect for
the disputants. For myself, if a fellow work-
er in our benevolent art uses much smaller
doses than I, I have no quarrel with him,
and if he will say nothing about the blood-
letting, salivation and purgation of the past,
I will not remind him of the psoric miasm
or the itch mite. Te be serious, we have all
been acting foolishly over a detail of prac-
tice, and though it can be set down to zeal,
and so extenuated, it has injured us all in
public opinion and we ought to know enough
to stop it.
Another thing which powerfully affects us
in the opinion of the public is the matter of
expert testimony in the courts. I will not
attempt any explanation of why this is so.
We all know it and all regret it, but we do
not always realize the very great importance
of it, or how more and more notorious the
evil is becoming.
Man is naturally a partisan, and, if opposed,
is pugnacious, and such a mental attitude is
fatal to a candid search after truth. Much
could be done to remedy this if, realizing the
danger of the situation, we assume when called
upon by an attorney for an opinion, a judicial
attitude, and assure the man of law that the
physician is far above being anyone's expert.
I hope you will pardon me if I speak of so
common a thing as money. Our method of
keeping accounts and of rendering bills has,
in this practical and business-like age, a great
influence upon the opinion in which we are
held by those with whom we have business
dealings. Though we are men of science, we
cannot avoid our financial responsibility. In
my opinion, the time has long passed when
the doctor was looked upon as a somewhat
eccentric individual, exhaling the mingled
odors of the laboratory and so absorbed in the
contemplation of the mysteries of his profes-
sion as to be neglectful of material things,
careless alike of dress and money. That doc-
tor has passed. The doctor of the present
should keep his accounts, accurately and, as
he is expected by everyone to meet his bills
in a business-like way and is shown no favor
because of his profession, so there is no other
proper way for him, than to hold everyone
to as strict an account for what is due him.
Charity is another matter, and a man may
do as much of that as he likes, but jt should
not be confused with business. This is a
business age, and if we take our stand squarely
upon the value of our services, the public will
respect us the more. If we are careless in
our accounts, uncertain of what is due us and
timid in exacting a proper remuneration, it
will respect us the less.
Thus far of the individual. The old par-
able of the bundle of sticks which were strong
enough when bound together to resist l,U
effort to break them, but which were easily
broken when separated, points us the moral
that if we will maintain our organization in
societies as developed in the natural evolu-
tion of progress, we will be stronger in the
community and more likely to take the place
which belongs to us in society.
Loyalty to our societies, county, state and
national is among our first duties. Especially
is this true of our county societies. In sus-
taining them we sustain all, for the county
society is the unit, just as the town meeting
is the unit of our national government.
If we would have our profession respected,
we must respect it ourselves, by never speak-
ing of it lightly, slightingly or in a depreca-
tory manner. In that way we may take a les-
son from the clergyman, who never speaks
lightly of his work or tolerates any, flippant
remarks, derogatory of his profession. This
laxity is very common among medical men,
and, in a way, is the result of our knowing
how little certainty there is in our limited
knowledge of things in all departments of
learning. We know that the light of our rea-
soning often fails to penetrate the fog which
inaccurate premises will throw around the
object of investigation; that despite all the
boasting of the day, so far as science goes,
we are living in a primitive age; that the life
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COtlNTY SOCIETIES.
Jour. M. S. M. S.
of one man is so short that he can do but
little; that nature is chary of her secrets; that
men must give up their pleasure and case,
yes, even life, to find them; that disappoint-
ment is oftener the result than fruition and
that from our mental limitations we often mis-
take the part for the whole. No one knows
this better than the physician, for was it not
the father of medicine who said "Life is
short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, ap-
pearances deceptive, judgment difficult."
Hence the medical man is modest and not
given to the positive statements of the tyro.
Hence the unthinking often find some excuse
for flippant remarks. Such should not be
tolerated by ourselves, but in each of us
should be personified the dignity of our noble
profession.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY.
The Kalamazoo County Medical Society
held its annual meeting Dec. 8th, 1903, at
Kalamazoo. Owing to the change of the date
of the annual meeting from April to De-
cember and that the present officers had acted
only six months, the society decided to re-
tain its present officers for the coming year.
President— A. H. Rockwell, Kalamazoo.
First Vice-President— F. S. Coller, Vicks-
burg.
Second Vice-President— F. J. Welch, Kala-
mazoo.
Secretary and Treasurer— O. H. Clark.
Kalamazoo.
The following papers were listened to with
much interest and elicited very much valu-
able discussion:
C. H. McKain, Vicksburg: "Tumors of the
Brain," with report of case.
Discussion opened by A. W. Stone.
Angus McLean, Detroit: "Congenital Dis-
location of the Hip."
Discussion opened by J. W. Bosman and
F. J. Welch.
Richard R. Smith, Grand Rapids: "Treat-
ment of Early Abortion."
Discussion opened by Delia P. Pierce.
O. H. Clark,
Secretary.
LAPEER COUNTY.
Lapeer County Medical Society met at La-
peer January 13th, 1904.
PBOGRAM.
"Relations of the Nervous System to Some
Diseases of the Intestines"— Mortimer Willson,
Port Huron, Councilor for 7th District.
"Peritonitis"— H. E. Randall.
"Hydro-Therapeutics"— W. J. Kay.
"Translations from Italian" — J. S. Caul-
kins.
"Psychology of Neurasthenia" — Geo. D.
Butler, Lecturer General Medicine.
H. E. Randall,
Secretary.
MENOMINEE COUNTY.
The annual meeting of the Menominee
County Medical Society was held at Menominee,
Dec. 8th, 1903, with an attendance of twenty,
including members and guests.
The meeting was called to order by Presi-
dent Phillips, who delivered an informal ad-
dress, pointing out some of the benefits of the
society that were already apparent. He em-
phasized the fact that every physician but one
in the city of Menominee is an active member
and congratulated the society upon the har-
mony and cordial feeling that prevail among
the profession in the community.
The secretary's report showed that eight
meetings have been held during the year,
with an average attendance of ten, the total
membership being twelve.
An excellent paper on "Insanity and the
Insane" was read by E. Grignon, Judge of
Probate for Menominee County. After a
brief historic review of insanity, he outlined
the causes, prognosis and treatment of the va-
rious forms of insanity.
C. R. Elwood, in the discussion, dwelt upon
the value of having a physician as pro-
bate judge. In cases of insanity, good his-
tories are of the greatest importance, but un-
less the probate judge is a medical man these
are not obtained and transmitted to the
asylums. Then, too, the ordinary probate
judge is very easily deceived by the patients.
C. O. Thicnhaus, of Milwaukee, presented
a paper on "The Technic and Advantages of
Vaginal Operations in Cases of Retroflexions
of the Uterus."
ABSTRACT OF THIS PAPER.
The fact that a number of operations have
been devised and are being practiced for the
relief of retroflexions of the uterus is evi-
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February, 1904.
COUNTY SOCIETIES.
91
dcnce that we have as yet no method that
is satisfactory for ' all cases. Generally
vaginal suspension is preferable to ventral
suspension. It leaves the uterus in the small
pelvis where it belongs. It is efficient, is at-
tended with but little shock and when properly
made does not complicate subsequent preg-
nancy. We get a suspension when serous
surfaces are approximated, fixation when
uterus becomes attached to the deeper struc-
tures. A number of cases are recorded in
which Caesarian section had to be resorted
to following fixation of the uterus. Suspen-
sion is the proper method. In pregnancy en-
largement of uterus is from the fundus, and
if this be left free the natural development
of the uterus and subsequent delivery will
not be interfered with.
A unanimous vote of thanks was extended
to Dr. Thienhaus for his valuable paper.
A telegram from Henry B. Favill, of
Chicago, who was to have addressed the so-
ciety, was read, stating that he had been re-
called while on his way to Menominee by the
serious illness of his son.
Officers for the ensuing year were elected
as follows:
President— J. F. Hicks, Menominee.
Vice-President — R. G. Marriner, Menom-
inee.
Secretary and Treasurer— P. J. Noer, Me-
nominee.
Member of Board of Directors— R. A. Wal-
ker, Menominee.
Delegate to State Medical Society — E. Saw-
bridge, Stephenson. Alternate — H. A. Ven-
nema, Menominee.
After adjournment of the meeting the mem-
bers of the Menominee County and the Mar-
inette County Medical Societies and their
wives were royally entertained at a dinner
given by Doctor and Mrs. B. T. Phillips, at
their beautiful home on Main street.
Following the repast, toasts were heartily re-
sponded to in speeches, stories and songs. This
was the first time in the history of the Menom-
inee River when the physicians and their wives
all met together, and the hope was freely ex-
pressed that similar occasions would become
more frequent in the future.
P. J. Noer, Secretary.
MIDLAND COUNTY.
At the regular meeting, held January, 1904,
the following officers were elected:
President, F. A. Towsley, Midland.
Vice-President, F. H. Johnson, Midland.
Secretary-Treasurer, W. H. Brock, Midland.
Delegate, I. A. Towsley, Midland.
Alternate, W. H. Brock, Midland.
W. H. Brock, Sec'y.
OSCEOLA COUNTY.
The annual meeting of the Osceola County
Medical Society was held at Reed City, Friday
evening, Nov. 20th. The following papers were
read:
"Ulceration and Cancer of Stoma^ch," by W.
T. Dodge, Big Rapids; "Examination of Spu-
tum for Tubercle Bacilli," by A. A. Spoor, Big
Rapids.
The following officers were elected for en
suing year:
President, H. L. Foster.
Vice-President, G. T. Fields.
Secretary and Treasurer, T. F. Bray.
Delegate to State Society, H. L. Foster.
Alternate, A. Holm.
Three new members were added and one
lost by the death of Ernest W. Spinney.
After the meeting, a banquet was given to
the members by Messrs. MulhoUand and
Strong, of Reed City.
Thos. F. Bray, Sec'y.
SANILAC COUNTY.
Sanilac County Medical Society held its
second annual meeting at Croswell, January
4th, 1904.
PROGRAM.
"Some Clinical Reports of Injuries and
Their Effects on the Mind and Nervous Sys-
tem's—Samuel Bell, Detroit.
Discussion opened by R. G. Healy, M. D.,
Mind en City.
"A Flap from the Fascia Lata in the Radi-
cal Cure of Inguinal Hernia" — Hal. C. Wy-
man, Detroit.
Discussion opened by H. McCrae; Marlette.
"Hysteria"— T. S. Kingston, Croswell.
Discussion opened by H. H. Learmont,
Croswell.
"Why Should the Law Exact a Higher De-
gree of Skill from a City Physician than from
His Couhtry Brother?"— D. C. O'Brien, Lex-
ington.
Discussion opened by John E. Campbell,
Brown City.
"The Medical Profession"— J. W. Scott,
Sanilac Centre.
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COUNTY SOCIETIES.
Jour. M.S. M.S.
Discussion opened by E. Meyer, M. D.,
Carsonville.
Annual address by the President, H. W.
Smith, Carsonville.
G. S. TWEEDIE,
Secretary.
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY.
The annual meeting of Shiawassee County
Medical Society was held December, 1903. The
following officers were elected:
President, C. McCormick, Owosso.
Vice-President, T. N. Youmans, Bancroft.
Secretary-Treasurer — Chas. Shickle, Owosso.
Board of Directors — L. M. Cudworth, Perry;
J. N. Eldred, Chesaning; J. J. Howard, Byron.
V. C. Vaughan of Ann Arbor delivered an
address on the early diagnosis and treatment
of tuberculosis.
Chas. Shickle, Sec'y.
TUSCOLA COUNTY.
Tuscola County Medical Society held its
annual meeting at Vassar, Jan. 11th, 1904.
BUSINESS MEETING.
Report of Officers and Delegate.
Address of President — A. L. Seeley.
Address of Councilor — S. I. Small.
PAPERS.
"The Physician's Duty to Pregnant Women"
— Geo. Bates.
"The Conduct of Normal Labor" — A. J.
Howell.
"The Care of Puerperal Women"— C. W.
Clark.
"The Treatment of Valvular Heart Lesion"
— T. W. Hammond.
The doctors' wives were enteretained in
the afternoon by Mrs. F. D. LeValley.
W. C GarvxH.
Secretary.
WASHTENAW COUNTY.
The Washtenaw County Medical Society
held its December meeting on the second Wed-
nesday evening of the month.
The paper of the occasion was read by John
P. Sawyer, of Cleveland, Ohio, Professor of
Medicine in the Western Reserve Universit}',
who discussed "The Clinical Relations of
Stomach Disorders to Diabetes." The essay-
ist presented an exhaustive dissertation and
cited a number of cases to prove the rela-