A 574837
HUOPATHY, ALLOPATHY,
MEDICAL
LIBRARY
#610.9.
S557
AND
THE CITY HOSPITAL;
A LEGEND OF THE XIXTH CENTURY,
ADDRESSED IN FORM OF
A LETTER TO N. S. DAVIS, M. D.
PROF. OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE, PRESI-
DENT OF COOK COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY, MEMBER OF SEVE-
RAL OTHER LEARNED SOCIETIES, AUTHOR OF SEVERAL
WORKS UPON THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE,
&C. &C. &C. PRIMOGENITOR OF THE
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCI-
ATION, &C. &C. &C.
&C. &C. &C.
&C. &C.
&C.
BY GEO. E. SHIPMAN, M. D.
PUBLISHED BY THE
CHICAGO HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY.
MDCCCLVII.
H610.9
5557
unknown
2-19-41
+
HOMOEOPATHY, ALLOPATHY,
AND
THE CITY HOSPITAL.
DR. DAVIS-Sir: Were the succeeding pages written merely
for your own particular benefit, it would not be necessary to enter
into any historical preliminaries, as the facts upon which I shall
touch are doubtless fresh in your memory; but as my purpose
is not only to enlighten you, but the community in which
we live, and the lovers of truth and fair dealing wherever
they may be, it seems necessary to give a brief sketch of events
which have produced, and are producing, results of such weighty
import. Urging necessity, then, as my plea, and distinctly
denying any intentional disrespect in setting you aside, even for
a moment, I proceed at once to my history:
On the 14th of March, 1857, the following petition was pre-
sented to the Common Council, by which it was referred to the
Board of Health:
PETITION OF THE CITIZENS OF CHICAGO TO THE
COMMON COUNCIL.
The undersigned, voters and tax-payers of this city, respectfully
petition your Honorable body, that some portion or part of the NEW
CITY HOSPITAL may be devoted to the treatment of patients under
the HOMEOPATHIC THEORY, and would respectfully assign the fol-
lowing reasons why such petition should be granted:

4
First.-The respectability and endorsement which the Homœo-
pathic system of medication has attained, both in respect of patients
and practitioners.
Second. The number of patients seeking admission into Hospi-
tals, who prefer Homœopathic treatment.
Third. The fact that the Chicago Homœopathic Hospital-a
benevolent institution, relying principally for support upon the
voluntary contributions of the community-has now for more than
three years practically occupied the position of City Hospital,
receiving and caring for charity patients, when applied to by the
city.
Fourth. That the granting of this petition will secure to the
public the opportunity of comparing the two prevalent systems of
treatment, (Homœopathy and Allopathy), side by side, under the
same surrounding circumstances.
And Lastly. That it is no more than simple justice, that a large
and respectable portion of our citizens should be gratified in their
desire that the sick and indigent of our city shall have the benefit
of the same system of medicine which they employ in their own
families, and the practical operation of which they prefer to the old,
or Allopathic system.
Your petitioners would further state, that they are assured by the
most prominent Homœopathic physicians,that any one or more
attending and consulting physicians, selected from their ranks, will
perform their duties without compensation, thereby securing the
city from additional expense in consequence of the adoption of their
suggestion.
Chicago, March 14, 1857.
W. B. Ogden,
J. D. Webster,
Julius D. Haven,
A. W. Rood,
Robt. H. Clarkson,
A. J. Davids,
A. Carroll,
H. A. Tucker,
Geo, W. Dole,
E. K. Rogers,
Edwin C. Larned,
Geo. W. Lay, Jr.
Joseph T. Ryerson,
Thos. L. Forrest,
Edward H. Bunker,
Isaac B. Crane,
J. R. Valentine,
P. F. W. Peck,
Saml. Hoard,
C. Beers.
C. B. Hosmer,
Edward Rawon,
John G. Wilson,
E. M. S. Gaylor,
Jno. H. Small,
F. Fulton,
Geo. W. P. Bowman,
G. A. Wood,
J. M. Holt,
S. S. Barry,
H. L. Rucker,
C. T. Boyne,
James Conovan,
D. A. Gage,
Cyrus Bentley,
L. J. J. Nisson,
P. A. Nicholson,
G. W. Baldwin,
Hasbrouck Davis,
Wm. W. Hoyt,
L. E. Alexander,
Saml. C. Clarke,
Cooley, Farwell & Co.
John Williams,
Davis, Moody & Co.
C. M. Du Puy,
D. J. Ely,
D. B. Shipman,
Chas. L. Goodridge,
John C. Haines,
M. H. Norton,
Bellows, Gerrish, &
Co.
J. W. Hooker,
S. C. Griggs,
A. Runyon,
A. D. Titsworth,
Chas. Cleaver,
Geo. H. Phelps,
W. P. Thurston,
E. W. Densmore,
F. D. Gray,
Amzi Benedict,
Charles E. Ray,
C. C. Marsh,
E. W. Davenport,
J. Lee Palmers,
Joel Ellis,
E. R. Burnham,
H. G. Paddock,
W. R. Larrabee,
100
5
R. K. Swift, Brother,
& Johnston,
Andrew Blaikie,
Henry H. ashing,
Stephen B. Williams,
J. W. Briggs,
M. F. Prouty,
E. G. Hall,
J. T. & E. M. Edwards, S. D. Kimbark,
J. W. Waughop,
S. S. Hayes,
Tuthill King,
Pitkin, Brothers,
Mills & Co.
Smith & Pollard,
B. Douglass & Co.
Philip Wadsworth,
Huntington, Wads-
worth & Parks,
Wadsworth & Wells,
Harmon, Aiken, &
Gale,
Benedict, Mallory, &
Farnam,
Crane, Bro. & Co.
Ed. I. Tinkham,
B. F. Carnes,
Jos. W. Tinkham,
Smith Tinkham,
John C. Long,
J. A. Butterfield,
John P. Chapin,
W. H. Taylor,
J. A. Smith,
W. B. Burbank,
C. B. Smith,
N. Barnes,
S. S. Durfee,
N. A. James,
J. A. Purington,
Samuel A. Ward,
A. L. Coffin,
F. W. Burnham,
Jno. F. Stewart,
C. T. Noble,
W. R. Moulton,
C. N. Hammond,
J. D. Quinne,
I. H. Burch,
Cyril Babcock,
Samuel Rugg,
William H. Peek,
Enos Ayres,
James Larmon,
J. P. Clarkson,
J. W. Barker,
Wm. H. Bradley,
Isaac N. Arnold,
J. H. Dunham,
J. W. Stanley,
C. A. Spring,
W. B. Keen,
J. H. Bross,
P. W. Field,
F. V. Chamberlain,
J. B. Doggett & Co.
D. M. Bradley,
Wm. W. Danenhower,
Dennis Keogh,
Patrick J. Lynch,
H. S. Hudson,
E. G. Hook,
Henry Farwell,
C. B. Farwell,
Th. Frere,
C. Haven,
W. L. Greenleaf,
Jas. M. Smith,
Geo. B. Gillespie,
A. Dowthy,
W. B. Olmstead,
P. A. Hoyne,
C. V. Wiley,
Jno. N. Staples,
Wm. C. Dow,
B. B. Wiley,
H. N. Turner,
J. H. Peck,
F. B. Williams,
C. H. Arnold,
C. Hinckley,
Beecher, Hollister & T. B. Carter,
R. W. Officer,
Wilkins,
A. J. Brown,
S. H. Bradley,
W. H. Brown,
W. S. Gurnee,
Jno. H. Kinzie,
Nathan Mears,
John S. Wallace,
M. D. Gilman,
M. A. Farwell,
J. Young Scammon,
G. Manierre,
W. A. D. Grannis,
Thomas Budd,
S. L. Brown,
John V. Farwell,
Stephen A. Defoe,
G. De Loynes & Co.
A. Ostheim,
B. F. Downing,
N. P. Wilder,
D. B. Cooke,
Hamilton B. Dox,
C. H. Quinlan,
T. F. Phillips,
B. W. Raymond,
S. D. Ward,
E. H. Denison,
C. H. Seavern,
G. F. Hubbard & Co.
W. D. Houghteling.
The result of this petition was, that, on the 9th of July the
Board of Health appointed two Medical and Surgical Boards for
the Hospital, consisting of the following gentlemen:
.
Į
6
HOMEOPATHIC BOARD.
CONSULTING PHYSICIANS.
A. E. SMALL, M. D.
A. PITNEY, M. D.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.
H. K. W. BOARDMAN, M. D.
D. A. COLTON, M. D.
N. F. Cook, M. D.
R. LUDLAM, M. D.
S. SEYMOUR, M. D.
GEORGE E. SHIPMAN, M. D.
ALLOPATHIC BOARD.
CONSULTING PHYSICIANS.
DRS. N. S. DAVIS and J. K. AMERMAN.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.
R. N. ISHAM, M. D.
D. MILLER, M. D.
J. P. Ross, M. D.
JNO. CRAIG, M. D.
W. WAGNER, M. D.
GEORGE D. SCHLOETZER, M. D.
To the latter of these Boards, three-fourths of the City Hos-
pital was to be granted, and to the other, one-fourth, each to be
independent in its own sphere. The physicians and surgeons
appointed by these Boards were notified of their appointment
by the Board of Health, and their acceptance requested; it
having been understood that all those who were appointed, had
previously expressed their willingness to serve one year gratui-
tously, if called upon to do so by the Board of Health. Soon
after, the following letter appeared in the "Times," of July
12th, signed by yourself, and which I shall consider to have
been written by yourself, the commonly received report that it
was written by Dr. Brainard, to the contrary, notwithstanding.
Whether the publication of the letter in a daily paper, could be
considered as courteous to the Board of Health, they not having
been honored with any other reply than through the paper afore-
said, is a matter of taste; whether it was prudent for yourself
thus to expose, what some have been so rude as to style, your
illiberality, is a matter of judgment-neither of these points is it
my purpose to discuss-suffice it to say, the matter was first
brought to public notice by yourself, and if the sequel should
show that you have lacked either in taste or judgment, in thus
appealing to the public, I can only say that I hope that another
time you will have better taste or better judgment. Whatever
may be the result as regards yourself, science and truth should
7
be congratulated that you have at last brought your objections
against Homoeopathy to the light of day. For many years past
it has been the practice of yourself and colleagues to cry down
Homœopathy before the confiding students of Rush Medical
College, where your calumnies were in no danger of refutation,
or to practice upon the credulity of unsuspicious old ladies, little
versed in the wiles of regular, legitimate doctors. Fair discus-
sion, an open, manly contest for truth in broad day-light, has
never been sought; in this your sagacity has been eminently
conspicuous. What your motives are now, in venturing beyond
these limits, found by years of experience to be alike safe and
profitable, it does not interest me to inquire; that you have done
so affords me the greatest satisfaction; allow me to express the
hope, that the occasion may not be without profit to you, and
that the lesson learned at this time may prevent you in future
from bringing yourself and our profession into disrepute.
CHICAGO, July 13, 1857.
To the Hon. Board of Health of Chicago—GENTLEMEN: I
had the honor on Saturday evening, to receive from your Secretary
a communication, informing me that I had been selected as one of
the "consulting physicians of the Allopathic Medical Board," de-
signed to take charge of a part of the new City Hospital.
Feeling a lively interest in whatever relates to the public health
and welfare of our city, although my time is fully occupied, and I
am already bestowing daily gratuitous services on one Hospital,
which admits an average of five hundred patients annually, I would
cheerfully assume the discharge of such additional duties as your
proffered appointment would impose, had it been offered to me in an
unobjectionable manner. But you ask me to become consulting
physician to an "Allopathic Medical Board." The word "allo-
pathy," as applied to medicine, means a system of curing disease by
contraries, that is, by setting up one disease in the system to eradi
cate or cure another. Although I have diligently studied and prac-
ticed medicine for more than twenty years, I must acknowledge
that I know of no such system of medicine, and am profoundly
ignorant of any class of men who pretend to practice any such
system.
تھ
The word itself, as applied to the great body of physicians, con-
veys a libellous falsehood, which I will never sanction by accepting
any appointment with which it is associated.
True and legitimate medicine acknowledges no pathy—no ism—
no exclusive dogma of visionary enthusiasts; but it consists of the
facts which have been gathered from every department of human

8
knowledge by the accumulated experience, observation and research
of centuries, and their application to the prevention and cure of
disease.
But I have another objection to accepting the honor you offer.
Whatever professional reputation (if any) I may have gained by
twenty years of hard labor, would necessarily attach more or less to
any public institution with which I might be connected, and this,
too, without reference to its sub-divisions or departments. Hence I
could not, either consistently or conscientiously, allow my name to
go before the public in connection with a Hospital, a part of which
is devoted to the treatment of the sick in accordance with an exclu-
sive pathy or pretended system, which has already been fully tried
and abandoned in the hospitals of almost every country in Europe.
If your honorable body choose to make use of the poor and ignor-
ant who may fall sick (for it is such who will fill all public hospitals)
to test the merits of the various pathys and isms and humbugs of
the day, you must do it without my assistance or sanction.
With sincere thanks for the honor which you intended to confer,
I most respectfully decline to accept it.
With much respect, yours, etc.,
N. S. DAVIS.
prac-
The grounds of your refusal seem to be two-fold:-First, that
the Board to which you were appointed was styled the Allopathic
Medical Board; and, Secondly, that there was to be another
Board, styled the Homœopathic Medical Board. In regard to
the first, you say "that after having diligently studied and
ticed medicine for more than twenty years, I must acknowledge
that I know of no such system of medicine, and am profoundly
ignorant of any class of men who pretend to practice on any such
system” as the Allopathic. One object of the present writing, is
to let a ray of light upon this profound ignorance, which not even
the studies of twenty years have disturbed. Let me, therefore,
direct your attention to an essay entitled "Homœopathy, Allopa-
thy, and Young Physic,' by John Forbes, M. D., one of the
editors of the Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine, editor of the Brit-
ish and Foreign Medical Review," &c. &c. You will find it
nicely sandwiched in between two essays upon Homœopathy, in a
work entitled "Henderson and Forbes." On page 6, Dr. Forbes
says, after having given the etymology of Homœopathy, “in con-
tradistinction, the common medical doctrine was named from em、
ploying in the treatment of disease, medicines producing an
effect not like (omoios), but different (allos) from that produced
by the disease, Allopathy, and its professors Allopathists or
6.

Allopaths. On page 41 he says, "so much for HOMEOPATHY-for
the present at least. It only now remains for us to add a few
momentous words on ALLOPATHY." These momentous words
are not at all creditable to the venerable fraternity of which you
are just now a prominent member, but it is not to my present
purpose to quote them. This essay was republished in this
country in 1846, just ten years after you commenced your dili-
gent studies. How surprised you will be when you come to read
this essay, that it should have escaped your attention so long—
that you should be profoundly ignorant" that "Allopathic" is
synonymous with "regular," "legitimate," &c. &c.
Allow me, also, to call your attention to the following para-
graph, from the Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine, vol. iii, 271.
This is a work in general use, but it seems to have escaped your
notice; the writer says:
"Before the forms and products of disease had been so minutely
investigated as to admit of being detailed with any approach to exact-
ness, the ancients were led, by the simple observation of the causes
of disease, to adopt natural measures for restoring the equilibrium
of a function disturbed. If a man became ill from exposure to a hot
sun, he was cured by a cool regimen, and if from exposure to cold,
a return to health was promoted by warmth, and sometimes by
mere insolation; if too much food disordered him, he was relieved
by abstinence; if too much exercise or labor had exhausted him, he
was renovated by rest. Thus contraria contrariis medentur (or
curantur) became one of the first maxims or one of the first general
principles in medicine. As knowledge advances, the general prin-
ciples of treatment acquire a wider and a firmer basis; but this first
principle, to which the ancients in their regulation both of treatment
and regimen paid a special regard, has in some periods of medical
history been departed from with disadvantage, and sometimes, and
even recently, been utterly denied.”
Paris, also, in his work on Pharmacology, which you can prob-
ably obtain at most of the book stores-indeed it may be in the
library of Rush Medical College—says, page 30:
"It might have been expected, that the impulse which the theory
and practice of physic have of late years received from the pure spirit
of philosophy, would have forever carried it beyond the sphere of such
blind prejudices and shallow paradoxes; it is therefore with feelings
of humiliation, that I proceed to notice that new-blown bubble, which
has been distinguished by the high-sounding title of HOMEOPATHIC
SYSTEM, or the art of curing founded on resemblances, as its name
expresses (omoion pathos), a system founded on the chimerical
belief that every disease is curable by such medicines as would
"
10
:
.
produce in a healthy person symptoms similar to those which char-
"SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURANTUR,” a dogma
acterize the given disease.
which is directly opposed to to the palliative system of Hippocrates,
CC.
CONTRARIA CONTRARIIS.
""
This is not very complimentary to Homoeopathy. So far Dr.
Paris and yourself are of one mind, but he seems to have been more
successful in his studies than you, (perhaps he had studied longer
when he wrote the above), as he had discovered that the principle
of the Hippocratic school was " Contraria contrariis:" but not to
quibble about words, let me call your attention to the treatment
of diseases by the so called Regular and Legitimate school; per-
haps we shall discover something more which has escaped your
attention. I turn to the article Dysentery, in Copland's Medical
Dictionary, and find the following:
NOTICES OF METHODS OF CURES AND REMEDIES RECOMMENDED
BY WRITERS.
"HIPPOCRATES treated dysentery by emetics, purges, emollient
clysters, and a regulated diet. * * The remedies employed by GALEN
were astringents, as galls, alum, dried roses, &c.; anodynes, as opium
and henbane; detergents, as myrrh, pepper, spikenard, &c.; and
escharotics; as arsenic, sandarach, copper and the like, by injection.
CELSUS enjoins rest, astringent cataplasms, frequent washing with
warm water, in which vervain has been boiled, astringent food, in-
jections of ptisan, milk, oil, linseed tea, the yolks of eggs with rose
water, &c. ÆTIUS recommends bleeding from the arm when in-
flammation is present, stating that it allays heat, produces revulsion
and induces sleep. LEO recommends a decoction of rhubarb when
the stools are bloody; and RHASES directs snow to be applied to the
abdomen in chronic dysentery.
PAULUS AEGINETA recommends particularly the Lemnian earth,
both by the mouth and injection, an enema of honey, or salt and
water, having been previously administered; a decoction of purslain
and plantain is also praised, together with the fruit and leaves of
the bramble, the decoction of marsh-mallows, of equisetum or horse-
tail, the unripe fruit of the mulberry dried, and bramble berries
also dried. He speaks highly, also, of eggs boiled in vinegar, and
eaten; of the wine of unripe grapes, the juice of the red sumach,
the rind of pomegranate, galls, grape stones, medlars, myrtle wax,
cornels, and the ashes of snails roasted whole. The following is
one of his prescriptions: R. of the ashes of snails p. iv, of galls
p. ij, of pepper p. j; reduce to a fine powder and sprinkle upon the
condiments, or give to drink in water or a thin white wine. An-
other is-(this is not very nice, you will therefore excuse its omis-
sion)-a third, R. of opium, saffron, catechu, acacia, sumach,
frankincense, galls, hypocistis, pomegranate rind, myrrh and aloes,
equal parts, given in water. A fifth, of sumach 3. viij: of galls, o
11
acacia, of gum aa. 3. ij, of opium 3 j; give one drachm in diluted
wine. In the treatment of no other disease, perhaps, has the bane-
ful influence of exclusive medical doctrine (he is speaking of your
school remember, Doctor-the Orthodox, Legitimate, Regular, Sci-
entific school) been more fully exerted than in that of dysentery.
This is fully evinced by the much less rational measures very gener-
ally employed towards the end of the last century and at the com-
mencement of this, wherever the theory of BROWN was adopted.”
Excuse the length of the quotation, but allow me to inquire,
whether these remedies would induce a similar disease in a pa-
tient affected with dysentery, or a different or contrary disease.
Instead, therefore, of the word Allopathic conveying a "libel-
ous falsehood," it is truly a classic term, and covers the ground
which the Board of Health intended it should cover, precisely.
"True and legitimate medicine acknowledges no pathy-no
ism-no exclusive dogma of visionary enthusiasts." "Profoundly
ignorant" again, if "true and legitimate medicine" means that
branch of medicine in which you have attained such prominence.
Your ignorance must be profound indeed, unfathomably so, if
you do not know that the history of medicine, "true and legiti-
mate,” is a history of rising and falling sects-pathies-isms-
exclusive dogmas of visionary enthusiasts, &c., &c.; having dil-
igently studied medicine twenty years, and being still ignorant
of what every tyro well knows, what hope is there that you ever
will become a proficient in Medical History.
Your first objection is based upon the exceptionable manner in
which the offer of the Board of Health is made; the second upon
upon the fact, that Homœopathists are to have a share in the
Hospital, and you decline for fear that "whatever professional rep-
utation (if any)" you "may have gained by twenty years of hard
labor" would be shared by the Hospital. I feel confident that
I speak the opinion of nine-tenths of this community, when I
say, that you have only to write one or two more letters for the
press, and there will not be professional reputation enough left
(if any) to be worthy your solicitude; however, for once, I ad-
mire your prudence-guard well the little remnant, tattered and
torn as it is, by your own unhappy hands-share it with none;
I assure you that it will not bear division.
Your concluding fling is intended to be the severest of all. If
the Board of Health wish to test the various "pathies," isms and
12
humbugs of the day on the poor and ignorant, it must be done
without "your assistance or sanction ;"- so much the better for the
sick, poor and ignorant; if the Board of Health wishes to test the
humbug of true and legitimate medicine, you will not lend it
your countenance, nor, as we shall see by and by, will the Cook
County Medical Society allow its members so to do;-this grand
humbug must, therefore, be untested—what a blow to the Board
of Health! Thus much for your first letter. The next in the
series, is a reply to one whom you call "a writer of small things,"
a most apt and pertinent designation of one discussing your views
and opinions. The authorship is the same as that of the last;
whether Dr. Davis or Dr. Brainard, it is marked by the same
profound ignorance, the same illiberality, the same disregard of
truth, while it lacks the manliness of the former, and insinuates
what it dare not for its life roundly assert. How much good
your reputation will do the City Hospital when these letters are
fairly before the public, is a problem which I would commend
to those acute mathematicians, who can tell you how many lakes
like Lake Michigan would be needed to make the third attenua-
tion.
HOMEOPATHIC HOSPITALS-HISTORICAL ACCURACY.
A writer of small things in the Democrat of Friday, undertakes
to give a list of Homœopathic Hospitals. His first flourish is over
the London Homeopathic Hospital, which, he says is patronized by
the "nobility," and " was never in a more flourishing condition than
at the present time."
Now it so happens, that this same flourishing hospital actually
closed its doors more than three months since. The London Lancet
for April, 1857, says:
"The last hospital devoted to this delusion in
London has closed its doors; it has dwindled down into a tempo-
rary office, and a dispensary for out patients."
A London correspondent of the Montreal Medical Gazette, wri-
ting from London May 1st, 1857, says: "The London Homœopathic
Hospital, the last hospital devoted to this delusion in London, has
closed its doors." Of one of the "nobility" who patronized this
institution, this correspondent further says: "Poor Lord Robert
Grosvenor, the great champion of Homeopathy, has confessed him-
self diddled; and declares he has been humbugged from first to last."
So much for the first flourishing institution mentioned in the Dem-
ocrat. The "Half Orphan Asylum in New York," another institu-
tion named, happens to be no hospital at all. When our critic will
give us the statistics of the hospital at Leipsic, Rio de Janerio, &c.,
stating the actual number treated in each in 1856, as compared with
f
2
13
{
the number ten or fifteen years since, thepublic will be able to judge
better concerning the progress of the infinitesimal art. And while
the Historical sage of the Democrat has his hand in, will he be kind
enough to inform the public, and especially the Board of Health of
Chicago, concerning the rise, progress and present condition of the
institution once known as the "Chicago Homoeopathic Hospital."
If I am not mistaken about the facts of history, there was such an
institution once, located in Kinzie street in the North Division of
our goodly city.
A very venerable and much esteemed lady is said to have con-
tributed $1500 to its support, and some time last winter, if I mistake
not, the good ladies of this good city got up a grand fair or tea-
party for the special benefit of the institution, many hundred dol-
lars were obtained, according to the reports of the newspapers.
Now for the sake of strict historical accuracy, the public would like
to have the historian of the Democrat inform us, how many patients
received actual medical and surgical treatment in the Chicago Ho-
mœopathic Hospital, monthly, for the year 1856. How many weeks
did the institution continue after the good ladies held the fair or
party above alluded to? And finally, what was done with the
money that was obtained? The facts and figures on all these topics
might be of special interest to the Board of Health at this time.
P. S.-I am very sorry that any one "personally acquainted with
me" should have suspected that I belonged to the same political
party with the present Mayor of Chicago.
N. S. DAVIS.
As regards Homœopathic Hospitals, as well as other matters,
you are
"profoundly ignorant." I shall therefore enlighten you
as far as I am able.
I commend to your attention, the following list of Hospitals in
Europe where Homœopathy, as you say, has been tried and
found wanting. Such statistics are rather dry, but I shall endea-
vor to relieve the tedium of the way by a few pertinent re-
marks.
The first on the list is the Sisters of Charity Hospital, at Gum-
pendorf, Vienna, during the first two years under the charge of
Drs. Maierhoffer & Schmidt, subsequently under that of Dr.
Fleischmann.
3
14
Tabular view of the number of Patients treated in the Free Homœ-
pathic Hospital of the Sisters of Charity, in Gumpendorf,
Vienna, from Nov. 1st, 1832, to Dec. 31st, 1848.
YEAR.
Remaining
from pre-
vious year.
Received.
Cured.
Received
Moribund.
Not Cured.
Died.
Remaining,
Authorities.
Nov. 1, 1832,
266
213
8
23
Nov. 1, 1833,
Nov. 1, 1833,
22
316 255
23
33
Nov. 1, 1834,
Nov. 1, 1834,
26.
474
437
8
31
Nov. 1, 1835,
24 Hygea 308.
22 Hygea viii, 306.
27 Hygea " 303.
6
Nov. 1, 1835,
24
316
286
21
33
Hygea
311.
July 1, 1836,
Nov. 1, 1836,
772
689
4
53
26 Hygea
324.
March 1, 1838,
Jan. 1, 1838,
31
573
536
5
33
Jan. 1, 1839,
30 Hygea ix, 520.
Jan. 1, 1839,
31
683
624
13
31
Jan. 1, 1840,
44 Hygea xii, 230.
Jan. 1, 1840,
43
910
820 7
13
63
Jan. 1, 1841,
56 Hygea xiv, 357.
Jan. 1, 1841,
57
898
829
8
12
54
Jan. 1, 1842,
60 Hygea xvii, 108.
1842,
60
994 925
1843,
53
1010 941
1844,
52
1085 1003
♡ LO ✪
3
17
59
53 Hygea xviii, 359.
5
11
59
52 Hygea xix, 184.
9
12 65
57 Est. Zeit. Bdi, s. 169
1845,
57
928 843
26
74
42
ii,
611
1846,
42
1116
1017
17 62 62
(
iii,
63
•
(C
1847,
62
1102
1004
24. 80 56
iv,
45
པ
1848,
56
1131 1010
40 88 49
iv, 6
256 841 620
Whole No...... 630 12,574 11,431 32
This is the latest precise account which I can find of this Hos-
pital-it was still flourishing in February, 1856. It may since
have gone down-probably not. As you are no doubt anxious
to know what kind of diseases were thus successfully treated,
I give you a sample from the year 1845. You shall have the
whole from beginning to end if you desire it.
Died.
Admitted.
Cured.
Arthritis
60
60
Dysentery
6
6
Erysipelas
15
15
Fever, gastric...
77
73
1
Fever, intermittent.
57
56
Fever, typhus..
209
179
21
Peritonitis
16
16
Pneumonia
50
45
2
15
J
YEAR.
Next in order comes the Hospital at Linz.
Tabular view of the number of cases treated at the Hospital of the
Sisters of Charity, at Linz, under the charge of Dr. Reiss.
From June 1st, 1842,
Remaining
from pre-
vious year.
Received.
Cured.
Relieved.
Not Cured.
Died.
Remaining.
Authorities.
to Dec. 31st, 1842
332 270 11 2
11
38
1843..
38
535 481 16
35
30
37
1844.
37
555 485 27
16
27
37
Hygea xviii, 364.
Est. Zeit. i, 1,204.
i, 3,173.
1845.
37
618 523 40
18
35
39
ii, 615.
1846.
39
661 574 41
17 28 40
66
iii, 639.
•
1847
40
761 654 44
1848.
52
784 732
24
26 25 52
44 38
(6
iv, 463.
iv, 653.
I regret being unable to extend this Table to the present time.
Why these Tables were not continued from year to year, I cannot
tell. It would be a hasty conclusion, though, to infer that the
Hospital had closed its doors. In 1855*, at least, it was in a
flourishing condition. The number of patients treated at this
Hospital from June 1st, 1842, to January 1st, 1855, was 9,129.
Of these 501 died-40 of them from marasmus senilis-5,300
were patients suffering from acute diseases, among whom the
mortality was 2,6 per cent. Besides this, 24,000 patients were
treated at the Dispensary connected with the Hospital.
The Hospital at Gyöngyös, in Hungary, under the charge of
Dr. Stephen Horner.
YEAR.
July 1st, 1840, to
July 1st, 1841
1841-2...
1842-3.
•
1846-7.
1853-4.
1854-5.
•
Remaining
from pre-
vious years
Received.
Cured.
Relieved.
Not Cured.
Brought
Moribund.
Dead.
Remaining.
Authorities.
4
6
87 73 4
101
2
80
4
6
98 80 3
1
224
4
9
6 Archiv xix, 2,106.
6 Archiv xx, 1,112.
3
7 Neues Archiv i, 3,160.
161 132 8
2
13
6
2
240 194 16
1
3
14
12 Allg.Hom.Zt.xlix,146
12
152 135 11
3
8
7
You will observe between 1847 and 1854 there is quite a hiatus.
From 1849 till 1853, the Hospital from some cause or other
* Zeitschrift, f, Hom. Klinik Bd. IV, No. 6.
* 16MP
.

16
fell into Allopathic hands; in 1853 it reverted again to its former
possessors. During the eleven years of Homœopathic adminis-
tration, there were 1,538 patients treated, 1,395 cured, and 143
died. Under five years of Allopathic administration, there were
622 patients treated, 524 cured, and 98 died. On the 15th of
July, 1856, Dr. Horner was still alive and well, performing his
functions in the Hospital, and there is reason to believe he is
there to-day.
In Hungary there is also another Hospital, at Güns, which we
will next consider. Güns is a small town near Presburg, has
about 2,000 inhabitants-the Hospital consequently is small. It
was opened in 1833, just four years before you commenced your
studies.
Report of Homoeopathic Hospital at Güns, in Hungary, under the
charge of Dr. Michael Bless.

YEAR.
Authorities.
1833, to March,
25th, 1836...
106
1
8
3 Archiv xvi, 264.
1840..
2
1841
11
168 143 6 11
121 113 3 11
4
6
4
1
This Hospital was in successful operation in February, 1855,
as you will see by referring to the Zeitschrift für Homoeopath-
ische Klinik Bd. IV, No. 4. I have no later news, but there is
no doubt in my mind that the Homœopathic Hospital at Güns
still is.
At Kremsier, in Mähren, there was also a Homœopathic Hos-
pital under charge of Dr. Schweitzer, of which the following is a
report:
YEAR
Oct. 12th, 1845, to
April 30th, 1846 .
1846..
1847.
1848..
1
Authorities.
•
221 175 20
19
GO
18 Esterreich Zeits. ii, 613.
381 402 15 19 24
25 446 406 11
30 24
26
472 430F 8
37
23
iii, 637.
iv, 458.
...
"656.
17
As it was true in the preceding cases that the want of Annual
Reports did not prove that the Hospital had ceased to exist, it is
just to extend the same presumption to this. Should I get fur-
ther intelligence, it will be at your service. There is an obvious
discrepancy in the first two lines, but the second covers part of
the time comprised in the first.
We will next take a glance at the Hospital of the Sisters of
Charity in Leopoldstadt, under the charge of Drs. Wurmb and
Caspar, from 1850 to 1854, inclusive.
Whole No. rec'd. Cured.
3,789
3,165
Discharged
relieved.
381
Dead. Remaining:
211
32
See Allg. Hom. Zeitung Bd. 51, S. 78.
The next is the Hom. Hospital at Bremen, under charge of
Drs. Krummacher & Kiesselbach, during the year 1846.
Archiv, Bd. III., 3,115.
Whole
Neues
Died.
Cured. Relieved. Not Cured Sought other
no. rec'd.
2,800 2,593
117
14
treatment.
36
40
S
The year 1846 was marked by the occurrence of many acute
diseases, as we are told by the attending physicians. A list of
some of the diseases I append.
Treated.
Cured. Died.
Gastric Fever....
49
49
Diarrhoea, Rheumatic and
Catarrhal....
42
42
Dysentery..
54
54
Croup
38
38
Hooping Cough.
91
89
Bronchitis
Pneumonia
14
12
22
2*
2.
•
8
8
Pleurisy
•
Measles..
33
33
159
158
1
How does this compare with your success in the treatment
of the annual five hundred in the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in
this city?
In Schrōn's Hospital at Hof, in Bavaria, from July 1844 to the
close of 1846, there were (Hygea XXII, 399,)
Received.
682
Cured.
657
Relieved.
15
Died.
10
* Of these, one was Consumptive, and the other died within twenty-four
hours of his admission.
B
18
I do not know but that Hospital has gone down-if so, it was
not because the patients were not well treated.
The next is the Hospital at Nishni Nowgorod, where, from
November 1, 1854, to November 1, 1855, there were (Hom.
Vierteljahrschrift VII, 3.)
Rec'd.
· 261
Cured.
234
Remaining un- Essentially Discharged
der treatment.
12
improved.
2
Dead.
uncured.
1
12
In Nechanitz there was another where during the years 1846-
'47-'48 there were (Esterreich Zeitschrift IV, 658,)
Received.
404
Cured. Relieved. Died. Remaining.
381
3
10
10.
I cannot close this already lengthy list of Tables without add-
ing the result of Homeopathic treatment in Cholera in 1841, in
several Hospitals in Austria and Hungary.
Patients treated in Cholera Hospitals in 1841, Arch. xx, 1,128.
Hom. Hospital at Güns,. .
(6
แ
Gyöngyös,
Leipsic,
271
4665
Sisters of Charity Hospital at Vienna, . . 5161
Hospital of the Military Garrison at
Vienna,
738 666 10 5 29 17
219 14
3984 297 127 157
4711
11
7 11
15
5
31
69
89 267
33 61
•
43
32
10
5
1
5
165 141
6
18
..
409
249 230 14
370 7 4
16
12
5
11,701 10,353 342 237 492
96 181
Military Hospital at Tulzyn, in Podolia,
Infantry Hospital in St. Petersburgh,
Cholera Hospital in Munich,
Total,..
•
I promised that the above should be the last, but cannot re-
frain from adding a word about the London Homœopathic Hos-
pital. You assert that it has "gone down" and quote the Lancet
for authority-not very good authority, with all due deference,
in matters Homœopathic. I am not prepared to deny the asser-
tion roundly. Let me suggest a caution, however, on your part,
lest facts should prove in a few weeks that you have been circu-
lating what is untrue. The Hospital was still in operation a year
ago. From April 10, 1850, to December 31, 1855, there had
been treated of in-patients, 1,062, of which number there were
19
Cured. Relieved.
Dismissed
Died.
Dismissed for Under
738
209
unaltered.
36
48
4
irregularity. treatment.
27
I think the foregoing will show, conclusively, that there have
been Hospitals in Europe under Homoeopathic treatment-
that patients have been treated successfully therein-that
several of these Hospitals are or have been very lately in
thriving condition, and hence, that you made a false statement
when you said Homoeopathy has been already fully tried and
abandoned in the Hospitals of almost every country in Europe.*
Having reproved your illiberality, allow me to set before you
an example worthy of your imitation; an example from Europe,
too, where you say Homœopathy is going down. You will find
it in the British Journal. of Homœopathy, No. LIX, page 175.
•
"At the late Homeopathic Congress at Brussels, the President
of the Belgian Academy of Medicine, Dr. Fallot, thanked the Con-
gress for the invitation that had been forwarded to the office of that
corporation. 'All our colleagues,' he added, 'will endeavor to respond
to the appeal made to them by the Congress; for, gentlemen, what-
ever differences of doctrine and of practice separate us, we all
pursue the same object-the search after truth; we have but one
common desire, to do the greatest possible amount of good. For
these reasons we shall applaud your labors.”
Pray have this read the next time the Cook County Medical
Society has a special meeting.
Should these facts not be deemed sufficient, and should you
assert that Andral's experiments in a Hospital in Paris, and the
experiments in Naples by a mixed commission, demonstrated the
insufficiency of Homœopathy, I am prepared to show, and will
do it, that these experiments demonstrated nothing but the igno-
rance and illiberality of the opponents of our system. The
whole matter shall be submitted to the same arbiter to whom ·
you have now appealed, viz.:-the public, at any time you
desire it. More than this, I will publish at any time, any exper-
iments made any where, by any government, in relation to this
matter, which you will furnish. If Homœopathy is not able
to bear the most rigid examination, under the broadest light of
day, then let it be known. If the increasing multitudes
who are seeking Homeopathic treatment for themselves and
See Appendix (A).
་

20
their Hospitals are laboring under a delusion, hasten to make
bare the delusion, and receive the thanks of admiring millions,
and the Cook County Medical Society.
The next step partakes of the farcical in an eminent degree,
and were not my letter destined to be widely circulated beyond
the limits of this city, I might close here; for the pretence is too
flimsy and shallow to deceive any resident. The following is the
report of the special meeting of the Cook County Medical Society.
You will be indebted to me for circulating it:
COOK COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
At a special meeting of the Cook County Medical Society, held
July 21st, 1857, the following resolution was passed unanimously:
Resolved, That it is the sense of this Society, that it is not con-
sistent with our standard of medical ethics, that its members should
accept place as physicians or surgeons in a Hospital, in part under
the control of irregular practitioners.
It was further moved, that the above resolution be offered for pub-
lication in the daily papers of the city, with the names of the
members of the Society appended.*
N. S. DAVIS, M. D., President.
H. PARKER, M. D., Vice President.
THOMAS BRYAN, M. D., Sec'y and Treasurer.
W. B. Herrick, M. D.
N. S. Davis, M. D.
A. B. Palmer, M. D.
E. McArthur, M. D.
J. H. Bird, M. D.
H. A. Johnson, M. D.
J. C. Morfit, M. D.
J. W. Freer, M. D.
S. R. Haven, M. D.
L. P. Cheeney, M. D.
C. Hurst, M. D.
D. Miller, M. D.
H. R. Bell, M. D.
Chas. G. Smith, M. D.
H. Parker, M. D.
J. V. C. Blaney, M. D.
H. Hitchcock, M. D.
J. Bloodgood, M. D.
Robert C. Hamill, M. D.
George B. Page, M. D.
MEMBERS.
J. P. Ross, M. D.
Hiram Smith, M. D.
A. E. C. Zapskey, M. D.
J. Woodworth, M. D.
Th. Schneider, M. D.
J. F. Hamilton, M. D.
John L. Page, M. D.
W. E. Clark, M. D.
W. C. Hunt, M. D.
S. P. Lynn, M. D.
M. O. Haydock. M. D.
Thos. Bevan, M. D.
W. H. Tingley, M. D.
D. Rutter, M. D.
T. Rush Spencer, M. D.
W. E. Varian, M. D.
Geo. Coatsworth, M. D.
L. D. Boone, M. D.
E. O. Rogers, M. D.
S. Wickersham, M. D.

* See Appendix (B).
21
L. S. Ellis, M. D.
Dr. Paoli.
Edm. Andrews, M. D.
J. H. Hollister, M. D.
John Tear, M. D.
Geo. B. Foster, M. D.
Dr. Schloetzer.
Chas. Kinber, M. D.
Arthur Train, M. D.
Dr. Peterson, M. D.
A. Fisher, M. D.
W. W. Allport, M. D.
H. Wardner, M. D.
K. Rausch, M. D.
H. F. Smith, M. D.
W. Wagner, M. D.
J. Newton, M. D.
E. L. Holmes, M. D.
P. J. Wardner, M. D.
W. S. Denniston, M. D.
J. N. Graham, M. D.
W. H. Baltzell, M. D.
Walter Hay, M. D.
C. S. Faircloth, M. D.
Dr. Groesbeck.
Dr. Gore.
G. K. Amerman, M. D.
Dr. Hatch.
On what authority these names are appended, is not well
known. It is quite a new thing for a Society to pass a resolution
and append all the names of its members, living or dead, without
leave or license. Quem Deus vult perdere priusquam dementit.
It was doubtless your intention to convey the impression, that
this doughty resolution met the sanction of all those whose names
are appended thereunto. I shall show up your deception. The
following gentlemen, whose names are appended to the above
resolution, had previously accepted the situation in the Allo-
pathic Medical Board, tendered them by the Board of Health:
Drs. Amerman, Wagner, and Schloetzer as did all the
others, except yourself, either previously to, or since that time.
Of the residue, J. H. Bird, M. D., is in Geneva; J. C. Morfit,
M. D., is in France; H. R. Bell, M. D., has not lived in Chicago
these three years; T. Rush Spencer is in Hudson.
Two of the number were under Homœopathic treatment at
the time of the alleged meeting. For further information, see
Appendix, Article C, signed "M.M."
You inquire about the Chicago Homœopathic Hospital, once
located on Kinzie street. The Hospital has been supported
mainly by donations from the late Mrs. Wright, during her life,
and from her heirs since her death-partly by the friends of the
poor and needy, and in no small part by its Physicians and Sur-
geons themselves, who paid some $500 towards its support the
last year. Those who have contributed to its funds have been
advised from time to time of the disposition made of those funds,
and to insinuate that any part thereof has been diverted from its
22
proper channel, is an act of baseness quite in harmony with the
illiberality manifested by you in the whole of this transaction.
There is no member of that Board liable even to such suspicion,
nor any who take commissions on prescriptions! The Hospital
closed its doors on the 1st of May last, in consequence of the
rent having risen from nothing, to $1000 per annum.
Your last letter requires but a moment's notice. Its length
would be its chief characteristic, were it not for your very mas-
terly criticism upon the Greek Language!
66
O shade of Demosthenes!" is the felicitous beginning of one
paragraph, "please tell us in what part of Greek literature the
word 'pathy' is to be found; and what the meaning of 'alloios.'
According to Webster 'allos' means 'other,' but 'alloios' is a
little beyond my scholarship."
Without stopping to compliment your dexterity in criticising
an error of the press, by which 'pathy' was put for 'pathos,' I
must commend your candor in confessing ignorance of Greek—
this probably was not included in your twenty years study, or
you must have progressed very slowly. I must say, however,
that your candor exceeds your judgment-how puerile to set
up yourself as a critic of Greek, when you have not got to
"alloios" yet! If the shade of Demosthenes heard the conclu-
sion of the above paragraph, it must have split with laughter,
if shades are capable of such exploits.
I here close my history-I hope its precision and accuracy
please you. I do not close for lack of material. It has not been
my intention to give all the evidence in favor of Homœopathic
treatment which I have at hand, nor to display all of Allopathic
ignorance and illiberality. This may suffice for the present. So
long as you and your Allopathic compeers confine yourselves to
bed-side tattle, you will be permitted to range the whole field
undisputed; but public attacks upon the Homoeopathic system
will be promptly and efficiently met. Though backed by the
Cook County Medical Society, including those absent as well as
those present-those dead as well as those living-together with
the Faculty of Rush Medical College, and the shade of Demos-
thenes you will be promptly met at any time and in any
manner you may desire it.
23
1
Desiring to make some return for your letters and other pro-
ductions, which form so interesting a part of this "Letter," I
have left several copies, subject to your order, at Cowell and
Halsey's Homœopathic Pharmacy, 108 Wells street.
CHICAGO, July 30th, 1857.
Yours truly,
GEO. E. SHIPMAN.
APPENDIX.
}
[A]
DR. N. S. DAVIS AND HOMOEOPATHIA IN GERMANY.
EDITOR DEMOCRAT: I have noticed for the past week that Dr.
Davis is using, with a certain boldness, his " Scalpel," to dissect
Homœopathy in America and Europe. His attempt, however, is a
sad failure; his scalpel is too blunt, to make a "clean cut." We
observe every where the "rough edges" of false statements, and
the incorrect "tracing out" of the truth.
I have taked pains, Mr. Editor, to present to your numerous
readers, a few more facts in addition to those which were given by
a correspondent in the Democrat of the 21st inst. ; facts, which I
have compiled from the German medical journals, and other
sources, relating to Homœopathia, with the hope that the Doctor
will satisfy himself of the " going down" of Homœopathia in the
Old World.
There are at the present time, in Germany, seven Homœopathic
Hospitals in successful operation. Each and every one has the
sanction and the support of the respective governments. All are
under the charge of physicians who had been, in former years,
members of "the ordinary system of medical practice, generally
termed Allopathia, or, as the medical colleges of this country call
them, "Regular Practitioners."
I deem it unnecessary to speak of the statistics, which are most
favorable to the physicians who have the charge over these Hospi-
tals. Besides these Hospitals, we have a number of Dispensaries.
Some are sustained by charitable gifts, and others by the labors and
means of the Homœopathic physicians.

1.
ī
24
There are eight mineral springs, where ten Homœopathic physi-
cians are in attendance, who also have the sanction of the govern-
ment. It is also well known that most of the crowned heads in Ger-
many, the princes and nobility, have Homœopathists as their Court
physicians. At this time. we have in Germany more than one hundred
Homœopathic physicians, at the head of Hospitals, in the army, as
Court and sanitary councillors, as city and district physicians.
I will add the numbers of Homœopathic physicians in a few of the
cities of Germany, and then I have done for the present.
In the spring of 1856, there were in Berlin 9; Breslau 6; Dresden
13; Gratz 8; Leipsig 8; Lemberg 7; Munich 10; Pesth 10; Prague
12; Vienna 47, &c.
Should Dr. Davis have any doubts of the above statements, I
would most cordially advise him to subscribe for the six excellent
Homœopathic medical journals in Germany. He will not only find
in their pages, the truth of my statement, but he will also learn
something relating to Homœopathia in Russia, France, Spain, South
America, and in fact in the whole world, for Homœopathia is known
in every quarter of the globe, as the most beneficial treatment for
the sick.
I hope, Mr. Editor, you will pardon a non-resident of your city,
who has, however, a deep interest in the progress of Chicago, and
the welfare of her citizens, for the request to give these items a
space in your valuable journal. They are intended to correct the
errors of the learned Doctor, who applied his "Scalpel" in such an
unskillful manner, as to leave the "rough edges" to the "sloughing
off process of a "Cauterium actuale.”
And should this "Historical Accuracy" of Germany not be suffi-
cient for the Doctor, we are willing to give him whole pages of
"statistics, names, places and dates.
"Sine ira et studio."
Very Respectfully,
C. A. JAEGER.
Elgin, July 24th, 1857.
[B]
HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY.
At a regular meeting of the Chicago Homœopathic Medical So-
ciety, held July 23, 1857, it was unanimously
Resolved, That this Society, fully acknowledging the principles
and practice involved in a just, liberal and sound code of Medical
Ethics, recommends to any of its members who have been or may be
appointed Physicians and Surgeons to the City Hospital, to accept,
if they can in freedom, the opportunity offered them to perform such
benevolent gratuitous service.

25
"3
Resolved, That this Society repudiates the epithet "irregular,'
applied to its members by the Cook County Medical Society, inas-
much as it is intended to convey an erroneous impression; the
members of this Society being "regularly educated Physicians
and Surgeons," as much so as any of the members of the said
Cook County Medical Society.
Resolved, That this Society cherishes the utmost regard for the
rights and preferences of the community-that it will not infringe
upon privileges enjoyed under the sanction of the laws of God and
man, and that it respects the preferences of that portion of society
who desire the ordinary mode of medical practice for themselves
and friends in the City Hospital.
Resolved, further, That this Society would regard it a violation
of both Christian and Medical Ethics, as well as a compromise of
honor, and a sacrifice of all true dignity of character, to submit to
such tyranny and insult as the Cook County Medical Society wish
to force upon that part of the community who prefer Homœopathic
practice for themselves and friends, who may require specified apart-
ments in the City Hospital.
Resolved, That these resolutions, signed by the President and
Secretary, be published in the Chicago daily papers.
[Signed,]
G. E, SHIPMAN, M. D., President.
R. LUDLAM, M. D., Secretary.
[C]
"COOK COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.”—ALLOPATHIC
HOSPITALS.
MR. EDITOR: I notice in your paper of yesterday, an account of
the proceedings of what is called "The Cook County Medical
Society," which, however, I observe, does not include some of the
leading allopathic physicians in the city, among the names omitted
being those of Drs. Brainard, Evans, Eldridge, Max Myers,
M'Vickar, Hurlburts and others. Why is this? Is the Society in such
bad odor with some of the first men in the profession, that they have
never given it their countenance and support?
I would like to ask the gentlemen composing this Society, a few
questions.
And, first, I would ask, how many of the persons, whose na
are signed to the card in yesterday's Democrat are really me
of it ?
The Society's constitution or by-laws provides that
must pay a fee of five dollars to become a member. H
the gentlemen whose names are signed to the card, have
fee?


26
The constitution or by-laws also provides, that if a person misses
attendance upon three successive meetings of the society in ques-
tion, he ceases to be a member. How many additional names of
those of the gentlemen signed to the card, would this rule out?
Though not a member myself, I had the privilege of attending
one or two meetings of the Society, and at neither were there
more than eight or ten, or at most, a dozen persons present. Judg-
ing of the attendance at the other meetings, if any others were ever
held, from these, the Cook County Medical Society is about as
much of a myth as that ancient personage known as the "Man in
the Moon."
Again, of the names signed to the card, I notice those of
four persons who have run away from our city in disgrace; of one
who was taken away by his friends to save him from himself; of
one who is a farmer in a distant part of the State; of one who
practices in Michigan; of one who is in the Lake Superior country
-whether practising or not, I cannot say; of one who is not in
the city, and who need not be expected here again for sundry
weighty reasons best known to himself; of one who is in the city
but does not practice; of one who is in the city, but has not left his
own house in consequence of illness for a great while; of one who
is a dentist and does not practice medicine; of one who is in a
Land Office in Wisconsin, where he was placed by Judge Douglas;
and of four others, who are not in the city, and who have not been
for a great while.
These are all the persons whose names are signed to the card,
who are known to me to be absent. But there may be, and proba-
bly are, others, whose names have been attached to it in the same
way.
Is this, Mr. Editor, a specimen of the way in which Allo-
pathic Medical Societies are made up? If it is, the sooner they
stop throwing stones at others, the better. The glass in their own
magnificent palace is so thin and transparent, that a few pebbles in
the hands of a child would smash it to pieces.
And while my hand is in, I would ask Dr. Davis, as he appears
so anxious about the closing of the Homœopathic Hospital on Kin-
zie street, how many Allopathic Hospitals on the same street and
in others, have shut up shop from time to time, and that notwith-
standing that some of them were supported by our city authorities?
I recollect there was one once on a time, in Tippecanoe Hall, which
was closed; one in the Lake House which was closed; and one or
two in other parts of the city which followed suite.
In fact, they
were started every year or two, for the benefit of the Rush Medical
llege, and closed when that institution had no need of them, and
the fee for the students' attendance could not be obtained.
ic institutions flourish very well under State or Municipal
They cling to it as the ivy does to the oak, for it is
source of strength. Let them have the control of that
and of course they will wax fat and saucy. It is the
losing it, or having it divided with others, and thus
1


27
coming into competition with another, and mayhap better sy
their own, that spreads so much alarm through the old fog
Allopathy. Indeed, the terror of the "Regulars" has b
great, that five or six old women, not a soul more, as I am
by one of themselves, met in secret conclave, dubbed them
the Cook County Medical Society, signed a string of names
card, (they might as well have taken them off the tombstones
the grave-yard,) and published it to the world as their testimon
against quackery. If there is as much quackery in Allopathy,
however, as the Cook County Medical Society has exhibited in this
matter, all I can say is, the Lord deliver us from it.
M * * M **
* *
EDITOR DEMOCRAT: I perceive in their report, the officers of the
Cook County Medical Society, omitted to mention, (inadvertently,
it is presumed,) that their "special meeting" of the 21st instant,
was appointed for the special purpose of discussing the pathology
and treatment of Cholera Infantum.
There was also a further omission in the report, (inadvertently, of
course,) that this infantile disease " raged with uncontrollable vio-
lence at the meeting. The disease originated among the members
of the Faculty of Rush Medical College, and from the report, it
seems the contagion became "unanimous."
Would it not be well for the Board of Health to open a ward in
the Hospital for this class of "suffering humanity ?"
There are now published in the report, sixty-eight cases of us
in the "spasmodic stage."
The mortality may yet be fearful.
ONE OF THE AFFLICTED.

The following appeared in the Tribune, of August 7th:
HOMEOPATHIC.-MESSRS. EDITORS: The following notice from
the Liverpool Mercury, may be of peculiar interest to the Medical
fraternity, at the present time, as showing the manner in which the
"London Homœopathic Hospital has closed its doors," and th
precise method by which poor Lord Robert Grosvenor confess
himself diddled. Verb. Sat.
Yours truly,
NEW HOMEOPATHIC HOSPITAL AND COLLEGE IN
the lease of the premises at 32 Golden Square, 7
the Homœopathic Hospital now stands.) is
So

28
ommittee are about to erect a new one, in a more conve-
ation. £10,000 have already been subscribed, and it is
to hold a bazaar, for the purpose of augmenting the funds
propriated to that laudable undertaking, under the distin-
d patronage of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cam-
e; Vice-Patron, the Duke of Beaufort; President, the Right
the Earl of Wilton; Chairman, the Right Hon. the Lord
obert Grosvenor, M. P.; Honorary Secretary, Mr. Ralph Buchan.

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