USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Indiana > Part 35
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When Mr. Pickwick started on his travels he found it necessary to have a man-servant, and he engaged Sam Weller. He commu- nicated his intention to his landlady, Mrs. Bardell, and did it in such an awkward yet delicate manner, that that lady took it for a proposal of marriage, and in her ecstacy of delight fell fainting into his arms, where she was seen by some of his brother members who accidentally called. Ont of this episode grew the celebrated Bar- dell vs. Pickwick breach of promise case, which was presented to a South Bend andience last night, at Price's theatre by the St. Joseph County Bar, for the benefit of our city's poor. The attorneys were ably assisted by several ladies and by Mr. C. B. VanPelt and Master Willie Elliott. The cast of characters was as follows:
Mr. Pickwick. Thos. S. Stanfield
Mrs. Bardell. Mrs. J. L. Taylor
Old Mr. Weller .. T. G. Turner
Sam Weller. .C. B. Van Pelt
Judge Stareleigh .L. G. Tong
Sergeant Buzfuz A. Anderson
Sergeant Snubbin. .W. G. George
Mr. Skimpin .L. Hubbard
Mr. Phunkey . J. P. Creed
Mr. Perker. .G. W. Matthews
Mr. Dodson. James DuShane
Mr. Fogg. J. H. Ellsworth
Betsey Cluppins ... . Mrs. C. N. Fassett
Susannah Sanders .... Mrs. M. A. Jones Nathaniel Winkle. .J. E. Fisher
Tracy Tupman. .Geo. Ford
Augustus Snodgrass. .W. A. Bugbee
Sheriff. Geo. H. Alward Clerk .. .J. W. Harbou
Thomas Groffin .. John Hagerty
Bailiffs
( John Brownfield, Jr.
O. S. Witherill
Master Bardell.
Willie Elliott
Mr. Dickens confessed that he introduced the Bardell vs. Pick- wick case to show the license unprincipled lawyers (could there be such a thing?) take, and the degree to which witnesses and jurors can be ingeniously hoodwinked. It also gave him an oppor- tunity to place the practice of the English courts in a ridiculous
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
light, and enabled him to have some revenge by taking off the quirks of attorneys' clerks. The manner in which the piece was put upon the stage by stage manager Hubbard, and the spirit with which all the performers entered into the play showed that they had a perfect appreciation of the author's intentions. It is rarely, indeed, that any of our amateurs have had so crowded a house as greeted this performance, and that may have been a great incentive to the actors. Whether it was or not they all acquitted themselves in a manner so creditable that there was a unanimous vote to have the performance repeated to-night. The speeches of Messrs. Hub- bard, Anderson and George were masterpieces of irony and satire, and nothing could be more perfect in its way than the examination of witnesses by Messers. George and Anderson, unless it was Mayor Tong's judge's charge, which, like Messrs. Anderson and George's speeches, " brought down the house." There was more perfect acting in the witnesses-Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Fassett, and Messrs. VanPelt, Bugbee, Ford and Fisher, than is generally found among veteran actors. Mr. Ford made much out of an unimpor- tant part, while Messrs. VanPelt and Bugbee, whose parts were important, set the house in roars of laughter. Willie Elliott also made much of a minor part. Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Taylor, and Messrs. Stanfield, Turner, Creed, Matthews, Witherill, Brownfield, Du Shane, Alward, Harbon, Hagerty and Ellsworth, by dress and acting, added mueh to the interest of the play, which was more laughable than a farce all the time. Of the jury, we can only say that it was above the average.
CHAPTER VI.
NORTHERN INDIANA MEDICAL SOCIETY .-- ST. JOSEPH COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY .- ST. JOSEPH VALLEY MEDICAL SOCIETY .- DISEASES OF THE ST. JOSEPH VALLEY.
NORTHERN INDIANA MEDICAL SOCIETY.
The first organized effort made by the physicians of St. Joseph valley was in 1839. In May of that year a number of the medi- cal fraternity met at the American Hotel in South Bend, and adopted a constitution taking the name of the Medical Society of Northern Indiana. Asa Egbert was elected President; George Rex, Vice President: Daniel Dayton, Recording Secretary; F. W. Hunt, Corresponding Secretary; A. B. Merritt, Treasurer; L. B. Rush, Griffin Smith, Lyman Griffin, J. Chapman and R. L. Groton, Censors. The society adopted as its seal a serpent winding in a spiral form around a knotty club, the whole being surrounded with the words, "Medical Society of Northern Indiana." The com- mittee reporting the seal gave the following explanation of it: "The serpent represents Esculapius, the god of physic, as depicted by the ancients and worshiped at Epidaurus, his native place. Thie spiral form in which he is winding around the knotty club denotes that protection from disease which the world receives from the medical profession. The club represents the art of medicine, which is used in beating back those diseases which otherwise would destroy life. The knots on the club show the perplexing difficulties and knotty questions which arise in the study of medicine. Escula- pius was the son of Apollo, and was educated in the art of curing diseases by Chiron, the Centaur, who by living in the woods had discovered the medical virtues of so many plants that he became the founder of a new art. Esculapius soon excelled his preceptor, and learn so much that he restored those whose situations were considered desperate, and it was even thought he had power of recalling the dead to life. His divinity being established, and his power over disease unprecedented, he was sent for to Rome to deliver the city from a pestilence. When the Romans came to Epidaurus to transport the god to Rome, a great serpent came into their ship which they believed to be the god in the form of a ser- pent, and returned with him to Rome. Others say that when the Romans arrived at Epidaurus they were kindly received by the cit- izens, and when they came to the temple of Esculapins, the serpent, in whose form the god was worshiped, went voluntarily into the
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
ship of the Romans, was carried to Rome, and after delivering the city from the pestilence, was worshiped in the form of a great serpent in a temple erected for him on an isle in the Tiber. Æscu- lapius having restored so many to life that the infernal regions were in danger of becoming depopulated, Pluto complained that his revenues and the number of the dead were very much diminished, and persuaded Jupiter to employ the thunder in destroying the inventor and god of the healing art. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy uttered at his birth.
Thy art shall animate the sleeping dead, And draw the thunder on thy guilty head.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
Pursuant to a notice in the St. Joseph Valley Register, a num- ber of the physicians of St. Joseph county met at the Odd Fellows hall, in South Bend, June 11, 1855, for the purpose of forming a County Medical Society. Dr. R. Pierce was called to the chair, and D. B. Van Tuyl appointed Secretary.
The object of the meeting having been stated, a committee, con- sisting of Drs. Humphreys, Hardman and Buchtel, was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws and report to the meeting, which they accordingly did, their report being received and con- stitution and by-laws adopted.
On the 2d day of July following another meeting was hield and the constitution was signed by the following named physicians: Daniel Dayton, L. Humphreys, Jacob Hardman, David B. Van Tuyl, J. B. Buchtel, Jolın H. Rerick, A. H. Johnson and J. R. Brown. The officers were then elected, as follows: L. Humphreys, President; R. Pierce, Vice-President; J. H. Rerick, Secretary; Jacob Hardman, Treasurer; J. B. Buchtel, D. B. Van Tuyl, J. R. Brown, Committee on Admission.
In pursuance of the objects of their organization, a committee was appointed on "epidemics and epidemic diseases," consisting of Drs. D. B. Van Tuyl, J. R. Brown, J. B. Buchtel, and Reuben Pierce. A committee, consisting of Drs. Dayton, D. B. Van Tuyl, and J. R. Brown, was appointed on "ethics."
At the October meeting, in 1856, considerable discussion ensued in relation to consulting with irregulars, and the practice was gen- erally condemned. Dr. Van Tuyl introduced a resolution allowing members to judge for themselves as to the propriety of such con- sultation, withont throwing any responsibility on the society. The resolution was not acted on at this meeting, and at a subsequent meeting held in January, 1857, it was withdrawn.
At the first regular meeting the following preamble and Consti- tution was adopted:
At a meeting of the physicians of St. Joseph county, Indiana, held pursuant to notice, in South Bend, June 11, 1855, it was
Resolved, That it is expedient to organize a County Medical Society, believ- ing that the popular standard of the medical profession is now too low, and, as a
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
consequence, that many are to be found in its ranks who are not qualified for its high and responsible duties, and that such an organization as is now proposed to be made by this convention, when duly perfected, may be made to embody in its transactions the united views and purposes of the medical profession of this county, hereby rendering more efficient and available the means of promoting true medical science, and enlightening a distorted public sentiment in reference to the healing art. And, further, that it is necessary for emulation and concert of action in the profession, and for securing brotherly and friendly intercourse between all who are the commissioned agents of its responsibilities. Therefore, be it
Resolved, That this convention organize a medical society by volunteer asso- ciation, and adopt the following
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.
SECTION 1. This organization shall be called the " St. Joseph County Medical Society."
SEC. 2. The regular meetings of the society shall be held quarterly in South Bend at such times as the society shall specity.
SEC. 3. This society shall be governed by the system of medical ethics adopted by the American Medical Association. .
SEC. 4. A candidate to be eligible to membership must be of good moral char- acter, and be a graduate of a regular medical school, or a practicing physician eligible to graduate in such school by attending one course of lectures. In which case, if recommended by the Committee on Admissions, and voted for by two thirds of the members present, he may become a member by signing the constitu- tion and by-laws, and paying an initiation fee of one dollar.
SEC. 5. Reputable physicians and surgeons, possessed of the necessary qualifi- cations as set forth in the preceding section, who are present at the adoption of this constitution and by-laws of this society by signing the same and paying the initiation fee, shall be considered members.
SEC. 6. Honorary members shall only be admitted by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at any regular meeting, having first been recommended by the Committee on Admissions.
SEC. 7. A vote of two-thirds of the members present shall be requisite to the expulsion of a member; which vote shall be had in consequence of a report of the Committee on Ethics, and at the next regular meeting subsequent to such report.
SEC. 8. The officers of this society shall be a President, Vice President, Secre- tary, Treasurer, and a Committee on Admissions consisting of three, all of whom shall be elected annually by ballot, on the first Monday in January.
SEC. 9. The President shall preside at all meetings, preserve order, promote the progress of business, appoint committees not otherwise provided for, give the casting vote, perform such other duties as pertain to his office by usage or custom, and deliver a written essay before the society at the close of his term.
SEC. 10. The Vice-President shall assist the President in the discharge of his duties, and preside in his absence.
SEC. 11. The Secretary shall keep a fair record of the proceedings of each meeting, and perform all other duties usually connected with his office.
SEC. 12. The Treasurer shall hold the funds of the society subject to its order, and shall annually exhibit in writing the state of the treasury.
SEC. 13. The Committee on Admissions shall ascertain the eligibility of all applicants for membership, and report thereon to the society.
SEC 14. The following standing committees shall be annually appointed by the President: A committee on medical ethics, a committee of five members who shall make annually a report to this society upon the endemic and epidemic dis- eases which have prevailed during the year in the county, giving in full their pathology and treatment.
SEC. 15. The President may call a meeting at any time when in his judgment the good of the society may require it, or upon petition of a quorum.
SEC. 16. A quorum shall consist of five members for the transaction of business. SEC. 17. The regular stated meetings of this society shall be held on the first Monday in January, April, July and October, commencing at one o'clock P. M.
SEC. 18. Standing committees shall keep regular minutes of their proceedings, and furnish a copy thereof to the Secretary.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
SEC. 19. Any member vacating his membership shall thereby be divested of any right to the funds or property of the society.
SEC. 20. The Committee on Ethics shall hear all complaints of breach of eti- quette or violation of medical ethics, and shall decide all questions of ethics sub- mitted to it, taking the American Code for their guide. If any member shall be charged in writing with any violation of the provisions of the constitution, or with unprofessional conduct, a copy of such charge shall be furnished to him, himself and accuser cited to appear, when the committee shall proceed to hear the case, reserving its decision to be reported to the society, when its action may be affirmed by a majority of the members present.
SEC. 21. No member of this society shall engage in making or using any secret nostrum in his practice, or circulate publicly or privately any hand-billa or cards, claiming to treat general or specific diseases by a method unknown to the profes- sion at large, thereby inducing public patronage on the assumption that he is in possession of a secret or specific remedy, or a secret mode of treating general or specific diseases; and it shall be deemed by this society as unprofessional in any of its members to solicit public patronage by proposing to receive no compensa- tion when no cure follows the treatment in any case of disease.
SEC. 22. It shall be the duty of every member of this society, in attendance at any regular meeting, to report at least one case that has occurred in his practice during the year, embracing its history, treatment and pathology.
SEC. 23. This society shall appoint one or more delegates to the State Medical Society and to the American Medical Association.
SEC. 24. This society shall, as early as practicahle, adopt measures for keeping a meteorological register, noting the temperature and density of the atmosphere, fogs, dews, dew point, rain, hail, hoar-frost, clouds, winds, electrical phenomena, and other conditions that may be supposed to shed light upon the etiology of our diseases.
SEC. 25. This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the society, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, provided the amendment has been proposed in writing at a previous meeting.
In addition to the names already given as forming the society the Constitution was signed by R. Pierce, Andrew Foster, W. W. Butterworth, Ross W. Pierce, F. T. Bryson, G. F. Myers, J. M. Stover, S. Eisenbisc, S. Iligenbotham and S. Laning.
Meetings were held with more or less regularity until 1859, when they ceased altogether. No successful effort was made to revive them for several years. On the 12th day of May, 1865, a number of the physicians of the county assembled at South Bend, re-organ- ized and adopted a new constitution. For about two years the meetings of the society were continued, and again it suspended.
In response to a call issued by Dr. W.W. Butterworth, the mem- bers of the society assembled at the office of Drs. Hamond McAl- lister March 16, 1875, and again re-organized, adopting for their guidance the following :
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE 1. The name and title of this society shall be " The St. Joseph County Medical Society," and shall be auxiliary to and under the control of the Indiana State Medical Society.
ART. 2. The objects of this society shall be the advancement of medical knowl- edge, the elevation of professional character, the protection of the interests of its members, the extension of the bounds of medical science, the promotion of all measures adapted to the relief of the suffering, and to improve the health and pro- tect the lives of the community.
ART. 3 .- Sec. 1. Any graduate in medicine of a respectable medical school or licentiate of any regularly organized medical society, who is in good moral and
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
professional standing, upon signing the constitution and paying three dollars ($3.00) to the Treasurer, shall be entitled to full membership by a vote of the society.
Sec. 2. In the absence of the credentials mentioned in the first section of this article, the candidate for membership, by presenting a certificate of qualification to practice medicine and surgery, from the Board of Censors, may, upon signing the constitution and paying five dollars ($5.00) to the Treasurer, be admitted to full membership by a vote of the society.
ART. 4 .- Sec. 1. The officers of this society shall be a President, two Vice- Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Censors.
Sec. 2. Each officer shall be elected by a vote of all the members present, and serve one year or until a successor is elected.
ART. 5 .- Sec. 1. The President shall preside over the meetings, preserve order, and perform such other duties as.custom and parliamentary usage may require. He may call meetings whenever in his judgment the interests of the society may demand them, or upon the written request of three members of the society. He shall sign certificates of membership and those of discharge; also, the written warrants authorized to be drawn upon the Treasurer, and all the official instru- ments and proceedings of the society. He shall deliver an address before the · society at the close of his official term.
Sec. 2. In the absence of the President his duties shall be performed by one of the Vice-Presidents.
Sec. 3. The Secretary shall keep a fair, legible and correct record of the pro- ceedings of the society, and when approved, transcribe them in a book kept for that purpose. He shall record a list of the members' names with specifications of such as fail to pay their dues, taxes or fines. He shall have charge of all papers belonging to the society, excepting such as may properly belong to the Treasurer. He shall give notice of the meetings of the society. He shall collect the dues of the members to the State Society and forward them with such papers and docu- ments as may he directed to the Secretary of the State Society, on or before the first day of each annual meeting of said State Society.
Sec. 4. The Treasurer shall collect all dues payable to this society and pay, upon presentation, the orders regularly drawn upon him by the Secretary and signed by the President. He shall keep a full account of all moneys received and disbursed, and make satisfactory reports thereof at least annually, and oftener, if required by the society. Upon the expiration of his term of office, he shall ex- hibit to the parties appointed to receive them, an account current of the receipts and disbursements of his term, accompanied with vouchers, and hand over to his successor in office all moneys, books, papers, or other property held and received by virtue of his office.
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Censors to examine candidates for member- ship who have not the credentials prescribed by section first of article third, and when the applicant gives satisfactory evidence of qualifications in the various branches of medical science, give him a certificate of the fact, if in the interim of the meetings, or during a session, report the same directly to the society.
ART. 6 .- Sec. 1. Two-thirds of the members shall constitute a quorum, com - petent to alter or amend this constitution.
Sec. 2. Five members shall constitute a quorum to do any business, except as provided in section first of this article, or levy fines, make assessments, or appropri- ate moneys belonging to the society.
ART. 7 .- Sec. 1. The society shall have full power to adopt such measures as may be deemed most efficient for mutual improvement, for exciting a spirit of emulation, for dissemination of useful knowledge, for promoting friendly profes- sional intercourse among its members, and for the advancement of medical sci- ence.
Sec. 2. It shall have power to censure or expel any who, after due notice of charges preferred, may be convicted of violating its provisions, or of conduct derogatory to the honor of the medical profession, and enforce the observance by its members of the Code of Ethics adopted by the society.
Sec. 3. It shall have the power to compel the attendance of its members upon its meetings and their service upon committees by the imposition of fines, which shall not in any case exceed three dollars: Provided, however, that when satisfac- tory excuse is rendered for delinquency, the society may refuse to assess any fine.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
Sec. 4. It shall have power to raise money of its members for the purpose of securing its ohjects, by a tax which shall not exceed five dollars annually on each member, and the dues annually assessed by the State Society.
Sec. 5. It shall have a right to fix a fee bill for regulating the charges of ita members for their professional services.
Sec. 6. It shal Ihave power to adopt a seal for the use of the society.
Sec. 7. It shall hold at least two meetings annually, and as many more as may be deemed necessary for the promotion of its objects.
Sec. 8. 'The place of each succeeding meeting shall be determined by a vote of the society.
ART. 8 .- Sec. 1. Any member who shall remove from the location he may occupy at the time of his admission into the society, so as to change his postoffice address, shall be considered without the bounds of the society, and shall thereby forfeit his right of membership until he shall have notified the Secretary of the post- office to which his notice of the meetings may properly be directed.
Sec. 2. Such forfeiture of membership shall not exonerate the member from payment of any dues to the society which may at the time be standing against him.
ART. 9. Any member upon signifying his intention or wish to withdraw from the society, and producing a certificate from the Secretary that he is not in arrears to the Treasurer, may be permitted to make such withdrawal: Provided, there are no charges against him of violating the provisions of the society, or of conduct derogatory to the honor of the medical profession, in which case the member shall be required to answer to such charge before permitted to withdraw.
ART. 10. Any member who may be expelled shall be debarred from the right of consultation or any of the privileges of professional intercourse with any mem- ber of the society, and shall forfeit all interest in its funds and property, but shall be held to the payment of all dues he may owe the society at the time of his expul- sion.
ART. 11. This society may admit honorary members, upon compliance of the applicant with the same forms as prescribed for the admission of bona fide mem- bers, except that no initiatory fee shall be required. They shall not be permitted to vote, nor shall they participate in any of the proceedings, except by the express permission of the society.
ART. 12. The funds of this society shall be devoted exclusively to the promo- · tion of its objects as set forth in article second of this constitution.
ART. 13. This society adopts as a part of its regulations the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association.
ART. 14. Every proposal to alter or amend this constitution shall be in writing, and if such proposed alteration or amendment receive the unanimous vote of the meeting-if there be a competent quorum present-it shall be adopted, but if ob- jection be made, it shall lie over until the next regular meeting, when if it receive two-thirds of a quorum competent to amend the constitution, it shall be adopted.
ART. 15. This society may enact by-laws for its government not inconsistent with this constitution.
ART. 16. This society adopts as its scal a circular disc, upon the face of which are the words, " St. Joseph County Medical Society, Indiana, Physiologica Medi- cina Cautioni's et Cura Morborum Vera Scientia est," with the figures "1855," giving date of its organization.
ART. 17. In order more effectually to secure the objects of this society, we hereunto subscribe our names, do agree with, and to each other, that we will faith- fully observe all the requirements of the constitution, Code of Ethics, and all other regulations adopted for the government of the society, and all requirements of the State Medical Society of Indiana, to which this is auxiliary; and that we will in no case whatever, knowingly consult with, or extend the courtesies of the profes- sion to any one who is not a graduate of some respectable medical college, licen- tiate of this or some other regularly organized medical society, or in any other way countenance or encourage quackery in any of its forms or pretensions; for the faithful performance of which we do hereby individually pledge our truth, our honor and professional standing.
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