IKT EHN AT lON ill. MEDICAL CONGHE3S 
9th, WASHINGTON, D. C. 1887  TO 
THE NINTH 
International 
Medical 
Congress, 
[Extracted from the Chicago Medical Journal and Examiner of December, 1885.] 
CHICAGO: 
CLARK & LONGLEY, PRINTERS, 
HB5. The Ninth International Medical Congress. 
So much has already been said and written regarding the 
next International Medical Congress, and the mistakes and 
misunderstandings attending its organization, that it is an un- 
welcome task to say more regarding it. Since, however, there 
appears to be much confusion of ideas, and, also, such an er- 
roneous impression at home and abroad, of the history of the 
efforts at organization, it may lead to a better understand- 
ing of the case if the facts be given, ab initio, in chronological 
order. 
During the annual meeting of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation in Washington, D. C, in May, 1884, a desire was ex- 
pressed that an invitation be extended to the Eighth Interna- 
tional Medical Congress, about to assemble in Copenhagen, De- 
nmark, to hold the next Triennial Congress in Washington, D. C. 
It was understood that in extending such invitation the Ameri- 
can Medical Association was selected, because it represented, 
more fully than any other medical organization in the United States, the whole medical profession of our country. For that 
reason the medical profession considered that its wish and its 
invitation would be regarded as more authoritatively expressed 
if the American Medical Association would consent to become 
sponsor for it, and to issue the invitation. The president of 
the Association, in his address, advised compliance with this 
expressed wish. Thereupon, that part of the president’s ad- 
dress was referred to a committee, who reported as follows : 
“ Dr. J. S. Billings, of the Committee on International Medi- 
cal Congress, presented the following: ‘The committee to 
which was referred that part of the president’s address relating 
to the proposed meeting of the International Medical Congress 
in the United States, in 1887, has the honor to report that it has 
conferred, so far as the limited time at its disposal would allow, 
with leading members of the Association, representing all parts 
of the country, and that the sentiment appears to be practically 
unanimous in favor of carrying out the suggestions made by 
the president. 
“ ‘ The Committee accordingly respectfully submits the fol- 
lowing resolutions with the recommendation that they be 
adopted by the Asssociation: 
“ ‘Resolved, I. That a Committee of seven, of which Dr. Aus- 
tin Flint, the President of this Association shall be a member, 
shall be appointed by the President. 
“ ‘ 2. It shall be the duty of this Committee to extend in be- 
half of the medical profession of the United States to the 
International Medical Congress, about to meet at Copenhagen, 
a cordial invitation to have the next International Medical 
Congress meet at Washington, D, C, in 1887. 
“ ‘Resolved, 2. That the Committee shall elect its own officers, 
and that, in case the invitation is accepted, it shall proceed to 
act as an Executive Committee, with full power to fix the time 
and to make all necessary and suitable arrangements for the 
meeting of such Congress, and to solicit funds for this purpose. 5 
“ ‘ 3. That the Committee shall have power to add to its mem- 
bership ; to perfect its organization, and that to meet the pre- 
liminary expenses of printing, postage, etc., the chairman of 
this Committee is authorized to draw upon the Treasurer of this 
Association for an amount not exceeding four hundred dollars 
‘“(Signed) 
“ ‘ J. S. Billings, 
“ ‘ L. A. Sayre, 
“ ‘ I. Minis Hays, 
“ ‘ H. F. Campbell. 
“ ‘ R. W. Foster not present.’ 
“ On motion, the report was adopted.” 
The committee thus appointed proceeded to Copenhagen 
and presented the invitation. It was considered by the Eighth 
Congress, and formally accepted. 
After the return of the committee to the United States, 
preliminary arrangements were begun by the committee of in- 
vitation, that, under the resolutions above given, was made 
“ an Executive Committee with full power to fix the time and 
to make all necessary and suitable arrangements for the meet- 
ing of such congress, and to solicit funds for this purpose,” 
and, “that the committee shall have power to add to its mem- 
bership, to perfect its organization.” 
It seems that the committee, thus made an executive com- 
mittee, considered that under the resolutions which authorized 
its appointment full power was conferred upon it to make all 
arrangements for the congress, even to the selection of the 
general officers and the arranging of the different working 
sections, and the completion of the organization of each sec- 
tion. In fact, that plenary power had been conferred upon the 
committee by those resolutions, and that the duties of the 
American Medical Association, practically, ceased with the 
appointment of the committee, and the appropriation of funds 
for the specified purposes. 
A large part of the American Medical Association, who 6 
participated in the Washington meeting and voted for the res- 
olutions, claims to have understood their import differently 
from the construction put upon them by the committee, which 
is now generally designated as “the original committee.” The 
incompleteness of the instructions given by these resolutions, 
and the difference in the interpretation of them, seems to have 
been the starting-point of the differences which have so greatly 
divided the profession of our country, and caused so much 
misunderstanding and anxiety abroad. “ The original com- 
mittee” added to its number as it had been specially authorized 
to do, and proceeded not only “to perfect its organization,” 
but also “to perfect” the organization of the congress. 
The resolutions did not original committee to 
the offices of the congress, nor, on the other hand, did they 
say that the members of that committee should not be ap- 
pointed officers of the congress. It is assumed that the 
members of the original committee, and those who were 
added to that committee, making the “ General Committee,” 
acted in accordance with what was believed to be for the best 
interest of the congress, although it has been charged that 
personal considerations had not, in some instances, been sub- 
ordinated to the welfare of the congress. However, in discharg- 
ing the important and difficult duty assigned the committee, 
it was not to be expected that it was practicable to wholly 
avoid mistakes, and in discharging its duties, it performed 
them very well, in many respects. The selections made were, 
in the main, men who are eminent, capable, and representative. 
Whilst it is claimed that mistakes were made, yet they were 
not such as would have had a specially unfavorable influence 
on the congress, except in the rules adopted regulating the 
American membership of the congress, which restricted the 
membership to delegates from organized regular medical so- 7 
cieties and associations, “ and of such persons as may be 
specially designated by the executive committee . . Such 
restriction had not been imposed at the meeting of a congress 
yet held. 
Just prior to the annual meeting, in April, 1885, of the 
American Medical Association, in New Orleans, the Executive 
Committee announced the “ Rules and Preliminary Organiza- 
tion ” of the Ninth Congress, with&ut having reported offi- 
cially to the American Medical Association the fact that it 
had performed the duty assigned it, by the association, of pre- 
senting the invitation, or the fact that the invitation had been 
accepted. 
These acts of omission, and of commission, gave rise to 
criticism upon the course of the Executive Committee, and to 
charges that it had exceeded its authority. There were those 
who, whilst admitting that the resolutions authorized the Com- 
mittee of Invitation to elect its own officers, and to add to its 
membership, yet claimed that in saying that “ it shall proceed 
to act as an Executive Committee, with full power to fix the 
time and to make all necessary and suitable arrangements for 
the meeting of such congress, ...” authority was not 
thereby given to it to select the officers for the congress. It 
was further claimed that the committee which had now be- 
come the “ Executive Committee ” should have reported to 
the American Medical Association, from which it had received 
its appointment and its powers, the preliminary work that had 
been done, in arranging for the congress during the interval 
between the two annual meetings of the Association, and before 
making a public announcement of that preliminary work. It was 
further claimed that when such report should be made, by the 
Executive Committee, it was competent for the association— 
the appointing power—to receive such report and to retain, or altei, or discharge its committee, and to adopt, or modify, or 
reject the report of the work of its committee. 
Here the second misunderstanding seems to have arisen. 
The Executive Committee claimed that it had not exceeded 
its authority, according to its understanding of the power con- 
ferred upon it by the resolutions adopted at the previous an- 
nual meeting of the association; that it had acted in good 
faith, and that it believed that its work had been well done, 
and done with an understanding, on its part, that the commit- 
tee was to be continued intact, and that its work was not to be 
subject to revision or alteration by the association. 
After discussion of these matters in the annual meeting of 
the American Medical Association in April, 1885, at New 
Orleans, when the “ Original Enlarged Committee ” made its 
report to the Association, it was 
1. “Resolved, That the Committee appointed by this Asso- 
ciation, to arrange for the meeting of the International Medi- 
cal Congress in America, in 1887, be enlarged by the addition 
of thirty-eight members, one from each State and Territory, 
the District of Columbia, the Army, Navy and Marine Hos- 
pital service, to be appointed by the Chairman at this meeting, 
and that the committee, thus enlarged, shall proceed at once to 
review, alter and amend the motions of the present Committee 
as it may deem best.” 
(This resolution was amended by the provision, “that the 
members of the Committee should be selected by the respec- 
tive State delegations.”) 
The following is a list of the Committee enlarged in accord- 
ance with the resolution as amended : 
W. E. Anthony, M. D., Providence, R. I.; G. Baird, M. D., 
Wheeling, W. Va.; Robert Battey, M. D., Rome, Ga.; F. W. 
Beard, M. D., Vincennes, Ind.; J. S. Billings, M. D., U. S. 
Army, Washington, D. C; J. M. Browne, M. D., U. S. Navy 9 
Washington, D. C; L. P. Bush, M. D., Wilmington, Del.; H. 
F. Campbell, M. D., Augusta, Ga.; R. Beverly Cole, M. D., 
San Francisco, Cal.; E. P. Cook, M. D., Mendota, 111.; W, C. 
Dabney, M. D., Charlottesville, Va.; Charles Denison, M. D., 
Denver, Col.; W. E. Duncan, M. D., Ellendale, Dakota Ter.; 
J. W. Dupree, M. D., Baton Rouge, La.; Ellsworth Eliot, 
M. D., New York City; G. J. Englemann, M. D., St. Louis, 
Mo.; N. F. Essig, M. D., Plattsburg, Mo.; Austin Flint, M. D., 
EL. D., New York City; E. P. Frazer, M. D., Portland, Ore- 
gon ; George F. French, M. D., Minneapolis, Minn.; A. Y. P. 
Garnett, M. D., Washington, D. C; S. C. Gordon, M. D., Port- 
land, Me.; J. W. S. Gouley, M. D., New York City; F. M. 
Gunnell, M. D., U. S. Navy, Washington, D. C.; John B. Ham- 
ilton, M. D., U. S. Marine Hospital Service, Washington, D. 
C; I. M. Hays, M. D,, Philadelphia, Pa.; C. Johnston, M. D., 
Baltimore, Md.; George A. Ketchum. M. D., Mobile, Ala.; R. 
A. Kinloch, M. D., Charleston, S. C.; D. A. Linthicum, M.D., 
Helena, Ark.; John S. Lynch, M. D., Baltimore, Md.; J. J. 
McAchran, M. D., Laramie City, Wyom. Ter.; J. W. Mc- 
Laughlin, M. D., Austin, Tex.; R. C. Moore, M. D., Omaha, 
Neb.; Robert Murray, M. D., U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.; 
R. D. Murray, M. D., Moultrie, Fla.; J. W. Parsons, M. D., 
Portsmouth, N. H.; William Pierson, M. D., Orange, N. J.; 
N. J. Pitman, M, D., Tarboro, N. C.; L. A. Sayre, M. D., New 
York City; X. C. Scott, M. D., Cleveland, O.; Nicholas Senn, 
M. D., Milwaukee, WisJ JohnV. Shoemaker, M. D., Philadel- 
phia, Pa.; F. L. Sim, M. D., Memphis, Tenn.; A. R. Smart, M. 
D., Hudson, Mich.; D. W. Stormont, M, D,, eTopeka, Kan.; 
J. M. Taylor, M. D., Corinth, Miss.; E, F. Upham, M. D., 
West Randolph, Vt; W. H. Wathen, M. D., Louisville, Ky.; 
W. Watson, M. D., Dubuque, lowa.; W. C. Wile, M. D., 
Sandy Hook, Conn.; A. H. Wilson, M. D., Boston, Mass. 10 
At an informal meeting of the Committee, held at New 
Orleans during the session of the American Medical Associa- 
tion, in April, 1885, Dr. R. Beverly Cole, of San Francisco, 
Cal., was elected temporary Chairman, and Dr. John V. Shoe- 
maker, of Philadelphia, Pa , was elected temporary Secretary. 
Just before the final adjournment of the Association the fol- 
lowing was adopted : 
Resolved, That the Committee appointed in pursuance of a 
resolution adopted by this Association, April 30, 1885, to con- 
stitute an addition to the original Committee of seven previ- 
ously appointed to invite and make arrangements for the meet- 
ing of the International Medical Congress, to be held in 
Washington, D. C, in 1887, be, and the said Committee is 
hereby, authorized and empowered to select a Chairman and a 
Secretary, and to fill all vacancies that may occur by death or 
inability to attend th£ Committee meetings, and to appoint the 
officers of the Congress. 
This resolution has been construed as eliminating from 
the “ General Committee ” the President of the American 
Medical Association, added by vote, and, also, the mem- 
bers added by the “Original Committee,” in accordance 
with the authority given it at the previous annual meeting of 
the Association. It is claimed that the wording of this reso- 
lution, whatever may have been its intent, is not conclusive 
that, by the passage of that resolution, the Association re- 
scinded its act of a year before, when it authorized such ad- 
ditions to the membership of the “ Original Committee. ” The 
two material points of this resolution are, that it is held by 
some that it left the status of the twenty-eight members 
added, in doubt; and that it definitely “empowered” its second 
“enlarged ” Committee of Arrangements “ to appoint the offi- 
cers of the congress.” 
The second enlarged Committee held its first meeting at Chicago, 111., on June 24th and June 25th, 1885, for the pur- 
poses of organization and the transaction of the business com- 
mitted to it by the American Medical Association. 
11 
In order to facilitate the holding of meetings in different 
sections of the country, the Committee deemed it advisable to 
select a Vice-Chairman, in addition to a Chairman and a 
Secretary. 
The following named members were present at the meeting 
held in Chicago: 
G. Baird, M. D., Wheeling, W. Va. 
Robert Battey, M. D., Rome, Ga. 
F. W. Beard, M. D., Vincennes, Ind. 
J. S. Billings, M. D., Washington, D. C. 
R. Beverly Cole, M. D., San Francisco, Cal. 
E. P. Cook, M. D., Mendota, 111. 
W. E. Duncan, M. D., Ellendale, Dakota Ter. 
Ellsworth Eliot, M. D., New York City. 
N. F. Essig, M. D., Plattsburg, Mo. 
G. F. French, M. D., Minneapolis, Minn. 
A. Y. P. Garnett, M. D., Washington, D. C. 
John B. Hamilton, M. D., Washington, D. C. 
I. M. Hays, M. D., Philadelphia, Pa. 
George A. Ketchum, M. D., Mobile, Alabama. 
D. A. Linthicum, M. D., Helena, Ark. 
John S. Lynch, M. D., Baltimore, Md. 
J. W. McLaughlin, M. D., Austin, Texas. 
X. C. Scott, M. D., Cleveland, O. 
Nicholas Senn, M. D., Milwaukee, Wis. 
John V. Shoemaker, M. D., Philadelphia, Pa. 
F. L. Sims, M. D., Memphis, Tenn. 
A. R. Smart, M. D., Hudson, Mich, 
D. W. Stormont, M. D., Topeka, Kan. 12 
E. F. Upham, M. D., West Randolph, N. Y. 
W. H. Wathen, M. D., Louisville, Ky. 
W. Watson, M. D., Dubuque, lowa. 
A. H. Wilson, M. D., Boston, Mass. 
The resignation of Dr. Austin Flint, of New York, as a 
member of the Committee, was presented and accepted. Dr. 
J. W. S. Gouley, New York, was elected to fill the vacancy, 
and took his seat with the Committe. 
The Committee then organized, a majority of its members 
being present, by the election of the following officers : 
Chairman, Dr. R. Beverly Cole, San Francisco, Cal. 
Vice-Chairman, Dr. John S. Lynch, Baltimore, Md. 
Secretary, Dr. John V. Shoemaker, Philadelphia, Pa. 
After the organization of the Committee, the number of 
members necessary for a quorum for future meetings was fixed 
at fifteen. 
The following preamble and resolution were adopted, to 
apply to future meetings of the Committee: 
“ Whereas.—It is expedient that the meetings of this Com- 
mittee shall represent, as far as practicable, the profession of all 
portions of our country, 
“ Resolved.—That any member of this Committee who may 
be unable to attend a meeting, shall be empowered to send as 
his proxy for the meeting any member of the American Medi- 
cal Association, in good professional standing and a resident 
of his State or a member of his Government Department.” 
It was agreed that member: of the Committee of Arrange- 
ments should not be elected officers of the Congress. 
Under the instructions embodied in the Association’s reso- 
lution, the committee proceeded to “ review, alter and amend 
the action of the original committee of eight, by the adoption 
of the following general plan of organization. 
i. The Congress shall be composed of members of the 13 
regular medical profession, who shall have inscribed their 
names on the register, and taken out their tickets of admission. 
The American members of the Congress shall consist of 
delegates from the American Medical Association, and the 
medical societies in affiliation with the American Medical As- 
sociation, each of said societies being entitled to appoint one 
delegate for every ten of its members. 
The members of all special and subordinate committees, 
appointed by the Committee of Arrangements, shall also be 
entitled to membership in the Congress, and such other scien- 
tific men as are approved by the Executive Committee, 
All societies entitled to representation are requested to elect 
their delegates at their last regular meeting preceding the 
meeting of the Congress, and to furnish the Secretary-General 
with a certified list of the delegates so appointed. 
2. The work of the Congress shall be divided into sixteen 
sections, as follows, namely: 
1. Medical Education, Legislation and Registration, includ- 
ing methods of teaching, apparatus, etc., con- 
nected therewith. 
2. Anatomy. 
3. Physiology. 
4. Pathology. 
5. Medicine. 
6. Surgery. 
7. Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 
8. Ophthalmology. 
9. Otology. 
10. Dermatology and Syphilis. 
11. Laryngology. 
12. Public and International Hygiene. 
13. Collective Investigation, Nomenclature, Vital Statistics 
and Climatology. 14 
14. Military and Naval Surgery and Medicine. 
15. Practical and Experimental Therapeutics. 
16. Diseases of Children. 
3- The general meetings shall be reserved for the transac- 
tion of the general business of the Congress, and for addresses 
or ommunications of scientific interest more general in charac- 
ter than those presented in the Sections. 
4. Questions which have been agreed upon for discussion 
in the Sections shall be introduced by members previously 
nominated by the officers of the Sections. The members who 
may be appointed to open the discussions shall present, in 
advance, a statement of the conclusions which they have formed 
as a basis for debate. 
5. Notices of papers to be read in any of the Sections, 
together with the abstracts of the same, must be sent to 
the Secretary of that Section before April 30, 1887. These ab- 
stracts will be regarded as confidential communications, and 
will not be published until the meeting of the Congress. 
Papers relating to questions not included in the list of sub- 
jects suggested by the officers of the various Sections will be 
received. Any member, after April 30, wishing to bring 
forward a subject not upon the programme, must give notice 
of his intention to the Secretary-General at least twenty-one 
days before the opening of the Congress. The titular officers 
and Council of each Section shall decide as to the acceptance 
of any communication offered to their Section, and shall fix 
the time of its presentation. No communication will be 
received which has been already published or read before a 
Society. 
6. All addresses, papers and discussions made either at 
general meetings or in the Sections are to be immediately 
handed to the Secretaries. The Executive Committee, after the conclusion of the Congress, shall proceed with the publication 
,of the Transactions, and shall have full power to decide which 
papers shall be published, and whether in whole or in part. 
7. The official languages are English, French and Ger- 
man. 
In the Sections no speaker will be allowed more than ten 
minutes, with the exception of readers of papers and those who 
introduce debates, who may occupy twenty minutes. 
8. The rules, programmes and abstracts of papers shall be 
published in English, French and German. 
Each paper or address will appear in the Transactions in 
the language in which it was delivered by the author. The 
debates will be printed in English. 
9. The officers of the Committee of Arrangements shall be 
a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and a Secretary. 
10. There shall be an Executive Committe, to be composed 
of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary-General, Treasurer, 
the Chairman of the Finance Committee, the Secretary and 
five other members, to be elected by the Committee of Ar- 
rangements. The duties of the Executive Committee shall be 
to carry out the directions of the Committee of Arrangements, 
to authorize such expenditures as may be necessary, and to 
act for the Committee during the intervals of its sessions, 
reporting such action at the next meeting of the Committee, 
for approval. 
n. There shall be a Standing Committee on Finance, 
composed of one person from each State, Territory, the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, the Medical Departments of the Army, 
Navy and the Marine Hospital Service. The Chairman of the 
Finance Committee shall be ex officio one of the Vice-Presi- 
dents of the Congress, and also a member of the Executive 
Committee. The Committee of Arrangements shall appoint the Finance Committee,,and each State chairman appoint the 
local Finance Committee of one from each Congressional 
District. 
12. The officers of the Congress shall be a President, such 
number of Vice-Presidents as may hereafter be determined on, 
a Secretary-General, two Assistant Secretaries, also to be 
hereafter appointed, and a Treasurer, and those elected to 
these positions will be nominated by the Committee of Ar- 
ment, to hold the same offices in the Congress. 
Dr. Austin Flint was continued as President of the con- 
gress, as were many of the other officers previously selected. 
In fact, the personel of the congress was not greatly changed. 
Two of the Vice-Presidents were not continued, and eleven 
others were added. The Secretary-General declined to be 
continued, and another was elected to that office. 
The number of the sections was reduced from nineteen to 
sixteen, by merging sections. Twelve of the Presidents of 
sections remained unchanged. The merging of sections 
changed three of the presidents, and four others were not con- 
tinued. 
In the offices of Vice-President, Secretary and Council, the 
principal changes made were in enlarging the number of each. 
The principal changes made in the rules for the government 
of the congress consisted in requiring that “the American 
members of the congress shall consist of delegates from the 
American Medical Association, and the medical societies in 
affiliation with the American Medical Association,” which 
restricted the American membership even more than the con- 
ditions imposed by the “ original enlarged committee,” and 
made the same mistake of proposing two classes of members 
for the congress. Another change reduced the number of the 
sections, and, consequently, of presidents of sections, as pre- 17 
viously stated. But little change was made regarding the or- 
ganization and the work of the sections. 
Having progressed thus far toward the organization of the 
congress, the Committee of Arrangements adjourned. 
After the adjournment it was charged that the action taken 
was partisan, hasty and ill-advised, and in contravention of the 
best interests of the congress, for which alleged reasons nu- 
merous resignations from the organization occurred. 
The second meeting of the Committee of Arrangements was 
held in New York city, on the 3rd of September. The follow- 
ing named members were present: 
Dr. G. Baird, Dr. Robert Battey, Dr. L. P. Bush, Dr. R. 
Beverly Cole, Dr. W. C. Dabney, Dr. Ellsworth Eliot, Dr. A. 
Y. P. Garnett, Dr, S. C. Gordon, Dr. J. W. S. Gouley, Dr. J. 
B. Hamilton, Dr. George A. Ketchum, Dr. R. A. Kinloch, 
Dr. D. A. Linthicum, Dr. John S. Lynch, Dr. R. C. Moore, 
Dr. William Pierson, Dr. N. J. Pitman, Dr. L. A. Sayre, Dr, 
X. C. Scott, Dr. John V. Shoemaker, Dr. F. L. Sim, Dr. E. F. 
Upham, Dr. W. H. Wathen, Dr. W. C. Wile, Dr. A. H. Wilson. 
Other members were represented by proxies : 
Dr. E. P. Cook, by Dr. N. S. Davis, proxy; Dr. A. R. 
Smart, by Dr. William Brodie, proxy; Dr. J. M. Taylor, by 
Dr. E. P. Sale, proxy. 
The committee was called to order September 3rd, 1885, by 
the Chairman, Dr. R, Beverly Cole. 
The resignation of Dr. L. A. Sayre, of New York, as 
member of the committee was tendered in consequence of his 
ill-health. It was accepted, and Dr. A. Flint, Jr., of New York, 
was elected to fill the vacancy and took his seat with the 
committee. There were seven vacancies in the Committee of Arrange- 
ments, and the following gentlemen were elected to fill their 
vacancies: 
Dr. J. Bartlett, Wisconsin; Dr. J. H. Baxter, U. S. Army; 
Dr. George Goodfellow, Arizona; Dr. Henry Leffman, Penn- 
sylvania; Dr. John Morris, Maryland; Dr. J. R. Tipton, New 
Mexico; Dr. Thomas J. Turner, U. S. Navy. 
It was decided that no'person should occupy more than one 
position in the organization of the congress. 
It was also decided that, in the published lists of the officers 
of the congress, the names of the Vice-Presidents and Secretaries 
of the congress, and the Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and mem- 
bers of Councils of the Sections, should be arranged alpha- 
betically. 
The Section of Medical Education was discontinued. The 
Sections of Gynaecology and Psychological Medicine and Dis- 
eases of the Nervous System, and of Dental and Oral Surgery 
were restored. The Section of Laryngology was united with 
that of Otology. 
In the interval between the first meeting of the committee 
in Chicago, in June, and the second meeting in New York, in 
September, it had become evident that it was not best to make 
two classes of members of the congress, and that no effort 
should be made to make the congress a delegated body. 
Therefore the Committee of Arrangements wisely concluded 
to remove all previous restrictions imposed, and to make the re- 
quirements for membership as liberal as they had been in any con- 
gress yet held, and adopted the following plan of organization : 
THE RULES ADOPTED ARE; 
I. The congress shall consist of members of the regular 
profession of medicine, who shall have inscribed their names 
on the register and shall have taken out their tickets of admis sion; and of such other scientific men as the Executive 
Committee of the congress may see fit to admit. 
2. The dues for members of the congress shall be ten 
dollars each for members residing in the United States. 
There shall be no dues for members residing in foreign 
countries. 
Each member ol the congress shall be entitled to receive a 
copy of the “Transactions” for 1887. 
3. The congress shall be divided as follows, into seventeen 
sections: 
I. General Medicine. 
11. General Surgery. 
111. Military and Naval Surgery. 
IV. Obstetrics. 
V. Gynaecology. 
VI. Therapeutics and Materia Medica. 
VII. Anatomy. 
VIII. Physiology. 
IX. Pathology. 
X. Diseases of Children. 
XL Ophthalmology. 
XII. Otology and Laryngology. 
XIII. Dermatology and Syphilis. 
XIV. Public and International Hygiene. 
XV. Collective Investigation, Nonemclature, Vital Sta- 
tistics, and Climatology. 
XVI. Psycological Medicine and Diseases of the Nervous 
System. 
XVII. Dental and Oral Surgery. 
4. The general meetings of the congress shall be for the 
transaction of business and for addresses and communications 
of general scientific interest. 20 
5» Questions and topics that have been agreed upon for 
discussion in the sections shall be introduced by members 
previously designated by the titular officers of each section. 
Members who shall have been appointed to open discussions 
shall present in advance statements of the conclusions which 
they have formed as a basis for debate. 
6. Brief abstracts of papers to be read in the sections shall 
be sent to the secretaries of the proper sections on or before 
April 30, 1887. These abstracts shall be treated as confiden- 
tial communications, and shall not be published before the 
meeting of the congress. 
Papers relating to topics not included in the lists of subjects 
proposed by the officers of the sections may be accepted after 
April 30, 1887 ; and any member wishing to introduce a topic 
not on the regular lists of subjects for discussion shall give 
notice of the same to the secretary-general, at least twenty-one 
days before the opening of the congress, and such notices shall 
be promptly transmitted by the secretary-general to the presi- 
dents of the proper sections. The titular officers of each 
section shall decide as to the acceptance of such proposed 
communications and the time for their presentation. 
7. All formal addresses, scientific communications and 
papers presented, and scientific discussions held at the general 
meetings of the congress, shall be promptly given in writing 
to the secretary-general; and all papersjaresented andMiscus- 
sions held at the meetings of the sections shall be promptly 
given in writing to the secretaries of the proper sections. 
No communication shall be received which has already been 
published, or read before a society. 
The Executive Committee, after the final adjournment of 
the congress, shall direct the editing and the publication of its 
Transactions,” and shall have the full power to publish the 21 
papers presented and the discussions held thereon, either in 
full, in part, or in abstract, as in the judgment of the committee 
may be deemed best. 
8. The official languages of the congress shall be English, 
French and German. 
In the meetings of the sections, no member shall be allowed 
to speak for more than ten minutes, with the exceptions of the 
readers of papers and those who introduce subjects for dis- 
cussion, who may each occupy twenty minutes. 
9. The rules and programmes shall be published in English, 
French and German. 
Each paper and address shall be printed in the “ Transac- 
tions” in the language in which it was presented, and prelim- 
inary abstracts of papers and addresses also shall be printed, 
each in the language in which it is to be delivered. 
All discussions shall be printed in English. 
10. The president of the congress, the secretary-general, 
the treasurer, the chairman of the Finance Committee, and 
the presidents of the sections, shall together constitute an 
Executive' Committee of the* congress, which committee shall 
direct the business of the congress, shall authorize all ex- 
penditures for the immediate purposes of the congress, shall 
supervise and audit the accounts of the treasurer, and shall fill 
all vacancies in the offices of the congress and of the sections. 
This committee shall have power to add to its membership, 
but the total number of members shall not exceed thirty. A 
number equal to one-third of the members of the committee 
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
11. The officers of the congress shall be a president, vice- 
presidents, a secretary-general, four associate secretaries, one 
of whom shall be the French secretary, and one of whom 22 
shall be the German secretary, a treasurer, and the chairman 
of the Finance Committee. 
12. The officers of each section shall be a president, vice- 
presidents, secretaries, and a council. 
13. The officers of the congress and the officers of the 
sections shall be nominated to the congress at the opening of 
its first session. 
14. The Executive Committee shall, at some convenient 
time before the meeting of the congress, prepare a list of 
foreign vice-presidents of the congress and foreign vice-presi- 
dents of the sections, to be nominated to the congress at the 
opening of its first session. 
15. There shall be a standing Committee on Finance, com- 
posed of one representative from each state and territory, the 
District of Columbia, the medical department of the army, the 
medical department of the navy, and the marine hospital 
service. 
The chairman of the Finance Committee shall report to the 
Executive Committee of the congress. 
Each member of the Finance Committee shall appoint a 
local Finance Committee fcr his state, territory, district, or 
government department, consisting of one or more members 
from each government department or congressional district. 
Each local Finance Committee shall report through its 
chairman to the chairman of the Finance Committee of the 
congress. 
The committee then proceeded to fill the more important 
positions found to be vacant in the organization of the con- 
gress. The following is a correct list of the general officers 
of the congress, including Vice-Presidents, and also the Presi- 
dents of the seventeen sections : 23 
PRESIDENT. 
Austin Flint, M. D., LL. D., New York. 
VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
W. O. Baldwin, M. D., Alabama; *H. I. Bowditch, M. D., 
Massachusetts ; William Brodie, M. D., Michigan; * Henry F. 
Campbell, M. D., Georgia; W. W. Dawson, M. D., Ohio; * R. 
Palmer Howard, M. D., Canada; E. M. Moore, M. D., New 
York; Tobias G. Richardson, M. D., Lousiania; Lewis A. 
Sayre, M. D , New York ; J. M. Toner, M. D., District of Col- 
umbia; the President of the American Medical Association; 
the Surgeon-General of the United States Army; the Sur- 
geon-General of the United States Navy; the Supervising 
Surgeon-General of the United States Marine Hospital 
Service. 
Nathan S. Davis, M. D., LL. D., Chicago, Illinois 
SECRETARY-GENERAL. 
TREASURER. 
E. S. F. Arnold, M. D., M. R. C. S, New York. 
CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. 
Frederick S. Dennis, M. D., M. R. C S., New York. 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CONGRESS. 
Austin Flint, M. D., LL. D., President of the Congress. 
Nathan S. Davis, M. D., LL. D., Secretary-General. 
E. S. F. Arnold, M. D., M. R. C. S., Treasurer. 
Frederick S. Dennis, M. D., M. R. C. S., Chairman of the 
Finance Committee. 
GENERAL OFFICERS. 
General Medicine.—Abram B. Arnold, M. D. 
General Surgery.—William T. Briggs, M. D. 
PRESIDENTS OF THE SECTIONS. 
* Since resigned. 24 
Military and Naval Medicine and Surgery.—Henry H. 
Smith, M. D. 
Obstetrics—DeLaskie Miller, M. D., Ph. D. 
* Gyncecology.—Robert Battey, M. D. 
Therapeutics and Materia Medica.—F. H. Terrill, M. D. 
Anatomy.—William H. Pancoast, M. D. 
* Physiology.—John C. Dalton, M. D. 
* Pathology.—E. O. Shakespeare, M. D. 
Diseases of Children.—J, Lewis Smith, M. D. 
Ophthalmology.—A. W. Calhoun, M. D. 
Otology and Laryngology.—S. J. Jones, M. D., LL. D. 
Dermatology and Syphilis—A. R. Robinson, M. D. 
Public and International Hygiene.—Joseph Jones, M. D. 
Collective Investigation, Vital Statistics, and Climatology. 
—Henry O. Marcy, M. D. 
Psychological Medicine and Nervous Diseases.—John P 
Gray, M. D., LL,, D. 
Dental and Oral Surgery.—J on a than Tafft, M. D. 
LOCAL COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 
(With power to increase the number.) 
A. Y. P. Garnett, M. D., Chairman, Dist. of Columbia. 
The Surgeon-General U. S. Army. 
The Surgeon-General U. S. Navy. 
The Supervising Surgeon-General U. S. Marine Hospital 
Service. 
J. H. Baxter, M. D., District of Columbia. 
C. H. A. Kleinschmidt, M. D., District of Columbia. 
N. S. Lincoln, M. D., District of Columbia. 
J. M. Toner, M. D., District of Columbia. 
*Since resigned. 25 
Lists of Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, and Councilmen for 
each section were named by the Committee of Arrange- 
ments, but as it was not practicable to ascertain at once who 
would accept the places assigned them, or who of those who 
had been announced in the medical press as declining to ac- 
cept positions before the present rules and organization had 
been adopted as given above might wish to withdraw such 
declination, the final adjustment of these offices was referred 
to the Executive Committee of the congress, and all corre- 
spondence in relation thereto was transferred to the Secre- 
tary-General of the congress. 
Having thus selected the officers of the congress and the 
presidents of the sections, who together were made an “ Ex- 
ecutive Committee,” the committee of arrangements consid- 
ered its work practically completed, and placed the affairs of 
the congress in charge of the “Executive Committee,” and 
now awaits the assembling of the American Medical Associa- 
tion in St. Louis, in May next, to report the completion of the 
work assigned to it by the Association, whereupon the Asso- 
ciation will be in position to say to the medical profession of 
the country that it discharged the duty undertaken by it, of 
extending an invitation to have the ninth congress held in 
Washington; that the invitation was accepted and that, 
through its committee of arrangements, the congress has been 
organized and the affairs of the congress placed in charge of 
the executive committee of the congress, and that the Associ- 
ation need no longer regard itself as holding any official rela- 
tion to the congress. 
It was with this understanding of its status that the Execu- 
tive Committee assumed the management of the work of the 
congress, and it so announced after its first meeting and or- 
ganization. 26 
The first meeting of the executive committee of the con- 
gress occured in New York city on September 24th, and was 
organized by electing Henry H. Smith, M. D., Chairman. 
The office of Associate Secretary-General was created, and F. 
S. Dennis, M. D., was elected to that office, and R. J. Dungli- 
son, M. D., was elected chairman of the finance committee, in 
place of F. S. Dennis, transferred. 
After the transaction of some routine business, and direct- 
ing that an official announcement be made that the prelimi- 
nary organization of the congress had been effected, the com- 
mittee adjourned. 
The second meeting of the executive committee occured in 
New York city on November 18th. There being vacancies 
in the office of President of three of the sections, the execu- 
tive committee numbered nineteen; of these, fifteen were 
present. 
R. J. Dunglison, M. D., was elected permanent Secretary of 
the committee. Some routine business was transacted, and 
some vacancies in some of the sections were filled. 
Then, acting under the authority conferred upon the execu- 
tive committee by rule ten, and as contemplated by the com- 
mittee of arrangements when it transferred the affairs of the 
congress to the executive committee, the latter committee 
unanimously elected six additional members of the commit- 
tee, viz.: 
J. S. Billings, M. D., U. S. Army ; J. M. Browne, M. D., U. 
S. Navy; Christopher Johnston, M. D., of Baltimore, and G. 
J. Engleman, M. D., of St. Louis, all of the “original commit- 
tee”, and, also, William Pepper, M. D., and J. M. Da Costa, 
M. D., both of Philadelphia. 
It was then decided to postpone the filling of the other 
vacancies, including the presidencies of the three sections, in 27 
order that the newly-elected members might participate in fill- 
ing them, if they should accept the positions to which they 
had been elected. 
This course on the part of the committee was taken in 
recognition of the fact that there exists much misunderstand- 
ing in the profession regarding the organization of the con- 
gress, which fact has prevented the cordial cooperation o* 
many whose recognized rank in the medical profession entitles 
them to prominent positions in a congress, international and 
important in character. The committee appreciated the fact 
that it now stands in a capacity of trust, not alone for the 
medical profession of the United States, much less for the fac- 
tions in it, but for the entire medical profession that is expected 
to participate in the congress, and that its course of action 
should be such as w,ould give evidence that it appreciated the 
fact and felt the responsibility that attaches to such an impor- 
tant trust. It therefore sought, in making selection of those 
to be added, to elect such as would properly represent those 
not represented in the preliminary organization. Having 
done this, the committee adjourned, and awaits the action of 
the newly-elected members.