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<r' ANNUAL ADDRESS 
BEFORE THE 
NEW YORK STATE 
ll]ciiiuvo))atl)dr 4l|cilical J^oridg, 
DELIVERED IN THE 
A S S E ¥ ft L Y C II A M l! E ft. 
AT ALBANY, 
BY 
J. W. Dowling, M. D., 
Prof, of Practice in the New York Homoeopathic 
Medical College. _ 
3Uiv 5)crl%: 
Carle & Grenf.r, Stationers and Printers, 25 Broad Street. 
1873. ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
Wendell Phillips, in his lecture on the “ Lost Arts,” contends 
that in nearly every science the ancients were the equals of the 
present generation, and from his conclusive arguments, you would 
be led to believe that all recent discoveries are, in reality, merely 
revivals of sciences and arts, long since lost to the world ; that 
although Morse has the credit of discovering the means of com- 
municating thoughts over thousands of miles of wire, telegraphy 
was not unknown to them ; that railroads were in existence in 
those days ; that printing and book-making were among the arts 
known to the ancients; that the manufacture of glassware, which 
is considered a comparatively recent discovery, was in a greater 
state of perfection then than at the present day—in fact, that there 
is conclusive evidence of the existence of malleable glass, perfectly 
transparent but deprived of its brittleness. And so he, in every 
science but that of medicine, contends that the ancients were our 
equals if not our superiors. “ But that of Medicine ! ” Upon 
this subject he is silent. Perhaps there was such an advanced state 
of civilization that no such science was required. For it is con- 
tended even at the present day, by many intelligent men, that 
health depends upon conditions, which, if observed, will render 
medicine entirely unnecessary. In the language of a distin- 
guished writer, “ health depends upon diet, exercise, sleep, the 
state of the mind, and the state of the atmosphere, and upon 
nothing else.” It is recorded of a very successful practitioner who 
had seen the evil consequences of drugging under the old-fash- 4 
ANNUAL APDRF.SS. 
ioned method of prescribing, that for four years he attended to 
the duties of a large practice without administering a single dose 
of any kind of medicine, merely laying down certain hygienic- 
rules and attending, as far as possible, individually to their en- 
forcement. And during these four years, of several physicians 
he was the most successful in the town. 1'he physicians of the 
hospital at Dresden, in Germany, which had been, since its 
opening, conducted according to the allopathic method of 
treatment, decided, after witnessing the recoveries under the 
homoeopathic treatment, to try in a portion of their wards, the 
expectant system, which consists in leaving the disease almost 
wholly to the efforts of nature, the removing of deranging influ- 
ences, but allowing no medicinal interference whatever. The 
results were astonishing; in fact, alarming; for the post-mortems 
fell off so rapidly as seriously to interfere with the proper instruc- 
tion of the medical students attending the daily clinics of the 
Institution. 
Unfortunately these arts and sciences, if they did exist, were 
lost. They have, however, been revived, rediscovered—and that, 
too, within comparatively a few years, until, at the present time, 
there hardly seems to be room for advancement. Go back even 
to the early recollection of many of those present to-night, and 
note the improvements in almost everything necessary for the 
comfort of man. How many of you can remember when the 
only method of traveling by land was in the old stage-coach, and 
by water in vessels propelled by sails; while now we can travel 
sixty miles an hour over the land comfortably housed, and on 
the water in floating palaces at nearly half that rate of speed. 
With these improvements, as they are called, sickness has in- 
creased, the life of man is rendered shorter than then. And with 
this increase comes a necessity for more skill with which to com- 
bat disease. The science of medicine hardly kept pace with the 
improvement in other sciences; but it has taken such rapid ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
5 
strides of late, that it now seems as if but little could be done 
towards rendering it perfect. 
It is my purpose this evening to dwell briefly upon the advance- 
ment, the entire revolution which has been made in medicine 
within the last few years, and the rapid strides which Homoe- 
opathy has taken within the memory of the youngest of us, and 
particularly in our own, the Empire State. I propose to be brief, 
for I do not claim to be one of the few who can hold an audience 
spell-bound for hours, and am well aware that in the minds of 
many, a sermon, or an annual address, to be interesting, must be 
short. To use the invariable closing clause of the marriage cere- 
mony of a distinguished clergyman to whom I was in the habit of 
listening, and who on two occasions has performed that interesting 
ceremony for me, “ I will not weary your attention by any length- 
ened remarks, as I am well aware that brevity, on these occasions, 
is always the most acceptable.” 
I have in my library a very old work on medicine, published in 
the year 1598, nearly three hundred years ago. I have been much 
amused and interested in perusing its pages, which, by-the-by, is 
no easy matter, and anything but rapid work. It is evidently one 
of the earliest books on this subject published in the English 
language, for in its introduction it says, “ until within a recent 
period the sick were placed in the streets and highways, that all 
passing and repassing might behold them, and seeing that poor 
afflicted soul in such a miserable and lamentable state, themselves 
having had the same disease at divers and sundry times, might 
the better and easier participate unto the patient the means 
whereby they recovered and attained unto their pristinate and 
accustomed health; and because in their times, also, in the self- 
same way, all sick and diseased persons might, through the mercy 
and will of God, be of their maladies cured. And that all might 
be cured of their maladies, these rules for the cure of the sick, 
have been, through many excellent and God-inspired men, com- 6 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
pacted and compiled together in this perfection and excellency." 
And then, as a prelude to the work, the author says, very sensi- 
bly too, “a true physician must first of all know, before he may 
employ himself to the practice of physic, to wit: that he not only 
must properly and very well know the complexions of the sick— 
his strength, age, his affairs and manner of living—but also the 
sickness itself, with all the circumstances thereof.” And without 
giving the slightest information as to how this knowledge is to be 
acquired, he commences with his prescriptions for certain trou- 
bles. The first of which, in the index, is: “A capital corrobora- 
tion, which is very excellent; ” the next, which must have been 
very valuable, is “ A good confection for an imbecile head ; ” then 
“ A most excellent water for the head, called the Emperor Charles, 
his water, which will certainly fortify and corroborate the mem- 
ory.” This decoction consists of some twenty or thirty different 
ingredients, which must be mixed and prepared at certain seasons 
of the year, and then, to accomplish the wonderful result, must 
be snuffed through the nostrils. 
We have an excellent remedy for “ the sudden striking of God’s 
hand,” by which, I suppose, he means paralysis. One of the best 
remedies recommended for this is “asses’ blood, especially blood 
of a miller’s ass, which must be taken out of the ear of the ani- 
mal; dose, three drops three times daily; and with God’s aid 
he will recover the use of his members.” And then we have “ an 
excellent water for the naughty scabies” and an unguent for the 
same, consisting of pulverized brimstone and fresh butter, which 
is used at the present day for the same condition.” 
We have also “ A precious remedy for the restoration of the 
sight,” composed of pulverized crickets, with which the*eye is to 
be anointed ; this remedy is said to have restored the sight of the 
Archduke Frederick, after a total blindness of seven years’ dura- 
tion. Next is “ An excellent, most true, and tried remedy for 
sterility.” ANNUAL ADDRESS 
7 
Also, “A purgative powder, consisting of young nettles and 
the buds of elder.” We have also “ The balm of the poor little 
unbor?i infants.” 
This author was certainly more considerate in his prescriptions 
to the poor than physicians of the present day. For he has rem- 
edies for the poor and others for the rich, suffering from the same 
complaints. In one instance, the refuse of the barnyard, in a 
decoction of cinnamon water, is prescribed for a poor woman suf- 
fering from certain conditions. Following this is “ Another for 
rich folks,” the component parts of which are “ white amber, coral, 
white and blue saphyrs, pickerels’ eyes and teeth, hartes’ bones, 
and filings of gold, which must be pulverized together and admin- 
istered in drachm doses.” This work is made up of just such 
prescriptions, many of them inert in their character, possessing 
the quality which has been attributed to our homoeopathic reme- 
dies, of being, to say the least, harmless. 
Only in one instance, in the entire volume, is blood-letting ad- 
vised, and that is in patients suffering from the plague. 
Even in those days patients recovered, and the doctor and his 
physic received the credit. If they died, everything had been 
done within the power of man—it was by the will of God. 
We will skip over the period of time intervening between this 
and the beginning of th« present century, for I do not propose to 
tire you with a long discourse on the history of medicine, for 
there are probably but few facts relating to the subject which are 
not familiar to you all. But I do propose to give you, in a few 
words, examples of the treatment of the sick in the early part of 
the present century, by the so-called regular physicians, before the 
introduction of homoeopathy, and compare this treatment with 
that of the so-called regular school of the present day, and then 
simply ask the question—Has homoeopathy had anything to do 
with this wonderful change? 
Regular school! Regular physician! Was ever any word in 8 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
the English language more improperly used ? What is the mean- 
ing of the word regular? According to Webster, “ agreeable to an 
established rule, law, or principle.” What established rule have 
the old school physicians at the present day, aside from turning 
up their noses at every man who openly and honestly practices 
according to the established law, suuilia similibus curantur. What 
established law have they, aside from the law that any member of 
their ranks, under penalty of expulsion from societies, etc., shall 
not consult with, or hold any professional intercourse with, irregu- 
lar practitioners—with homoeopaths ? Nothing could be more 
irregular than the regular practice of physic of the present day, of 
the past. Let us inquire of what was this system of medicine 
composed fifty, forty, twenty years ago ? 
A physician is called to a case of pneumonia or pleurisy. He 
refers to his authorities; he finds the following advice laid down : 
“ Begin with a large and free bleeding, not deterred by the obscure 
pulse sometimes found in peripneumonia, carrying this evacua- 
tion to faintness; repeating these bleedings as the strength of the 
patient will bear. The application of a blister to the chest. The 
bowels must be well evacuated, and subsequently be kept regular. 
Antimony, combined with mercury, must be administered to pro- 
mote the discharges, especially from the skin and lungs; opium 
to allay the cough and to procure sleep. If there is wheezing 
respiration, squills in nauseating, even emetic doses, to relieve 
the patient from the viscid matter collected in the air-passages.” 
Carditis and Pericaditis : Treatment same as that of pneumonia. 
“Free bleeding; a blister over the heart; purging to a greater 
extent than in pneumonia; opium to procure sleep.” 
Meningitis : “ Begin on the first attack of the disease by bleeding 
the patient as largely as his strength will permit. In some in- 
stances it may be productive of more relief if the temporal artery 
or the jugular vein be opened. Cupping and leeches in the pro- 
gress of the complaint; active cathartics given directly after taking ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
9 
blood ; calomel with jalap, antimonial and mercurial prepara- 
tions; blisters to the back of the neck, behind the ears, and to the 
temples; mustard poultice to the feet.” 
Croup : “ Blood from the arm, or the jugular vein ; several 
leeches along the fore part of the neck ; a nauseating emetic ; 
ipecachuana with tartarized antimony, cathartics, diaphoretics, 
digitalis, to control the heart’s action ; large blisters near the 
affected part; mercury to speedy salivation ; opium,” etc. 
This is what is called the antiphlogistic treatment, those medi- 
cines, plans of diet, etc., which tend to oppose inflammation, or 
which, in other words, weaken the system by diminishing the 
activity of the vital power. And so I could go on and enumerate 
every inflammatory disease, and would find, by consulting the 
authors of twenty, even ten, years ago, this same debilitating sys- 
tem of torture recommended. Is it any wonder, with this universal 
treatment, together with the starving process called the antiphlo- 
gistic diet, that these inflammatory diseases were dreaded ; that 
patients feared placing themselves in the hands of the physician, 
and that they should expect a three weeks’ or a three months’ 
sickness, dating from the first visit made by their medical atten- 
dant ? 
Is it to be wondered at that sensible men should have looked 
with distrust, with suspicion, upon the so-called science of medi- 
cine, and that they should have advised the throwing of physic to 
the dogs ? Was this an improvement on the system of three hun- 
dred years ago, when the mind of the patient was the principal 
medium through which the physician worked his cure, sensible 
enough to leave the disease to the tender care of nature ? Is it 
surprising that physicians should have been accused of destroying 
valuable lives, which, had it not been for their treatment, would 
have recovered from their ailments ? Is it a wonder that Addi- 
son should have laid it down as a maxim, “ That when a nation 
abounds in physicians it grows thin of people.” 10 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
Napoleon I. was not a believer in the practice of physic then 
in vogue, and once said to his chief physician : “ believe me, we 
had better leave off all these remedies—life is a fortress that you 
and I know nothing about. Why throw obstacles in the way of 
its defense? Its own means are superior to aH'tlifc apparatus 
of your laboratory. Medicine is a collection of uncertain pre- 
scriptions, the results of which, taken collectively, ItTe more fatal 
than useful to mankind.” The celebrated Zimmerman went from 
Hanover to attend Frederick the Great in his last'illness. One 
day the king said to him, “ you have, I presume, many a 
man into another world.” The doctor replied, “wot so many as 
your majesty, nor with such honor to myself.” 
Medical practice was defined in those days, to bey for the most 
part, guessing at nature’s intentions and wishes, and then endeav- 
oring to substitute man’s. “ Nature,” says a Frenclvffhilosophical 
writer, is “ fighting with blind man armed with a club, 
that is the physician, steps in to settle the difficulty. He first, to 
his credit, tries to make peace. When he cannot accomplish 
this, he lifts his club and strikes at random. If he strikes the 
disease, he kills the disease; if he strikes nature, he kills the 
patient.” 
A celebrated physician, after conducting a prominent practice 
for thirty years, retired from the profession, giving as his reason 
that he was weary of guessing. 
The death of Pope Adrian occasioned such joy in Rome that 
the night after his decease, they adorned the door of his chief 
physician’s house with garlands, adding this inscription : “To the 
deliverer of his country.” 
No man seems to have had a better knowledge of the workings 
of this regular system of medicine than Charles Read, who, in one 
of his works, gives the opinion of I)r. Sampson, a character 
original for the period, who was evidently opposed to the anti- 
phlogistic method of treatment, and who contended that he could ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
11 
tell, beforehand, every prescription which would be given by the 
different prominent physicians of his time. In his conversation 
with a patient, who had been consulting the most celebrated 
physicians she could reach, he says : “ Good heavens! madam, 
what a gauntlet of gabies for a woman to run and come out alive. 
These four physicians you have been to see are specialists, that 
means—monomaniacs. Next time, save your guineas and send 
for me, and I will give you all their opinions and all their pre- 
scriptions gratis, and devilish dear you will find them at the price, 
if you swallow them. They have advised the antiphlogistic regi- 
men, have they? Antiphlogistic, my dear madam, that one 
long fragment of asses jaw has slain a million. The antiphlo- 
gistic theory is this : That disease is fiery, and that any exhaus- 
tion of the vital force must cool the system and reduce the 
morbid fire, called, in their donkey latin, flamma, and in their 
compound donkey latin, inflammation ; and accordingly, the anti- 
phlogistic practice is to cool the sick man by bleeding him, and 
when bled, either to re-bleed him with a change of instrument— 
bites and stabs instead of gashes—or blister, and push mercury 
till the teeth of the bled man rake and shake in their sockets, 
and to salivate, starve, purge, sweat, blister, from first to last. 
As for blood-letting, it is inflammatory, for the thumping heart 
and bounding pulse of patients, bled by butchers in black, and 
bullocks, bled by butchers in blue, prove it. All their sham cool- 
ers are real weakeners. . I wonder they didn’t inventory Satan 
and his brimstone lake among their refrigerators.” 
“ What is the cause of. that rare event which occurs only to 
patients who can’t afford doctoring? Death from old age. His 
bodily expenditures go on. His bodily income falls off, by fail- 
ure of the reparative and reproductive forces. 
“ Whatever the disease, its form or essence, 
Expenditure goes on and income lessens.” 12 
ANNUAL ADDRKSS. 
But to this sick, and therefore weak man comes a doctor, who 
pronounces him an invalid, gashes him with a lancet, spills out 
the great liquid material of all repair by the gallon, and fells this 
weak man, wounded now, pale and fainting, with death 
stamped on his face, to the earth, like a bayoneted soldier or a 
slaughtered ox. If the weak man, wounded thus and weakened, 
survives, then the chartered Thugs, who have drained him by the 
bung-hole turn to and drain him by the spigot. They blister 
him and then calomel him, and lest nature should have the ghost 
of a chance to counterbalance these frightful outgoings, they keep 
strong meat and drink out of his system, emptied by their stabs, 
bites, purges, mercury, and blisters. Antiphlogistic is but a 
modern name for ass-assinating routine, which has never varied a 
hair since scholastic medicine, the silliest and deadliest of all the 
hundred forms of quackery, first rose—unlike science, art, reli 
gion, and all true suns in the West, to wound the sick, to weaken 
the weak, to mutilate the hurt and thin mankind.” 
Was ever a picture more truthfully drawn than this of the prac- 
tice of medicine twenty years ago. The treatment of acute dis- 
eases, which I have quoted, is from authorities published about 
thirty years since. Fifteen years subsequently to that time, in the 
year 1856, Dr. Hugh Bennett, a celebrated English physician, 
maintained that antiphlogistic remedies in general, and blood- 
letting in particular, were unsuitable and even hurtful in all acute 
inflammations. M. Eouis, a celebrated French author, was of the 
same opinion as far as pneumonia was concerned. 
Watson, in his edition of 1858, is hardly willing to acknowledge 
that the treatment adopted by his predecessors was not the proper 
treatment for the flagrant forms of inflammation with which they 
were dealing, when on the basis of experience they put these 
remedies in force. He says: “My own experience teaches me 
that such flagrant and sthenic forms of pneumonia have become 
very rare among us. Years have passed by since I have met with ANNUAL ADDRESS 
13 
any instance of that disease, which has required blood-letting. I 
may say the same of inflammatory diseases in general. They 
have all become less tolerant of blood-letting since the cholera 
swept over us in 1832.” 
Was it the change in the character of disease, or was it an 
advance in the science of medicine ? Had they not began to 
hear of the wonderful recoveries effected without the aid of the 
lancet, without all this torture and depletion? Watson had not 
at this time abolished the use of the lancet, take his treatment of 
Peritonitis in his edition of 1858. In speaking of the mode of 
cure in this disease, he says : “ I have again to rehearse the grand 
remedies for inflammation, blood letting, mercury. It is of the 
greatest importance that the blood letting should be performed 
early. After a full bleeding from the arm, such as has produced 
some sensible impression upon the circubum, or brought the 
patient to the verge of Syncope, the surface of the belly should 
be covered with leaches, from twenty to forty may be applied 
at once. And sometimes this will make any further loss of blood 
unnecessary.” I should consider it highly probable. I his was 
called heroic treatment. Now, Niemeyer, who stood in the year 
1868, about where Watson stood ten years previous, says with 
regard to the treatment of this disease, “ Views have changed 
greatly of late, formerly every patient treated was bled a pound 
or two. Then the abdomen was covered with leaches, and one 
to two grains of calomel given every two hours, and at the same 
time a quantity of mercurial ointment was rubbed into the skin 
of the thighs and abdomen. 1 hat was proper treatment; the 
patients died, and no one thought of asking who recovered. 
That treatment was just as irrational as it was injurious. On ex- 
amining the bodies of patients who died of Peritonitis with abun- 
dant effusion, even when no blood had been taken, the tissues 
were found uncommonly bloodless. But, on examining the 
bodies of persons dying from a Peritonitis, treated according to 14 
ANNUAL AIJDRF.SS. 
the method formerly so universal, we find so very little blood in 
the heart and arteries, that we are tempted to ascribe death to the 
treatment rather than to the disease.” He also denounces the 
use of calomel and mercurial ointment. 
Professor Aitken, in his valuable work, published in the year 
1868, says of the treatment of Pneumonia, “ That blood letting has 
no curative power over the disorder, is satisfactorily established, 
and that, except in quite young and vigorous subjects, it is harm- 
ful, is now generally admitted.” At this time so great an advance 
had been made, that physicians of the regular school of practice 
had discovered the fact that a certain amount of strength is 
necessary for the resolution of any inflammation. Aitken says too, 
“ There is no substantial evidence on the side of treatment by 
tartar emetic, but much against it. The circulation can be more 
safely controlled by (listen, gentlemen) by the careful administra- 
tion of aconite, veratrum, digitalis or colchicum, without the risk 
of seriously, and often irraparibly, lowering the vital powers, and 
disturbing the digestive fuuctions.” How was this information 
acquired ? Would this wonderful change, this revolution, have 
been effected had it not been for Hahnemann and his mild and 
efficatious treatment of the sick ? Niemeyer acknowledges that 
we are indebted to the Homoeopaths for the evidence that Croup 
can be cured without the aid of emetics, that Urethritis can be 
cured without resorting to injections. 'Phis change has all been 
effected since the introduction of Homoeopathy, and I will ven- 
ture to say that had our glorious law of cure not been discovered, 
had Hahnemann and his followers not been so impressed with its 
truthfulness, instead of the lancet having been almost entirely 
discarded by our intelligent Allopathic practitioners—and instead 
of mercury, which was formerly so terribly abused, having been 
laid upon the shelf—of emetics and violent cathartics having been 
thrown to the dogs, the same state of affairs would have existed 
at the present time as did fifty, forty, twenty years ago. ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
15 
A prominent instrument maker in New York city, told me re- 
cently, that he had not had an application for a lancet in some 
years. 
The persecution which was inflicted upon the noble and illus- 
trious founder of Homoeopathy, has, in a modified degree, been 
visited upon every man who has since his time, endeavored to 
cure disease by the law of which he was the discoverer. Take the 
history of Homoeopathy in our own State, about the year 1830 Dr. 
Gram first opened an office and commenced the treatment of the 
sick according to the law similia similibus curanter. Then came 
Wilson and Gray, Ball and Channing, Joslin, each in his turn de- 
nounced and ridiculed as a charlatan, a quack. 'This ridicule 
was, in those days, not confined to the medical profession, but 
was participated in by nearly the entire community. Less than 
fifty years have passed since its first introduction into our State, 
and in that comparatively short time, the eyes of the people have 
been opened, and they have learned that disease can be cured 
without resorting to the nauseous doses, the tortures and depletion, 
considered necessary then, to save life, and as a result, instead of 
having one solitary physician practicing according to our law of 
cure, we have, in our State alone, hundreds of practitioners well 
educated, both as physicians and surgeons, whose patrons are 
among the most prominent of our citizens. The slurs and ridi- 
cule are now confined to our professional brethren,' who are 
suffering financially from, our success. Not long since quite a 
prominent New York physician said to me, “ Doctor, you Homoe- 
paths have entirely too large a share of the wealth and intellect 
of New York among your patrons. The fact is, Doctor, an igno- 
rant man cannot realize that he is deriving any benefit from medi- 
cine unless he sees its effect; he must be purged, vomited, 
blistered or bled, or he thinks nothing is being done. These we 
retain.” His remark was true. From positive knowledge I can 
assert, that although the Homoeopaths of New York City are out- 16 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
numbered by the so-called regular practitioners in the proportion 
of ten to one, they can claim among their patrons more than one- 
half of the wealth and intellect of the city. Why is this? Is it 
because these people have investigated Homoeopathy, and have, 
after careful thought, learned to believe in the law of Similia? 
Hut a very small portion of our patrons, I will venture to sav, 
know of the existence of this law of cure. They have not 
become believers from investigation, but employ Homoeopathy 
because, from observation and experience, they have learned that 
it is the most simple and speedy method of curing disease. 
How common it was in old times to hear a patient say: “ I did 
not send for you, doctor, because I could not afford to be sick,” 
feeling that they were safer in the hands of nature than in those 
of the physician. It was the rule, and they knew it, for a patient 
to be made worse before he was cured of his malady. They 
expected a three weeks’ or three months’ illness, dating from the 
time they took their first prescription. I remember a short 
address delivered by a prominent clergyman at one of our Col- 
lege Commencements a few years ago, in which he said : “ I am 
one of the oldest and strongest adherents of Homoepathy in this 
country. I well remember, when a boy, the cuppings and 
bleedings I was obliged to submit to, the nauseous doses I was 
compelled to take. I remember the three great remedies re- 
sorted to on every occasion for the most trifling difficulties, by 
our family physician : Bleeding from the arm, this was so much 
expected that a basin and a bandage were always in readiness on 
the arrival of the doctor ; an emetic and a purge. How I hated 
the sight of that physician, particularly when 1 was the victim to 
be experimented upon. I became disgusted with this folly as 1 
approached to manhood, and determined that my own children 
should not be subjected to this barbarity. I investigated your 
system of treatment; I took opportunity to try the effect of your 
remedies upon myself and the members of my family. 1 became ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
17 
a convert to Homoeopathy, and by the help of God I mean to 
continue one for the balance of my days. I have learned by 
actual experience that disease can be cured by these infinitesimal 
doses, and one advantage you have is, that if you do by mistake, 
or through ignorance, administer the wrong remedy, the evil con- 
sequences following are comparatively insignificant.” 
Has not our success far surpassed the expectations of our 
honored pioneers ? Is there a city, town, or even village of any 
size in the United States that has not its Homoeopathic physician? 
It is almost so with the entire civilized world. Our country can 
claim no less than six Homoepathic medical colleges ; and the 
largest, as to accommodations and size of the class, is the institu- 
tion located in our own State, the New York Homoeopathic 
Medical College, which has a class numbering 103 students. 
Gentlemen, as executive officer of that institution, I have reason to 
be proud of it, of its students, of its professors. No branch has 
been neglected : Surgery, about which we have been twitted so 
much by our Old School brethren, has almost become a specialty 
with us; our clinics have been as large as any in this city, and 
have been well attended, as an evidence of the satisfaction 
they have given I would mention the fact, that last year, before 
our new building was completed, out of a class of 80 students 
nearly 50 took tickets to Bellevue Hospital clinics. This year, 
out of a class of 103 but six have purchased tickets. 
» 
It was thought necessary, for the success of our Institution, 
that hospital wards should be provided in close proximity to the 
College, for the reception of patients operated upon before the 
class. Various efforts were made to raise the necessary funds, 
but without avail. At last the thought struck some of us, that in 
connection with Homoeopathy—an unheard of thing—A Surgical 
Hospital properly conducted, which, with the ability now at hand 
was not a matter of doubt, would put at an end to the slurs of the 
regular physicians that when surgical skill was required the 18 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
Homoeopaths were obliged to call upon them for assistance. We 
communicated our thoughts to our wives, sisters, our sweethearts, 
and they, with true woman’s grit, organized and carried to a suc- 
cessful issue the grandest and most magnificent charity fair ever 
held in New York. And thanks be to these little women $40,000, 
in cash, was placed at the disposal of the gentlemen who had 
become the incorporators and trustees of this newly organized 
surgical hospital ; and within a few months, gentlemen, we will 
have at our disposal, in addition to the surgical wards in the col- 
lege apartments, accommodations for some 40 patients. That 
magnificent structure, the Ophthalmic Hospital building, has 
been completed at a cost of over a hundred and sixty thousand 
dollars. A few energetic men undertook the responsibility of 
its erection. Starting out with a capital of less than $60,000, of 
course difficulties had to be overcome, loans to be made, and just 
at a critical period, when it was feared the building would be left 
in an unfinished state, Providence stepped in, and in the form 
of Mrs. Henry A. Keep, presented the Ophthalmic Hospital with 
$100,000 in cash, the largest donation ever made to a Homoeo- 
pathic institution. 
Work has been commenced upon our State Asylum for the 
Insane, upon the Hahnemann Hospital. 
Gentlemen, Homoeopathy is a power in the land. Our equality 
has been established in the eyes of the law. And so I could go 
on, but enough has been said to satisfy you that rapid strides have 
been made, and that, in spite of opposition, ridicule, persecution, 
like all scientific truths, Homoeopathy has triumphed. We have 
even advanced at such a rate, that some prominent among us, 
have gone so far as to extend the right hand of fellowship to our 
persecutors—to those who for years have heaped all manner of 
abuse upon us. I do not regret this, although I should have pre- 
ferred, now that we are so strong, standing upon our dignity, 
until the time came when they would have been obliged to extend ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
19 
in friendship to us that hand which for so many years has held the 
lancet which they would have gladly plunged into us had they 
had the opportunity. Our calling is a noble one, and so long as 
a man is honest in his convictions, those convictions should be 
respected ; we should be a unit; no discord should arise to mar 
our labors, for in the language of a distinguished medical orator : 
“ Our profession is inferior to none—as noble an art as any that 
taxes the intellect of man. At all times, in all seasons, under 
every variety of circumstances are our ministrations sought; the 
Summer’s heat, and Winter’s cold, storm and sunshine, night and 
day, alike witness our labors and attest our fidelity, among the 
vehicles which throng your city’s crowded streets at mid-day— 
you may mark the roll of th£ physicians wheels ; and in the still 
small hours of night you may hear the sound of his footstep, as 
he traverses the deserted pavements on some errand of mercy. 
The navy ! Is there a blood-stained deck on which he is not 
found? The army ! Is there a battle-field without him? Nay, 
is he not often the last to leave the scene of slaughter, remaining 
a voluntary prisoner to the enemy, whose persevering columns 
find him at his post, ministering to friend and foe alike. The 
pulpit! Our duties to the human race begin with the first feeble 
breath of the new-born infant—and we are the watchful sentries 
to the building, until its due expansion shall enable it to receive 
those treasures with which the minister is prepared to store it. 
Henceforth our duties lie side by side ; body and soul within our 
united keeping, until a greater and mightier minister than either 
shall dismiss the guard.