NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 
1875. 
ADDRESSES. 
Dr. Austin Flint’s Valedictory. 
Du. Samuel S. Purple's Inaugural. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 
1875. 
ADDRESSES. 
Dii. A1'ST IN FLINT’S VALEDICTORY. 
I)r. Sami kl s. Pi hple’s Inaugural NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. 
OFFICERS FOR 1875. 
President. 
SAMUEL S. PURPLE, M. D. 
f 'ice-Pro si dents. 
SAMUEL T. HUBBARD, M. I)., 
JOHN C. DALTON, M. D., 
GOITVERNEUR M. SMITH, M. D. 
Recording Secretary. 
WILLIAM T. WHITE, M. D. 
Correspon ding Secretary. 
JOHN G. ADAMS, M. D. 
Treasurer. 
JAMES O. POND, M. D. 
Trustees. 
OLIVER WHITE, M. I)., 
ISAAC E. TAYLOR, M. I)., 
EDMUND R. PEASLEE, M. I)., 
J AMES L. BANKS, M. I)., 
AUSTIN FLINT, M. D. 
Libraria n. 
JOHN II. HINTON, M. I). 
. Assist a n t Secret a ry. 
HORACE T. HANKS, M. I). 
St a tistica I Secretary. 
ALLAN MrL. HAMILTON, M. D. COMMITTEES FOE 1875. 
Committee on Admissions. 
JOHN H. HINTON, M. D., Chairman, 
GOUYERNEUR M. SMITH, M. D., 
ELLSWORTH ELIOT, M. D., 
EDWARD II. JANES, M. D., 
MARK BLUMENTHAL, M, D. 
Committee on Medical Ethics. 
JAMES ANDERSON, M. D., Chairman, 
JOHN C. PETERS, M. D., 
ERNST KRACKOWIZER, M. D., 
THOMAS C. FINNELL, M. D., 
TIMOTHY M. CHEESMAN, M. D. 
Committee on Medical Education. 
ALONZO CLARK, M. D., Chairman, 
FREDERICK A. BURRALL, M. D„ 
ALFRED C. POST, M. D., 
JAMES R. LEAMING, M. D., 
EDMUND R. PEASLEE, M. I). 
Committee on Ways and Means. 
JAMES ANDERSON, M. D., Chairman, 
WILLARD PARKER, M. D., 
SAMUEL T. HUBBARD, M. D., 
JARED LINSLY, M. D., 
ERNST KRACKOWIZER, M. D., 
JOHN G. ADAMS, M. D., 
STEPHEN SMITH, M. D., 
SAMUEL S. PURPLE, M. D., 
GOUYERNEUR M. SMITH, M. D., Sec’ry. OBJECTS AND WORK; 
A VALEDICTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE TIIE 
NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, JANUARY 
21, 1875, AT TIIE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS 
AND SURGEONS. 
AUSTIN krLINT, M. D., 
RETIRING PRESIDENT OF TIIE ACADEMY 
NEW YORK: 
PRINTED FOR TIIE ACADEMY, 
J> APPLETON AND COMPANY, 549 & 551 Broadway 
1875. VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 
Fkllows of the New Yoke Academy of Medicine: 
Two years ago I received at your hands the great honor 
of an election to the office of President of the Academy. 
The term of office is ended, and there remains only to he per- 
formed the final act of formally retiring and giving place to 
my successor. This act I perform with great pleasure. In 
saving this, let me hasten to add that I do not say it because 
I have found the duties of the office either onerous or in any 
sense disagreeable. On the contrary, in endeavoring to dis- 
charge my official duties to the best of my ability, nothing 
has occurred to embarrass me, and I have met with nothing 
but kindness and cooperation. I retire with pleasure because, 
in the first place, I believe rotation in office to be appropriate 
and conducive to the interest of the Academy; and, in the 
second place, I give place to one who will bring zeal, experi- 
ence, and wisdom to the performance of the duties which will 
devolve upon him. 
On the biennial recurrence of a change of administration, 
the retiring officer naturally looks backward, and the incoming 
President looks forward. The occasion is a fitting one for both 
retrospections and anticipations. The study of the past is 
always instructive with reference to the future. Let me there- 
fore briefly recount the circumstances and events which have 
characterized the history of the Academy during the last two 
years: 
1. There has been entire harmony during this period. 
The proceedings at the stated meetings of the Academy, of 4 
the Council, of the Board of Trustees, and the committees, 
have been not only harmonious, hut characterized by unanimity 
in action and sentiment. The demon of discord has never 
gained entrance within the Academy; may this be as true in 
the future, as it is with reference to the past! 
2. There has been a fair attendance at the meetings of 
the Academy. That there is room for progress in this direc- 
tion must be admitted, and I trust that, two years hence, 
there will be ground for congratulation in this regard. 
3. The reading of papers at the stated meetings has not 
been delayed by business which is irrelevant or of minor im- 
portance, and there has been no confusion in the arrange- 
ment of papers for the successive meetings. For this the 
Academy is in a great measure indebted to the parting coun- 
sels of my distinguished and esteemed predecessor in office. 
4. It may be claimed in behalf of the papers which have 
been read during the last two years, that they have been able, 
instructive, and of that varied character which is desirable. 
For this the Academy is under obligations to those who have 
been willing in this way to work for its interests. I desire 
to state, in this connection, that applications to Fellows of 
the Academy for papers or discourses, have been in almost 
every instance made with success ; and I avail myself of this 
occasion to tender thanks, both personally and as representing 
the Academy, to those to whom we are indebted for the in- 
terest and profit pertaining to our stated meetings during the 
last two years. To secure for these meetings the services of 
those to whom the Fellows of the Academy will be glad to 
listen, is the most important of the presidential duties. I 
have found it an easy duty, in consequence of the ready assent 
of all whose services were obtained. 
5. A volume of the Transactions of the Academy, com- 
prising nearly 400 pages, was issued during the last summer. 
For about three years prior to the issuing of this volume, the 
publication of papers by the Academy had been suspended. 
This volume contains a complete list of the names of all who 
have been connected with the Academy, as resident, non-resi- 5 
dent, corresponding, and honorary Fellows, giving the dates 
of their election, together with a list of the officers from the 
institution of the Academy. Considerable matter is also now 
in print, in preparation for a second volume of the new series, 
which may be expected during the next summer. The Con- 
stitution and By-Jawg have also been printed for the use of the 
Fellows. These publications, with the imprint of I). Apple- 
ton & Co., leave nothing to be desired in the way of typo- 
graphical execution ; and, as regards the contents of .the 
Transactions, this volume will compare favorably with works 
of the same character, either here or abroad. The task of ar- 
ranging the matter for publication, and seeing it through the 
press, has devolved upon a committee, of which your newly- 
elected President is the chairman. The services which in 
this capacity he has rendered during the last two years, have 
required much time and labor. I should do injustice alike to 
him, and to the occasion, if I failed to refer to this fact; the 
more so, because these services are performed, not publicly, 
but in private, and are not likely, therefore, to be fully appre- 
ciated by all. Moreover, the services call for experience, learn- 
ing, judgment, and taste—requirements which the chairman 
of the committee has in an eminent degree. I feel that I 
discharge a duty to the Academy, when I tender in its behalf 
thanks for the devotion to its interests which he has in this 
way manifested. 
G. Delay in the printing of papers heretofore has impaired, 
in no small measure, the value of the published Transac- 
tions of the Academy. Authors of papers, which had been 
prepared with care and labor, naturally desired that, within 
a reasonable period, they should appear in print; and the 
delay, sometimes for a long period, has led often to their 
having been furnished, by preference, to medical journals. 
Valuable contributions have for this reason never appeared 
iti the Transactions of the Academy. The Council, rec- 
ognizing this fact, have adopted a plan which, it is believed, 
will secure for the Transactions the publication of papers. 
This plan, which has now been in operation for several 6 
months, is to place the papers, provided they are in readi- 
ness, in the hands of the printer as soon as they have been 
acted upon by the Council, and to furnish to the authors at 
once the extra copies to which they are entitled, and any 
additional copies which they may desire. In this way the 
printed papers are speedily in circulation, and may appear in 
medical journals, with due credit to the Transactions of 
the Academy. This plan, it is to be hoped, will be continued ; 
and it cannot but serve as an additional inducement for care 
and elaborateness in the preparation of papers which are to 
be contained in the yearly volume of Transactions. The 
contents of this volume, it is needless to say, should be of a 
character to do credit to the Academy ; and, with reference 
to this subject, it is important that the Council exercise dis- 
cretion and a certain amount of reserve in ordering the pub- 
lication of papers. A due regard to this object makes it a 
delicate duty on the part of the President to apply for the 
preparation of papers ; and it is certainly not an agreeable 
duty on the part of the Council to decide against their publi- 
cation. The interests of the Academy and of medical litera- 
ture, however, should be paramount to all other considera- 
tions ; and an impartial, judicious discrimination in the se- 
lection of papers for publication is certainly desirable. Let 
it be regarded as an honor to be invited to read a paper at a 
stated meeting of the Academy, and a still greater honor, 
to have a paper accepted by the Council for publication. 
7. Lastly, the crowning event of the period over which 
our retrospections extend is the purchase of a building for the 
uses of the Academy, and, as it is hoped also, for the advan- 
tage of the other medical associations of this city. The pro- 
ject of obtaining a building was coeval with the institution 
of the Academy. The accumulation of money for a building- 
fund was provided for in the By-Laws, which assign this duty 
to the Board of Trustees, acting under the sanction of the 
Council. Slowly accumulating, a building-fund had reached 
a considerable amount, and a Committee on Ways and Means, 
selected long ago, was authorized to take appropriate action 7 
whenever it appeared practicable and judicious to do so. This 
committee, together with the Council, recently concluded that 
the time for action in the matter had arrived. There was no 
difference of opinion on this point. Their conclusion was sus- 
tained by the action of the Academy at a stated meeting, at 
which the matter was made the subject for special considera- 
tion, and to which all members of the profession were invited. 
The Committee on Ways and Means promptly acted in ac- 
cordance with the views adopted, and a building has been 
purchased. Its situation, size, and construction, are regarded 
as well adapted to the wants of the Academy and of other 
associations. The medical profession of the city of New 
York has at length a local habitation, an abiding-place, a 
home ! I shall not expatiate on this event; its importance 
will be sufficiently appreciated. 
It will be a grand epoch in the history, not only of the 
Academy, but of the profession of the city and State. Con- 
gratulating you, Fellow’s of the Academy, and brethren of 
sister societies, on this event, let me, in their behalf, express 
to the Committee on Ways and Means approbation and grati- 
tude. The labors of this committee, as well as the wisdom 
of their action, claim our hearty acknowledgment. The task 
of obtaining and collecting subscriptions for a public object 
is one which, however commendable, is not generally coveted ; 
hence the greater merit in those who are willing to spend 
time, strength, and influence, in disinterested efforts for a 
common good. Of the members of this committee there are 
tw’o whom, as I know’, it will not be deemed by their asso- 
ciates an invidious distinction, if I designate as especially 
deserving of mention in connection with the building-fund. 
The names to which I refer are Samuel T. Hubbard and 
James Anderson, distinguished for successful efforts, the for- 
mer in obtaining and the latter in collecting subscriptions. 
Let not the claims of other members of the committee on our 
gratitude be disparaged by the mention of these names. Let 
the names of all who have been active in this great and good 
wmrk be suitably engrossed, so as not to be lost sight of by 8 
those who are to come after us. To many, doubtless, it will 
seem that our present home is humble in comparison with an 
edifice more appropriate to our wishes and deserts; but, to 
my mind, it is a pleasant reflection that, such as it is, we have 
procured it; its possession involves no obligation to those who 
are not of our profession. Let the comfort and advantages 
which we hope to derive from it stimulate those who are to 
come after us to exchange it for a larger and grander home. 
Tlie anticipations which this occasion might suggest, 
belong more appropriately to my successor in office than to 
myself. I shall detain you with only a few remarks on a 
single suggestion. It is the desirableness of a meeting of the 
Academy on an evening of every week. I suggest this 
especially with a view to providing for a fuller discussion of 
topics presented in papers read at the stated meetings. As it 
now is, there can be but little discussion after a paper has 
been read. Assuming that the reading of a paper begins at 
half-past eight, and occupies from three-fourths of an hour to 
an hour, the time for discussion is limited to a very short 
period. Moreover, often the Fellows present at a meeting 
are not prepared to discuss the paper to which they have just 
listened. They need time for rellection, study, and investi- 
gation. The experience of the last two years has shown that 
the discussions which follow the reading of papers are, in 
general, unsatisfactory. It would be otherwise if there were, 
in the first place,.more time to be devoted to discussions, and, 
in the second place, more time for preparation therefor. The 
plan which I would propose is for a meeting to be devoted to a 
paper, or to papers, and the discussion of the topics presented 
to be made the subject of a meeting to be held on the week 
following. I suggest this plan, not for any immediate action, 
but for the consideration of the Fellows of the Academy, with 
reference to the propriety of its adoption at a future time, 
after we are settled in our new quarters. Th-e advantages of 
the plan may be eidarged upon should it be entertained by 
the Academy, at a future meeting. 9 
In conclusion, I beg to return my sincere thanks for the 
uniform courtesy and kindness extended to me by all the Fel- 
lows of the Academy during my term of«office. I relinquish 
the office to one more competent than I am for the duties of 
a presiding officer, who has been elected with great una- 
nimity, and under whose administration the history of the 
Academy will, I doubt not, show progress. 
And now, Mr. President-elect, in accordance with usage, 
placing in your hands a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws, 
I vacate the chair of office, in order that you may enter at' 
once on your official duties. 
DR. PURPLE’S REPLY. 
Dr. Flint : I thank you for the kind expressions which 
you have just uttered; coming as they do from one with 
whom in years past I have pleasantly labored for the promo- 
tion of the literature of our time-honored profession, and one 
also whose reputation as a clinical observer, teacher, and au- 
thor, will be as enduring as the science of medicine itself. I 
receive, from your hand, this Constitution and these By-Laws, 
with a profound sense of the responsibility that now rests 
upon me. It must, sir, demand no ordinary effort to advance 
the interests of an institution which has been so successfully 
presided over, by such distinguished worthies in medicine as 
Stearns, Francis, Mott, Wood, Stevens, Cock, Smith, Parker, 
Batchelder, Watson, Anderson, Post, Buckley, Peaslee, and 
by yourself, citizens of no mean city. Permit me to hope 
that the mantle of the departed Elijah may descend upon 
and be not unworthily borne by me. Objects and Purposes; 
AN INAUGURAL ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, JANUARY 
21, 1875, AT THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS 
AND SURGEONS. 
SAMUEL S. PtTRPLE, M. D., 
PRESIDENT OP THE ACADEMY. 
NEW YORK: 
PRINTED FOR THE ACADEMY, 
D. AITLETON AND COMPANY, 549 & 551 Broadway. 
1875. INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
Fellows of the New York Academy of Medicine— 
Gentlemen : Called unexpectedly by your suffrage to 
preside over your deliberations, and with you to advance the 
best interests of the medical profession and this institution— 
permit me for a brief period, before proceeding to the regu- 
lar paper of the evening, to occupy your attention with a 
consideration of some of the circumstances which originally 
led to the formation of this Academy; and to indicate some 
of the means by which its objects may be more completely 
fulfilled. 
A little more than a quarter a of century has passed, since 
at a social gathering of medical men of this city, on the oc- 
casion of the fourth anniversary of the “ Society for the Relief 
of the Widows and Orphans of Medical Men,”, the good and 
true men there assembled, organized on the suggestion and 
under the preliminary leadership of the ever to be lamented 
Dr. Alexander II. Stevens (whose biography has been so 
truthfully sketched by a distinguished Fellow of this Acad- 
emy), for the purpose of a more thorough purification of the 
profession, and the construction of a common senate. 
This organization eventuated a few weeks after in the es- 
tablishment of the New York Academy of Medicine, whose 
declared objects were: 
1. The cultivation of the science of medicine. 
2. The advancement of the character and honor of the 
profession. 4 
3. The elevation of the standard of medical education; 
and— 
4. The promotion of the public health. 
The necessity of the establishment of this organization, 
was found in the chaotic state of the profession ; the ram- 
pant and deliant air of quackery, and its contaminating and 
demoralizing influence by association (which had for some 
time previously existed), upon professional morals, and which 
was most keenly felt. This association of the profession with 
quackery was by no means voluntary. It was a legal neces- 
sity under the peculiar circumstances of the case, hence the 
determination of the founders of this Academy “ to sepa- 
rate,” in the language of the late Dr. Manley, “ the sheep 
from the goats ” by banding together in establishing an in- 
stitution which should be absolutely free from such influences. 
It was no easy task under such circumstances to elevate the 
standard of professional ethics. But a unanimity of action 
and purpose, seldom if ever before observed in the leading 
minds of the profession, prevailed; Stearns, Francis, Mott, 
Wood, Stevens, Cock, Manley, Smith, Batchelder, Watson, 
Bulkley, who have all now passed to their final reward, and 
with others, some of whom I see here this evening and are 
yet spared to us for counsel—labored earnestly to found “ the 
first great barrier between quackery and medical integrity.” 
Of the moral strength of this barrier, we have of late had 
most striking exhibitions ; let us have faith in its firmness 
and solidity. That those who deviate from strict profes- 
sional probity, as well as doers of evil in medicine, have felt 
and always will feel the reproving influence of this Academy 
is morally certain. He whose pretensions are groundless, 
alike with him who falsifies the pledge which he gave on en- 
tering the sanctuary of medicine, or on completing his fel- 
lowship with us, will surely not find favor nor obtain counte- 
nance either in social or professional relations. 
To advance the best interests of the profession, and to in- 
crease its usefulness by furnishing facilities for social inter- 
course, and thereby promote harmony among medical men; 5 
to procure a building to be devoted to the Academy of Medi- 
cine—one in which all the regular members of the profession 
might assemble and meet on common ground—these were 
foremost among the reasons assigned in the proposal to estab- 
lish this institution. I)o results warrant the conclusion that 
this organization has, either in the past or present, lost sight 
of the objects contemplated in its formation ? 
As cultivators of the science of medicine, the Fellows of 
this Academy have labored successfully in the held of medi- 
cal literature, and their writings have shed lustre on the sev- 
eral departments of medicine. Our Transactions, and other 
publications, contain many practical and experimental papers 
abounding in practical deductions—ready expedients—and 
new and important advances in the medical sciences. As 
upholders and promoters of the character and honor of the 
profession and of medical education, it is but needful to refer 
to the record of the past, and to the teachings and successful 
efforts of a goodly number of the Fellows of the Academy, 
whose distinguished labors have reflected honor upon the pro- 
fession, both at home and abroad. For the promotion of pub- 
lic health by legal enactments, legislators and others have 
sought and obtained from this body facts and opinions to 
guide them, and, not least of all, the original movement for 
establishing the health organization of this city, was inaugu- 
rated by its influence and instrumentality. 
Having thus briefly directed your attention to the objects 
contemplated in the organization of this Academy, and to the 
fulfillment of some of these objects, permit me further to call 
your attention to one or more of the means which the present 
position of the Academy renders available, for the more com- 
plete fulfillment of the intentions of its founders. And here 
let me premise that no efforts of this Academy arc in prog- 
ress, and none are contemplated, which were not originally 
designed and laid out when its founders, after protracted 
counsel, banded together and pledged their honor to conform 
to the Constitution and By-Laws of this Association. If, to 
any, such should seem not to be the case, they have only to 6 
institute a careful inquiry into the original acts of this body, 
and evidence will be adduced which will remove all doubts. 
You have heard, gentlemen, the cheering words of your 
late presiding officer, on the progress made by your Commit- 
tee on Ways and Means, in the acquisition of a building for 
the uses of the Academy—a hall where the whole profession 
may meet on common ground—one which shall be the recog- 
nized medical centre—within which the various medical or- 
ganizations of the city may have ample accommodations tor 
holding their meetings ; where museums and libraries may be 
gathered, and where every department of medical study and 
investigation may find accommodation. Such a building, 
which will prove adequate to the wants and purposes of the 
Academy and of the profession for some time to come, you 
are already informed, has been purchased, and will, it is now 
believed, be permanently occupied by the Academy before 
the close of the coming summer. 
The far-sighted wisdom of the founders of this Academy, 
in their early efforts to establish a building-fund, is now 
clearly seen. Slowly, and almost imperceptibly, that fund 
has been augmented, and with the additional collections for 
the same purpose by the committee just now referred to, is 
sufficient to warrant the movement that has been so ably 
advocated by my distinguished predecessor. It is in this 
movement, and the possession of a home, that many of the 
better and brighter hopes of the profession are centred. In 
it we see facilities for a greater centralization of the power 
and influence of medical men in all matters which appertain 
to medical science, and also to'the health-interests of the 
public at large: may it not lead to a union of the scattered 
resources and medical organizations of the city? Let it not, 
however, be expected or understood that the acquisition of 
this home will lead to the suspension of further efforts for 
more enlarged and ample quarters to meet the unceasingly 
growing wants of the profession in this great metropolis: for 
in the language of the first circular issued by your Commit- 
tee on Ways and Means, this Academy must eventually have 7 
ft building, not less imposing in its appearance than similar 
structures in the metropolis, and adequate in all its appoint- 
ments to the growing wants and future exigencies of the 
profession. Permit me to suggest, gentlemen, in reference to 
this matter, that a sinking-fund he at once created, to meet 
eventually the debt already incurred, and that the committee 
before alluded to, he continued as a permanent one, with the 
distinct understanding that such a building must he ultimately 
possessed by this Academy. 
That this body would lead the advance in all matters con- 
nected with the wants of the profession, in this city, was 
early contemplated. It has in the main done so. There is, 
however, one undertaking it has allowed to fall into the back- 
ground, and which has been nearly lost sight of, evidently to 
the great detriment of the body itself, hut partly from causes 
it could not readily control. I allude now to the early efforts 
put forth for the formation and increase of a Medical Li- 
brary ; such a one as would meet the necessities and require- 
ments of medical writers, seeking for facts or information, 
either in the ancient or modern literature of the profession. 
It needs no argument here to show the necessity or value 
of a great reference Medical Library, located in this city, for 
such purposes. The time has arrived in which it is imperatively 
demanded. The restlessness and longings of the profession, 
in this particular direction, have been observed for years past. 
They existed, though in a lesser degree than now, at the time 
this Academy was instituted, as will he seen by the fact that, 
immediately after its organization, a committee consisting of 
Drs. Gilman, Parker, Peales, Phelps, and Puel, was raised 
by resolution and designated the Library Committee, whose 
duty it was to have in charge and promote the formation of a 
Medical Library. It was organized by appointing the late 
Prof. Chandler II. Gilman, chairman, and I hold in mv 
hand one of the circulars which it issued in January, 1847, to 
the Fellows of the Academy and the profession, requesting the 
donation of such hooks as they might feel willing to bestow on 
the institution. Many donations were received, and the Hat- 8 
tering hope indulged that a useful library would early be 
formed; the lack of room accommodations, however, soon 
became apparent, and ultimately obstructed the movement, 
and the committee after a time ceased its operations. 
The nucleus thus gathered yet exists, and, with consider- 
able additions made from time to time, is now available. 
Permit me, gentlemen, to suggest that the formation of a 
similar committee, with full power to establish a library-fund, 
be referred to the Council, and that the dormant effort be 
resuscitated and endowed writh new life and vigor. I know 
the harvest is ripe for the sickle, and that such an effort, put 
forth under the movement that is now culminating, will be 
crowned with a speedy and abundant success. 
Finally, Fellows of the New York Academy of Medicine, 
are we not warranted in believing that, in this movement of 
securing a building, the morning star of hope for the profes- 
sion in this city has arisen ; that the effulgent light of morn- 
ing is now appearing; that a steady, earnest, and united 
labor will certainly bring the noontide of success, and then 
the influence of our profession will be more markedly felt, 
and more clearly recognized by tlie community at‘large? 
Gentlemen, committed to no policy, and with no interest to 
serve other than that which appertains to the good of this 
Academy and the profession, let me ask your indulgence 
while I attempt to discharge impartially the duty which your 
favor has devolved upon me.