REMARKS AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE CANDIDATES 
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MEDICINE AT THE 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS 
UNIVERSITY, JUNE 14, 1898, 
By William H. Welch, M. D., 
Dean of the Medical Faculty. 
[From The Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, No. 88, July, 1898.] [From The Johns Ilophins Hospital Bulletin, No. 88, July, 1898.] 
REMARKS AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE CANDIDATES 
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MEDICINE AT THE 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS 
UNIVERSITY, JUNE 14, 1898. 
By William H. Welch, M. D., 
Dean of the Medical Faculty. 
Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Board of Trustees, Ladies and 
Gentlemen: 
As this is only the second class to receive the degree of 
Doctor of Medicine from this University, it will not be inap- 
propriate, before presenting the candidates for the degree, to 
say a few words concerning the development and aims of the 
recently organized Medical Department of the University. 
Through the munificent gift of Miss Mary Elizabeth Gar- 
rett, added to a smaller but generous contribution from other 
public-spirited women, and supplementing the available 
resources of the University and Hospital, the Trustees of the 
University were enabled to open the Medical Department for 
the instruction of men and women on the second of October, 
1893. At two previous commencement exercises the oppor- 
tunity has been afforded me to present in some detail the 
plan of organization and the purposes of the new Medical 
School, and it is not necessary to repeat what was then said. 
We began five years ago with only the first year of the 
course organized, with a teaching staff of fifteen, and with an 
entering class of students numbering eighteen. A year from 
last October the organization of the entire four years’ course 
was completed, and last June we graduated our first class of 
fifteen students. During the academic year now closing 167 
students have been enrolled as candidates for the degree of 
Doctor of Medicine, 26 in the fourth year, 34 in the third, 2 
44 in the second, and 63 in the first. All of these are college 
graduates, and before admission spent a year or more in the 
study of chemistry, physics and biology. In addition, 69 
physicians have been in attendance upon special courses or 
have engaged in research, making a total attendance of 236. 
The teaching staff numbers 53, of whom 21 are professors, 
clinical professors or associate professors. The steady growth 
of the Medical Department with each succeeding year has, 
therefore, been most gratifying and has laid to rest the fears, 
which some at first entertained, that our high standard of 
admission, necessitating not only a degree in arts or science, 
but also a good practical training in physics, chemistry and 
biology, with a reading knowledge of French and German, and 
acquaintance with Latin, would restrict unduly the number 
of students. 
Not less significant is the national character of this Medical 
School as shown by the distribution of the students among 
the several States. 30 are credited to Maryland, but of these 
a number have made this their home only since entrance into 
the School. Of the remainder, 32 come from New England, 
22 from the Middle States, 27 from the Southern, 38 from the 
Middle West or Central States, 13 from the West (11 being 
from Calfornia), and 5 from Canada, Hawaii and India. 
47 colleges are represented, the Johns Hopkins University 
by 31 students, Yale by 29, Harvard and the University of 
Wisconsin by 9 each, Wellesley and Smith by 7 each, the 
Leland Stanford Jr. University and the University of Cali- 
fornia by 6 each, and Princeton, Williams, Amherst, Vassal-, 
Cornell, the University of Chicago and other colleges by 
smaller numbers. 
But more significant than the growth of the School in 
numbers or the wide area from which our students are drawn 
are the contributions to the advancement of medical educa- 
tion in this country which we may fairly claim to have made. 
The mere addition of a new medical school to an already over- 
burdened list can hardly be regarded as a meritorious act. 
We have realized from the start that unless we had something 
to contribute to the promotion of medical education and 
knowledge, there was no reason for our existence. No one 
familiar with the conditions of medical education in this country could fail to see that the opportunity existed to do 
for medical education what this University has accomplished 
for university education in this country. With the inspira- 
tion of such an example and with these high ideals before us, 
what better place could be found for such a work than in 
this University and in the city of Baltimore ? It would 
occupy too much time on this occasion to enter into details 
upon this subject, but concerning two or three of the more 
distinctive features of this medical school I shall ask permis- 
sion to say a few words. 
We have raised the requirement as to the training prelimi- 
nary to the study of medicine to a point not only beyond that 
of any other medical school in this country, which in view of 
the former low demands in this respect might not signify 
much, but to one equal to, if not in advance of, that of any 
foreign university. This high standard of admission, instead 
of proving a weakness, has been one of the main sources of 
our strength. It has secured for us students whose average 
fitness for the study and practice of medicine is unquestion- 
ably greater than has been hitherto attained in our medical 
schools, and it has brought to us not a few of unusual capa- 
city and promise. Students are attracted to an institution 
where their associations are wholly with liberally educated 
classmates, and the resulting tone and morale of the School 
are elevated, in welcome contrast to the traditional conception 
of the social and moral atmosphere of a medical school. It is 
evident that far better methods of teaching and better results 
can be secured with highly trained students than with those 
without adequate preparation. 
While we designate our required period of medical study as 
four years, it is in reality from five to six years, for we rele- 
gate to the period of preliminary collegiate training the study 
of general chemistry, physics and biology, which are included 
in the medical curriculum of many schools, especially in 
Europe. The study of these sciences, which is justly consid- 
ered to be an essential part of a thorough medical education, 
can be pursued to greater advantage in a college or university 
than in a medical school, and the arrangement which we have 
adopted adjusts itself readily to the existing conditions in our 
best colleges and universities. 4 
Coming to us with this exceptional training, our students 
have a right to expect exceptional advantages for the study 
of the profession which they have chosen, and, so far as our 
resources permit, we have endeavored not to disappoint them 
in this respect. The aim of the School is primarily to train 
practitioners well grounded in the fundamental medical 
sciences and in practical medicine and surgery and their 
branches. We have broken completely with the old idea that 
reading books and listening to lectures is an adequate training 
for those who are to assume the responsible duties of practi- 
tioners of medicine. Anatomy, physiology, physiological 
chemistry, pathology, bacteriology, pharmacology and toxi- 
cology are taught during the first two years by practical work 
in the laboratory, and in the last two years disease is studied 
in the dispensary and at the bedside, not merely as it is 
described in books. 
At the beginning we had only one laboratory building; in 
1894 we were provided with a second commodious building, 
the Women’s Fund Memorial building, intended for the 
various anatomical sciences; in 1896, through a generous 
gift to the Hospital, we were enabled to construct the 
Clinical Laboratory, and in the coming autumn a still larger 
building, now in process of erection, will be ready for 
the laboratories of physiology, physiological chemistry and 
pharmacology. We shall then be well equipped with the 
needed laboratories, which constitute the workshops of our 
students during the first two years of the course. 
From these laboratories the students pass at the beginning 
of the third year directly to the Dispensary and the w-ards 
of the Hospital, where our arrangements to enable them to 
become practically familiar with the symptoms, the diagnosis 
and the treatment of disease constitute perhaps our most 
original and valuable contribution to the methods of teaching 
practical medicine. The generous co-operation of the Trustees 
of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, in accordance with the wishes 
of its founder, in rendering available for the instruction of 
students the resources of this great institution, has placed it 
in our power to make the years devoted to the training in 
the practical branches of medicine and surgery peculiarly 
attractive and efficient. They also provide for a large number of our graduates, as well as to others, opportunities to serve 
as interns in the Hospital. 
The advantages of thus coming throughout the entire 
course into direct personal contact with the objects of study 
are not merely that the students thereby acquire a more useful 
and living knowledge of them, but that they become familiar 
with scientific methods and acquire something of the scientific 
spirit of investigation and of approaching medical problems. 
They should thus be enabled by their subsequent observations 
and experience to carry on an education, only begun at the 
medical school, and which should continue throughout their 
professional lives. 
To obtain the best results of practical training of the kind 
mentioned it is of importance that the student should be 
brought into contact with those who are not merely teachers 
but also investigators. In the selection of heads of depart- 
ments the Trustees of the University and of the Hospital 
have kept in view that a great medical school should not only 
teach medicine but also advance the medical science and art. 
We feel that we may take just pride in the number and value 
of the published contributions to medical knowledge by mem- 
bers of the staff of the School and Hospital, and, indeed, it is 
a sign of great promise that several of our students have 
already conducted noteworthy investigations, leading in some 
instances to important discoveries. 
In a school with such standards for preliminary training 
and with such opportunities and methods of study, it is self- 
evident that the standard of attainment should also be kept 
high, so that the bestowal of its diploma may be a real dis- 
tinction to such as attain it. In this respect the Faculty have 
felt a serious sense of responsibility, directed solely by the 
desire that no one shall be promoted to the doctorate of medi- 
cine in this University who does not measure up to the high 
standards which have here been set. 
I have endeavored to point out in a few words the lines 
along which this Medical School in the short period of its 
existence has developed and certain of its salient character- 
istics. We feel that we have here an unrivaled opportunity 
for the development of a great medical school, devoted to 
higher education and the advancement of medicine. The 6 
time is one of marvellous activity and progress in medicine, 
with new paths and new vistas constantly opening for explo- 
ration. We cannot occupy the vast field so fully as we desire. 
AVe need ampler resources to take full advantage of our oppor- 
tunities. T know of no direction in which pecuniary invest- 
ments for education will yield larger returns in advancement 
of knowledge and promotion of the welfare of mankind than 
in the endowment of higher medical education. 
Medical departments of universities in this country have 
usually been such in name only and at best have been looked 
upon as step-children, out of harmony with true university 
life and ideals. A medical department which brings to the 
University only liberally educated men and women, provides a 
four years’ course of study conducted with the best methods, 
cherishes the scientific spirit and contributes to the ad- 
vancement of knowledge, is surely a worthy member of a 
university, however high its ideals. The medical department 
which has here been founded has been cordially received by 
this University as equal and coordinate with its philosophical 
department. This intimate union of Medical School and 
University is of mutual benefit, and in this close association we 
find constant encouragement and incentive to attain the best. 
AAre have been guided throughout by the unceasing care and 
wise direction of the President of this University, and we 
believe that the enlightened and generous policy of the Trus- 
tees of the University and the Hospital has brought to fulfill- 
ment the wishes of the founder of this University and of 
the Hospital concerning the Medical School for which he 
provided. 
Members of the Graduating Class: 
In behalf of my colleagues and for myself I congratulate 
you upon the satisfactory completion of a prolonged period of 
liberal and professional study in preparation for your chosen 
career. 
You, with the class which preceded you, came to us when 
you could not see plainly the end from the beginning, trust- 
ing in assurances held out to you for the future. You have 
participated in the establishment of this Medical School. This 
circumstance imparts peculiar interest and intimacy to your 
relations with us. It is during this formative period that the impress of stu- 
dents’ ideals and conduct upon the inner life of a university 
is most distinctly felt and that traditions are formed which 
may powerfully influence the future health and vigor of the 
institution. That your influence upon this inner life has 
been for good, we feel assured. During all these four years 
we have been stimulated by your diligence, enthusiasm, ability 
and desire for knowledge, and we appreciate your hearty 
cooperation with our efforts. We, your teachers, have 
acquired more than a teacher’s interest in you. Intimate 
acquaintance has led to genuine friendship, and we do not 
doubt that we shall have occasion to feel a personal pride in 
your future good work. You go forth with the best wishes 
and high expectations of all of us. 
You have acquired some knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of medical science, some practical familiarity with 
the nature and treatment of disease and injury, the ability to 
use the instruments of your profession, and, above all, I trust, 
correct methods of work and a trained scientific spirit of 
investigation. Of the entire contents of the science and art 
of medicine you have, however, learned relatively only a small 
part, but you are now in position to increase your knowledge 
through your own individual efforts and through experience 
to acquire wisdom. 
Such a training as you have received should enable you to 
derive satisfaction of a high order in the pursuit of your pro- 
fession,' a satisfaction not to be obtained from its practice 
merely as a trade and means of subsistence. The scientific 
physician of to-day finds intellectual pleasures, as never 
before, in the study of the science and the practice of the art 
of medicine, and this scientific interest is dignified and 
enhanced by the power, ever increasing, of doing good to 
others through the relief of pain and suffering. To the ranks 
of this noble and useful profession we now welcome you. 
Mr. President : 
In the name of the Medical Faculty I have the honor to 
present to you twenty-two candidates whom we recommend 
for promotion to the degree of Doctor of Medicine in this 
University. All, after receiving a liberal education indicated by a degree in arts or science and fulfilling all of our require- 
ments for admission, have spent four years in the study of 
medicine and have satisfactorily completed the course in this 
University. 
List of Students Receiving the Degree of Doctor of 
Medicine. 
William Stevenson Baer. A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1894. 
Baltimore. 
William Jephtha Calvert. A. B., University of Kentucky, 1893; 
Graduate Student, Kentucky State College, 1893-94. Lexington, Ky. 
Patrick Joseph Cassidy. A. B., Yale University, 1894. Norwich, 
Conn. 
John Williams Coe, Jr. Ph. B., Yale University, 1893. Meriden, 
Conn. 
Percy Millard Dawson. A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1894. 
Montreal, Canada. 
Arthur Wells Elting. A. B., Yale University, 1894. Upper Red 
Hook, N. Y. 
William Weber Ford. A. B., Adelhert College, 1893. Norwalk, O. 
Thomas Wood Hastings. A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1894. 
Morristown, N. J. 
Alfred Birch Herrick. A. B., Williams College, 1894. Amster- 
dam, N. Y. 
James Hall Mason Knox, Jr. A. B., Yale University, 1892, and 
Ph. D., 1894. New Haven, Conn. 
Millard Langfeld. A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1893. Balti- 
more. 
Gertrude Light. S. B., University of Wisconsin, 1894. Milwaukee, 
Wis. 
James Daniel Madison. S. B., University of Wisconsin, 1894. 
Mazomanie, Wis. 
Harry Taylor Marshall. A. B., Johns Hopkins University, 1894, 
Baltimore. 
Roger Griswold Perkins. A. B., Union College, 1893, and Harvard 
University, 1894. Schenectady, N. Y. 
Katherine Porter. A. B., Bryn Mawr College, 1894. Baltimore. 
Joseph Hersey Pratt. Ph. B., Yale University, 1894. North 
Middleboro, Mass. 
Georgiana Sands. A. B., Vassar College, 1893; Graduate Student, 
Barnard College (N. Y.), 1893-94. Port Chester, N. Y. 
Benjamin Robinson Schenck. A. B., Williams College, 1894. Syra- 
cuse, N. Y. 
Walter Ralph Steiner. A. B., Yale University, 1892, and A. M., 
1895; Graduate Student, Johns Hopkins University, 1892-94. Balti- 
more. 
Emma Elizabeth Walker. A. B., Smith College, 1887. Parkers- 
burg, W. Va. 
Andrew Henderson Whitridge. S. B., Harvard University, 1894. 
Baltimore.