CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS 
V" ' OK THE 
Pj\st, Present, jind Future 
OF THE 
CONNECTICUT MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
J 
By S. G. HUBBARD, M. D., 
New Haven. 
Rrcm the Proceedings of the Conn. .Medical Society, 
HARTFORD: 
The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. 
1885. CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAST, PRES- 
ENT, AND FUTURE OF THE CONNECTICUT 
MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
S. Gf. Hubbard, M.D., New Haven. 
[Read before the Meeting of the New Haven County Society, April 16,1885.] 
Under the operation of physiological law, the growth and devel- 
opment of organic bodies depend upon the regularity and com- 
pleteness of the molecular changes which occur in them. Men 
and their institutions, in subjection to a similar natural law, must 
undergo repeated material transformations and such constitutional 
changes as will best fit them to fulfill their legitimate functions; 
otherwise, healthy existence cannot be maintained. The constitu- 
tions of States, the charters of colleges and cities, the organizations 
of scientific bodies, and all those associations which are the out- 
growth of civilization, and mark the progress of mental and 
material development in every community, must be constantly 
subject to modifications and changes if they would keep pace with 
the advancement of human thought, and with the absolute require- 
ments of mankind. 
Whenever such changes become impossible of accomplishment 
decay and death are close at hand. 
The necessity for the inauguration of such organic changes as 
affect the life or usefulness of an institution may have been for 
many years an admitted fact in the inner consciousness of its 
thoughtful members, awaiting only the expanding force of a rare 
or even of a common-place event to develop a feeble admission of 
possible danger into a deep and positive conviction of its existence. 
The interest which always centers around chronological events in 
their relations to the life and welfare of a public institution, con- 
verts most naturally these centennial days into an occasion for 
critical introspection of our affairs and prospects. 2 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
We have reached, to-day, Mr. President and Gentlemen, a period 
in our history of the greatest possible interest and importance ; - 
an epoch of time from which we shall date all the events in our 
future,- a point of observation from which we may look backward 
and carefully note the successes and the mistakes of the first 
hundred years of our existence; and looking forward from this 
elevation into the dim unknown we should endeavor, in the light 
of contemporaneous history, and of our own experiences, to cast 
the horoscope of the future, bringing to our aid the calm spirit of 
philosophical inquiry and the cautious boldness with which we are 
accustomed to consider the gravest professional problems. 
But while we broaden and deepen our foundations to meet the 
demands of a newer civilization, let us correct our mistakes, and 
strengthen ourselves for the new triumphs and trials that await us 
in the progress of the second century on which we have just 
entered. 
This centennial anniversary of the New Haven County Medical 
Society, as it was at first named, is an appropriate occasion for 
recalling briefly the condition of the profession of Connecticut in 
the early days of the republic, together with the circumstances and 
purposes which led directly to its formation, and the events which 
followed it. We may thus be enabled to trace to their source the 
striking peculiarities for which our State Society is distinguished, 
and to appreciate more fully the tenacity with which it adheres to 
the outworn theories of a dead past. 
Those of you who are familiar with the interesting and increas- 
ingly valuable paper of Dr. Henry Bronson, on the " Origin of the 
Connecticut Medical Society," published in our Proceedings for 
1873 (and all who were members at that date know it well), are 
aware that tlm principal object the founders of this society had in 
view was, that it might serve as a strategical base of operations - 
an advanced position - from which they could more advanta- 
geously direct the contest about to be inaugurated, the real pur- 
pose of which was the formation of a State Medical Society, on a 
plan that had been already matured. 
It may, then, be truthfully said, that the existence of the Con- 
necticut Medical Society began a hundred years ago, when all its 
parts were fashioned, and its lines were laid upon a borrowed 
model, the working qualities of which had not then been tested. 
And although, because of the inadmissible demands of the thirty- CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
3 
two persons who petitioned for an act of incorporation, a charter 
was repeatedly denied to them, and its organic life was retarded 
for eight years, the State Society has been an actual living force 
in the minds and hearts of the profession since 1784. Before pro- 
ceeding further, perhaps what I have said of the demands of the 
petitioners for exclusive rights, extraordinary privileges, and dan- 
gerous powers, requires a word of explanation. 
During the closing years of the Revolutionary War, and immedi- 
ately after the establishment of peace, a large number of medical 
men of wide experience and superior ability, of which they seemed 
fully conscious, returned, after prolonged and arduous services 
with our armies in the field, to their quiet homes in Connecticut; 
and it would not be strange if they brought with them the habits 
of command, the self-appreciation, and the arrogance so common 
among professional men of that early time, greatly intensified by 
the influences of army life. They found already organized in a 
neighboring commonwealth, by men of similar experiences and 
mental habits, a State Medical Society; and feeling the need of a 
similar organization themselves, and in view of the pre eminent 
position and influence conceded then and always to the profession 
of that State, it was most natural that the charter of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society, granted in 1781, should have been closely 
copied as a model of wisdom by the early profession of Connec- 
ticut. 
But when, as petitioners, they knocked at the doors of our Gen- 
eral Assembly, in 1784, asking for the incorporation of thirty-two 
physicians - four from each county - as a body corporate, to be 
known as Fellows of the Connecticut Medical Society, chosen for 
life, or during good behavior, and limited in number to sixty per- 
sons, the petition was promptly denied on high constitutional 
grounds, and as contrary to public policy. The next year the 
petitioners amended their ' bill of form ' and asked for a charter 
by the terms of which the limit in number of Fellows was extended 
to seventy; and in order to quiet opposition that had arisen to the 
charter in some portions of New Haven County, "the committee 
passed a vote making an addition of four more members from this 
county agreeable to a recommendation forwarded to the several 
counties." Says Bronson, "In 1787 a few cities had been recently 
incorporated, but what may be called a private charter, did not, I 
believe, exist in the State. Very naturally the legislature was re- 4 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
luctant to change its policy. More than this, there were provis- 
ions in the rejected bill calculated to excite the jealousy of a sus- 
picious people." The question during these years took precedence 
in popular discussions of public affairs. It was the general ver- 
dict of the people that to grant a charter conferring upon a small 
number of citizens such exclusive privileges as were asked for, and 
constituting what was properly termed a close corporation for the 
administration of affairs of the greatest importance to the entire 
community, was regarded as a precedent too dangerous to be 
established - and to the lasting honor of the General Assembly, 
the prayer of the petitioners was again refused. "Approvingly, or 
adversely, the people of the State watched silently their proceed- 
ings. Yale College partook of the excitement; on the 15th of 
July, 1788, the Seniors discussed the question, "Whether it be 
safe to grant the proposed charter of the Connecticut Medical 
Society," and on the 6th of January following, the question, 
"Whether the institution of medical societies be useful." We 
may smile now at some of these items of our medical history, but 
we must not forget that, while in a few instances there was profes- 
sional opposition on the giound of too limited a distribution of 
" life peerages " to satisfy the ambitious, the opposition of the peo- 
ple and of their representatives was deeply rooted in their natural 
democratic dislike of granting exclusive privileges to privileged 
classes. In 1791, the New Haven County Medical Society was 
duly incorporated. In 1792 the Connecticut Medical Society was 
incorporated with substantially the same chartered rights as it has 
at present, namely, - the sovereignty of the Society is exclusively 
invested in "the President and Fellows." 
" By a change in our charter of 1870, our organization was mate- 
rially improved in some important particulars, and especially in 
establishing the standing ' Committee on Matters of Professional 
Interest,' and by some other changes." 
I shall offer no apology for having drawn so largely upon Dr. 
Bronson's paper for these interesting historical data, in view of the 
great importance of an adequate understanding of the principles 
involved in any discussion of the present needs of our State Society, 
and particularly in view of the fact that the historical paper re- 
ferred to is not accessible to a large number of members added 
within the last dozen years. 
In order that we may form an appreciative judgment of the CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
5 
influences of the times upon the condition and progress of profes- 
sional opinion in our own and the neighboring State, and as 
throwing a strong light on our own anomalous and untenable posi- 
tion, let me again refer to the peculiar circumstances in the midst 
of which the Massachusetts Medical Society was incorporated. 
Like every other interest in the colonies during the revolutionary 
period, the medical profession was in a chaotic state; and in the 
absence of medical colleges, there were in all the country no prac- 
ticable agencies by which it could be redeemed and elevated, 
except by those originating within itself. It has been stated that 
among the three thousand medical practitioners in the country at 
that time, it was estimated that only four hundred held the degree 
of M.D., and nearly all of these were obtained at foreign universi- 
ties. The society was chartered on the first of November, 1781, 
only a few days after the battle of Yorktown, and the surrender 
of Cornwallis, on the 19th of October. Almost any petition for 
the incorporation of a medical society, praying as this one did for 
exclusive powers of control in every thing pertaining to the pro- 
fession of medicine, presented to any legislature, overflowing as 
this one doubtless was, with wild excitement and patriotic rejoic- 
ings over a glorious victory of such critical importance to the 
country, would be even now, probably, readily granted. The 
society was intended, and was authorized to act, in the absence of 
any medical college in that State, or in New England, as an exam- 
ining and licensing body for all persons offering to practice 
medicine within its borders. It consisted of thirty-one Fellows, 
with a maximum limit of seventy, to be increased beyond the 
minimum limit by election. 
To this body was committed the entire control of medical educa- 
tion and medical practice. It published a formidable list of over 
eighty volumes, which candidates for license must show by evi- 
dence that they had read - with a catalogue of a hundred and fifty 
more, which students were earnestly advised to read. It was at 
the same time a Medical Society, a Medical College, and an 
Academy of Medicine. 
It was upon this model that our original charter xyas framed; 
indeed it was a copy, verbatim et literatim, of this remarkable 
enactment, and we can see in it the germs of the idea of govern- 
ment by elected Fellows, and the power to license men to practice 
medicine, which still linger among us, in spite of the eliminating 6 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY, 
forces of evolution. The aims of the profession in both these 
States, were however, highly to be commended - their purposes 
were identical - they each desired to preserve the purity of the 
profession by excluding from it all persons and practices likely to 
bring upon it dishonor. The way before them was full of difficul- 
ties of unknown magnitude, but their zeal in the work of laying 
broad and deep foundations for the professional structures they 
were about to build was unbounded. Their knowledge of human 
nature seems to have been small, but in their knowledge of 
scientific medicine, as then understood, they ranked with the fore- 
most. The exigencies of the occasion were great and imperative, 
but they were responded to in the fullness of their wisdom, and 
to the extent of their powers. Yet the dogmas of an old civiliza- 
tion still held their minds in bondage; for although just emerging 
from a long and bloody war, waged to secure their own personal 
and political liberty, they were unable to understand that perfect 
freedom and equality of rights are just as essential in the cultiva- 
tion of the medical sciences, as they are to the growth and 
development of a political state. 
In tracing the remarkable parallelisms so noticeable in the 
histories of our own society, and that of Massachusetts, I am 
indebted to the kindness of several friends and correspondents in 
that State, for the loan of valuable documents, and full replies to 
requests for information; thus enabling me to presentan intelli- 
gible view of the two societies in comparison - and particularly of 
the workings of their system, and the reasons which, after a few 
years' trial led to its abandonment. From the able and exceed- 
ingly instructive centennial discourse of J. Collins Warren, M.D , 
of Boston, before the Massachusetts Society in 1881, I am able to 
quote facts and traditions which explain the causes which led to 
this great change in its organization. Says Dr. Warren, " Accord- 
ing to tradition the workings of this close corporation were not 
entirely satisfactory to the mass of the profession in the State. A 
considerable number of prominent medical men having come into 
the State, and increasing every year, strenuous opposition was 
made against the government of the many by the few; there was 
unwillingness to acknowledge the supremacy of the Society, with- 
out enjoying professional equality with the Fellows - such distinc- 
tions not being in accordance with the spirit of the institutions of 
the young republic. Accordingly, in 1803, the number of pro- CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
7 
fessional men in the State having greatly increased, and extensive 
correspondence having been instituted among its members, in 
order to devise the best means of increasing its usefulness, a radi- 
cal change was made in the constitution of the society; and there- 
after any licentiate of three years' practice, was eligible for an 
election on a basis of entire equality with all other members. He 
became a ' Fellow of the Society. ' " 
During the next generation the facilities for instruction in medi- 
cal colleges, particularly in New England, had been largely 
increased, and the profession of Massachusetts received its full 
share of the more highly educated graduates. Of course, agitation 
against this last remnant of exclusiveness was not allowed to cease 
or diminish - but was carried on with increased energy, until 
finally, after undergoing a great number of transformations, that 
pioneer Society through the indefatigable perseverance of a few 
wise and brave men whom I might name, fought itself clear of all 
impediments, and in 1859, its charter was so amended that every 
barrier to the full enjoyment of the rights of. freedom and equality 
by its members was removed; and from that day to the present, 
any man of good character, being a graduate of a duly authorized 
medical college, and practicing no exclusive system of medicine, 
has been on application eligible for election as a Fellow of the 
Society, on a basis of equality. The society then became for 
the first time in its history, and still remains, open - and free as the 
freest; while our own State Society remains the sole representative 
in New England, of a pernicious system based upon the crude and 
erroneous ideas of a century ago. 
The striking fact should not be forgotten that our own Society 
is the only one in New England that is governed by a board of 
Fellows; and that the Society of Massachusetts is the only other 
one that ever was so organized in these States. 
In what has been said respecting the working principles on 
which that model society was organized, and the almost universal 
dissatisfaction that was felt with the results of their system, we 
may recognize almost a facsimile of our own organization, and of 
what is now actually taking place within it, but with some very 
important differences; the most remarkable of which are seen in 
the modes of electing the governing bodies. While our governing 
body is elected annually, its members are actually chosen by com- 
paratively a mere handful of members of the county societies, so 8 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
few being in the habit of attending those meetings. They are com- 
monly chosen, too, with little regard to their fitness for the very 
important duties imposed upon them; and being as a body necessa- 
rily without permanence it can have little knowledge of our his- 
tory- still less familiarity with the needs of the profession - and 
I must add, that in many cases, they manifest so much indifference 
to their duties, that intelligent legislation is impossible; and I have 
sometimes heard the question asked, " Why do they attend the con- 
vention at all ? " 
In the early years for various reasons, the attendance was very 
meagre, and could hardly be otherwise; and so small was it in 
1793, that the quorum, which was twenty, had to be reduced to 
twelve - the society then numbering over 300 members At the 
present day, when we easily travel in a few hours from one 
extreme of the State to the other, the attendance is no better. It 
is not uncommon even now, to see populous and near-by counties 
represented (as some are pleased to style the functions of the Fel- 
lows) by only a single one until late in the afternoon; and 
recently from one large county not a single Fellow was present. I 
can mention instances in which the convention consisted of twenty 
Fellows, in others of fifteen, fourteen, and in one case there was 
not a quorum,- only eleven being present, yet the business of leg- 
islation went on. In these instances, who of the society was being 
'•represented?" It is a common fact which I have often heard 
commented on, that even when the convention may be considered 
as full, the business of the governing body is very often transacted 
by four, five, or six persons; while a larger number of members 
than all the Fellows there present, stand outside the rail, curious 
spectators of the so-called legislation going on within it. 
Not unfrequently, and recently, the society has been placed by this 
sort of legislation in positions of great embarrassment before the pub- 
lic, from the mortifying consequences of which there wras no escape. 
At the same period of comparison, down to 1803 and later, in the 
Massachusetts Society, says a correspondent, '-The governing body 
of Fellows was always carefully selected by themselves from among 
those best known in the profession as best qualified for the high trust 
committed to them; they were men of at least ten years' practice, 
whose fitness for the office was generally conceded." Another 
correspondent says, " Notwithstanding the high professional posi- 
tion of the Fellows, there was general dissatisfaction with the CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
9 
exclusiveness of the system. There was a loss of interest in the 
district society meetings, and diminishing attendance at the annual 
meetings." Says another, " The matter of a close corporation was 
compelled to give way before the general march of ideas, which 
has made us in theory all democrats." 
These quotations are good illustrations of the fact that the 
human mind everywhere, under similar conditions, works in par- 
allel lines, and arrives at co-incident conclusions. The same state 
of dissatisfaction with our system, and the same process of 
upheaval exist among us with far greater cause. No one will 
deny that in the beginning some system of representation by Fel- 
lows or otherwise, was necessary, for without it no meetings could 
then have been held. The profession was poor, the facilities for 
travel were meagre and fatiguing, and very few, only those living 
near the places of meeting, could afford to spend a week and more, 
making tedious journeys on horseback, leaving their patients 
exposed to the arts of unscrupulous competitors, and spending 
their money,- for what? An examination of the re-print of our 
transactions for the first thirty years will show how small was the 
reward, and how poor the inducements to any except to the very few 
wise, courageous, and far-seeing minds whose prophetic vision 
enabled them to forecast the future, and patiently labor, while they 
waited for results they were never to witness. "Men die, but 
institutions live," is a truism often quoted without remembering 
that institutions, like men, may still live, and yet be not alive; they 
may be regularly enumerated as among the factors of a commu- 
nity, and yet be intellectually dead beyond recovery. 
There are so many existing causes for the present lack of inter- 
est in the affairs of the society, that the time would not suffice to 
discuss them all, nor is it necessary before this audience, every one 
of whom is perfectly familiar with the situation. I should not 
feel willing to allude to them were it not for the fact that, in the 
course of an extended correspondence with proYninent members in 
various portions of the State, I find a remarkable agreement of 
opinions among them as to the causes for the steadily diminishing 
interest in the annual meetings, as well as in strictly professional 
work. Almost without an exception, pointed allusion is made to 
the increase of medical politics, and to the ease with which combi- 
nations are made not only for personal ends, but for the continued 
control of the organization by co-operating agencies, such as are 10 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
"best known outside of scientific circles, and to their unfriendly 
influence upon what should be the highest aim of the Society. 
From more than one quarter I am informed that respectable prac- 
titioners are, as a consequence, deterred from seeking admission to 
the Society - and what is of far more serious import, 1 have been 
distinctly told, of prominent and valuable members whom we 
cannot afford to lose, who are considering the question of with- 
drawal. I have personal knowledge of good men outside who 
refuse to join us, of one who has withdrawn - and of a large num- 
ber who refuse for these reasons to attend the meetings at all. 
It is not a pleasant duty to direct the attention of the society to 
alleged evils, which, if they really do exist, cannot fail to result in 
great disaster. If it is true that, in every county there is, or has 
been at times, what has been termed ring-influence, political combi- 
nations, " bossism," cliques (all these being equivalent terras used 
to define the agencies and forces utilized to develop results not 
contemplated by the law, and which are entirely foreign to the 
legitimate work of a medical society), is it not important that the 
fact should be recognized, and the evils duly considered? If it is 
true, as is openly declared by many, that these agencies control in 
many cases the election of Fellows, and have often controlled 
the election of officers - if it is true that under our system such 
manipulation is not only possible but is of frequent occurrence, 
and with a widening co-operation within narrow limits, directs the 
policy of our society to-day, what must be the prognosis of its 
future? 
This is an evil that has always been recognized as inseparable 
from our system, under which the mass is governed by a mere 
handful of men. It may be, perhaps, not improper to state in 
evidence of the correctness of this view, if any were needed, that 
in all the correspondence I have had with our own members, this 
is the objection most constantly made to the continuance of our 
present system. 
Every member who has regularly attended our meetings for a 
series of years, and has studied the society:s history, knows that 
what I have said is within the bounds of truth, and might be con- 
siderably enlarged. What other reason than a most skillfully 
managed and widely extended ring-influence can be offered in 
explanation of the significant historical fact mentioned by 
Bronson, that from the year 1801 until the year 1856, a period of CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
11 
fifty-five years, New Haven County was not asked to furnish the 
society with a president ? Whether this policy was or was not 
urged on the dog-in-the-manger principle, I am not prepared to 
affirm; hut of the fact we cannot doubt, nor that it was the work 
of an organized ring. And yet, there are persons who declare 
their disbelief in the existence of ring-influence, anywhere, now 
or formerly. It would not be difficult to indicate the period of its 
birth, and the progress of its growth. I see before me gentlemen 
who have had personal experience of its silent but potential influ- 
ence for evil. I have already said, it has existed from the very 
foundation of the society - it exists now - and from the nature of our 
organization, it will continue to exist, so long as that endures. I only 
mention these very disagreeable facts because no individual is 
chargeable with responsibility for them; and because they account 
in large measure for the growing indifference of members to mat- 
ters of the most vital importance to the welfare of the society, as 
shown by their continued and declared absence from all its 
meetings, and because it is generally believed that a consider- 
able number of physicians in the State, decline for some or all of 
these reasons, to become members of it; and, moreover, because 
there comes from various sections of the State, the suggestion of 
the need of a new society, organized on better principles, and. 
administered in a different spirit from that which now controls its 
councils. I am opposed to such a revolutionary step as this, 
believing as I do that it is possible, and far better, to remodel the 
society on the basis of the proposed "New Charter," and such 
changes in the by-laws as would thus be rendered expedient and 
necessary. 
We are now in the same condition as were our neighbors in 
1803, before they achieved their freedom from the dominion of 
an oligarchy. Indeed our situation is far worse than theirs, for 
while they endured the yoke in its full force for only twenty-two 
years, we have for a full century labored under much greater 
embarrassments, with a daily lessening power of securing our free- 
dom from the ever-growing burden. 
Before our neighbors were set fully free by the final act of 
emancipation in 1859, not only were the annual meetings of the 
society very generally ignored, but the district society meetings 
attracted little attention, and were of little use. But when the 
society became open and free, every member rejoicing in the 12 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
possession of Fellowship, on a basis of entire equality of rights 
and privileges with every other member, the status and relations 
of the whole profession were totally changed. 
Indifference and distrust, silence and isolation, gave way to 
universal joy and gladness; and the anniversary meeting of this 
great and noble society, became the red-letter day of the profes- 
sion in Massachusetts, and is now the Mecca up to which more 
than half of its 1,500 members travel every year, to listen to 
learned discourses, renew old friendships, exchange congratula- 
tions, and dine in harmony together. 
A friend writes to me, " There has never been in the recollec- 
tions of the oldest members, such a degree of professional harmony 
among us as of late years." Such are some of the natural and 
logical results in professional development, under the benign and 
stimulating influences of freedom and equality. Is it too late for 
us to profit by such an illustrious example ? 
Is there any obstacle in the way of a higher and more profitable 
cultivation of medical science among us, excepting the wretched 
remnant that remains of our old charter of 1784, the need of 
which, if it ever existed, the society has long ago outgrown ? 
Are gentlemen willing to acknowledge themselves satisfied with 
the little that filled the professional demands of the framers of 
that charter, or of the one of 1792 ? Are we ready to confess 
that we have no higher ambition than to keep ourselves within 
the deeply-worn ruts of antiquity ? 
'Will any gentleman admit that an organization which fulfilled 
all the demands of the profession a century ago, is adequate to 
meet our necessities in the closing days of the nineteenth century ? 
Do we stand in the foot-prints of our ancestors of four generations 
back? Will any member offer a reason why this society should 
not be made as free and open as those of other New England 
States ? 
I am aware that it is easy to object to anything. It is exceed- 
ingly easy to make objections in private which no one would be 
able to defend in public. I am told that the idea has been indus- 
triously circulated (and I quote from the letter of an ex-president), 
" That, should the society be made free, and every member a 
Fellow, it would be easy for the members in Hartford or New 
Haven counties, if they wished, to pass any particular measure 
over the heads of the country members, who would not be likely CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
13 
to turn out; and so Hartford and New Haven might combine and 
control the choice of the society." 
Is that an argument, and can it be defended ? 
When has it ever been known that Hartford and New Haven 
have combined to control the society ? Take the history of all 
these hundred years- did any such thing occur previous to 1856, 
when for two generations of men, New Haven had been denied 
the honor of a president ? I know that since then nothing of the 
kind has occurred. If such political trickery were ever to be 
attempted, it could only succeed under our present system. Those 
who fear that in a state of perfect freedom, every man being a 
Fellow, and able to represent himself, political combinations 
against the rights of any would be more easily formed than now, 
place a much lower estimate than I do, upon the professional 
honor of the country physicians; and I am sure that such an 
objection cannot be seriously made or sustained, by anybody. 
I firmly believe, that on a basis of equality, it would be impos- 
sible for members to neglect the annual meetings as they have 
done hitherto. Every man would feel, as perhaps never before, 
that he had a vital interest at stake - and a strong personal attrac- 
tion to the meetings, which he would have no desire to resist. 
He could not resist it ! From another ex-president who has no 
superior among us as a man of sound, calm judgment, a man of 
wide professional and general culture, I have received this 
opinion: he says "The facility of traveling by railroad is now so 
great, that it is much better to amend the charter so that each 
member shall stand as the equal of any other member." 
"Let us strike for an annual mass meeting of the society; 
throwing the responsibility of attending it, or not, on the profes- 
sion of the State - this will appeal powerfully to the higher 
professional instincts and pride of every man." 
Another ex-president writes me: "I have never been able to 
see any good reason why the administration of the society's affairs 
should be entrusted to some forty of its members, many of whom 
are men of small experience in such matters, and some are too 
young in practice to be of any service to the society in this 
ielation." . . . He adds: "I believe that every member of 
the Connecticut Medical Society should have the same powers and 
privileges as to speaking and voting in its meetings, that any other 
member has; and I have no doubt, if the better part of the 14 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
members will unite in giving their attention to this subject, the 
necessary changes can be made.'' 
Another ex-president writes thus: "I believe," he says, "that 
in all our medical societies, whether town, county, State or 
national, physicians should meet upon an equal footing, with equal 
privileges; otherwise, our society meetings are but clubs, with 
invited guests, who have only the wonderful privilege of sitting 
mute, and watching the actors as they play. There may be some 
good reasons for this 'House of Lords'-the Fellows, that I do 
not comprehend, but from my present standpoint of information, 
I heartily concur with the views you have expressed.'.' 
From two other ex-presidents I have received similar opinions; in 
each instance unsolicited, and accompanied by statements of facts of 
their own knowledge, on which their opinions were based. They 
each protest in strong terms against a longer toleration of a system of 
administration so prolific as ours of every imaginable professional 
evil, and without a redeeming feature. It must, I am sure, be 
apparent to every reflecting mind, that these opinions are correct; 
and coming as they do from representative men who have care- 
fully considered the subject, they are entitled to great weight. 
From what 1 have heard there can be little doubt that a majority 
at least of our ex-presidents would concur in these opinions if they 
were inquired of. 
It should not be forgotten that by natural and associated right, 
the sovereignty of the society inheres wholly and equally in its 
members. But in the obsolete fashion of that early time, when 
the lines were distinctly drawn between the few who gave direction 
to public opinion, and the mass who followed them, the sovereignty 
of the individual was unwisely surrendered to a small body of 
elected Fellows; and ever since, "the President and Fellows" have 
continued to exercise those sovereign powers which the society 
should never have relinquished, but may at any time reclaim. 
The adoption of the proposed new charter now under considera- 
tion would be an easy method of reclaiming these long abandoned 
powers, and of rehabilitating the members in their sovereign 
rights; thus leaving the society free to reorganize and simplify its 
antiquated machinery, in accordance with the more enlightened 
views of the present day as to what the needs of the profession 
require. To those who dread and oppose any change because it is 
a change; and prefer as they say, to "let well enough alone," and CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
15 
deprecate the disturbance of venerated dust, it is, I fear, useless to 
offer a word of argument. But those who advocate as an 
adequate remedy for these great evils, the extension of representa- 
tion by increasing the number of Fellows "prorata"; and those 
who would make Fellows of all ex-presidents, thus creating a 
"life peerage," cannot fail to see that by either of these methods 
the evils would be increased and rendered more difficult of removal. 
In the proposed new charter, however, they can see a solution of 
all our troubles. 
Within such a body where all its members are engaged, each for 
himself, in the study of medical science, in the practice of which 
he is of necessity his own exponent - his own representative 
before the public - is there any sensible reason why every member 
should not represent himself in the administration of the society's 
affairs? We shall presently see that under this new charter, and 
the by-laws that will naturally be framed under it, all the individual 
rights of members, as well as those of the county meetings, will 
be guarded at every point more perfectly than they have ever yet 
been. While at the same time, as in all medical societies organized 
on a basis of equality, of which I have any knowledge, such as 
the other State societies in New England, and the newly organ- 
ized New York State Medical Association, containing more than 
half the members of the State society from which it seceded,* 
there will be no room for outside issues of any description; no 
possibility of combinations of the stronger against the weaker - 
or of one section or individual against another. If such objection- 
able features - such deformities - have ever defaced our escut- 
cheon, or weakened our influence for good, they could exist no 
longer because every inducement to their formation will have 
been removed. 
Much more might be said in advocacy of a reorganization of 
the society on the basis of the proposed new charter. But, not to 
weary you, let us suppose that the society has decided by a 
majority vote (to be cast in any manner which will secure a ballot 
from every member) that it will celebrate the first centennial 
* As I am informed, it would be a mistake to suppose that the cause of this secession 
was the attitude of the State Society of New York on the code question. It was more 
properly only the occasion - the cause being the control of the society for years past by 
a group of specialists; and the control of the district societies by rings, which decided 
who should or should not be elected members of the State society. 16 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
anniversary of its foundation by inaugurating this " new depart- 
ure " in its methods. 
The society has been summoned, we will suppose, to assemble 
in mass meeting. The President anounces the result of the ballot- 
ing. The convention is ready now to consider any business 
brought before it. I would propose, - 
First. The election upon nomination and by ballot, of a Presi- 
dent, a Vice President, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding 
Secretary, and a Treasurer, each to serve for one year, or until a 
successor is elected. 
Second. Let the members then present from each county, elect 
from among their members (present or absent) two, making in all 
sixteen, to serve as an Executive Council, to whom shall be added, 
the President, ex officio, or some Fellow named by him, as a " Mem- 
ber at large." One-half of the elected members of the council to 
be elected for one year, and the other half for two years (to be 
decided by lot) or by nomination at this first meeting. In every 
year after the first year, eight members of council will go out of 
office, and the vacancies be filled by new elections, so that each 
member will serve for two years - while the "Member at large'' 
will serve only one year, and go out of office with the President 
who appointed him. We should thus have an executive body of 
seventeen, representing all the county interests, composed of the 
best qualified members who could be selected, subject, or not, to 
re-election, after an interval of one term. If the President be 
added ex officio to the council, he will be its presiding officer; and 
the corresponding secretary shall act as its secretary, and keep and 
preserve records of all its business. The council to hold two 
meetings in each year, the last of which to be one month previous 
to the annual meeting of the society. The duties of the executive 
council to be the nomination of all officers, and the members of 
the standing committees, and delegates of the society-(all the 
other committees to be appointed by the president) and in general 
to prepare the order of business of the annual meetings - to 
exercise a watchful care for the general welfare, and to perform 
any other executive duties referred to it by vote of the society, 
and duly to make report thereof to the society. 
Immediately after the meeting of council just previous to the 
annual meeting of the society, the council would transmit to each 
member of the society, the nominations it will present ah that CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
17 
meeting for president, vice-president, recording secretary, cor- 
responding secretary, and treasurer, and members of the stand- 
ing committees, together with a programme of the exercises of 
the meeting, literary and otherwise, names of existing officials, 
essayists, etc., in the usual form. The executive council should 
be paid an annual sum equal at least to their necessary expenses. 
I think it will at once be seen that the duties of the Council will 
be of controlling importance, and of the greatest benefit to the 
society in various ways. It will be of necessity a deliberative 
body, as well as an executive force; and in time will come to be 
regarded also as a co-operative consultant in affairs " ad interim." 
If, as it is hoped, the members of council should be selected 
because of their peculiar fitness for such duties, by reason of 
general professional intelligence, and especial interest in all that 
concerns the welfare of the society, they will naturally come into 
very intimate relations with the most active minds in the county 
meetings of the society; and will become almost of necessity, 
radiating centers of professional enthusiasm and life. 
The members of council would be enabled, knowing as they 
undoubtedly would, every case of special interest in their several 
counties, to bring to the aid of the county reporters a powerful 
influence in securing for the " Committee on matters of pro- 
fessional interest " written reports of all the instructive cases 
occurring in the State; and if, perchance, there should be no other 
tangible, permanent good ever realized as the outcome, the first 
fruits, so to speak, of this endeavor to remodel our organization, 
than that of encouraging and establishing for every young man 
the habit of making written reports of his cases, the attainment of 
so great a good is worthy of our best considered efforts. 
This is the best known means of forming habits of systematic 
study and correct thinking; and in conjunction with the right of 
universal suffrage, cannot fail to secure for us in the end and full 
completeness of our organization, all the advantages which profes- 
sional association is capable of affording. 
It is important for us to remember, that while the annual meet- 
ings of the society are indispensable, and when properly conducted 
have a powerful influence for good peculiar to themselves, it is in 
the county meetings of the society that each individual must culti- 
vate his own powers, and perform for himself the labor which is 18 
CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
to carry forward to completion his own personal professional 
growth. 
Here it is, if anywhere, that we are able to approach that 
development of individuality which is such an essential element of 
professional success, and by means of which so many are distin- 
guished above their fellows. 
The most sanguine advocate of the right of every member to 
the enjoyment of the privileges of fellowship on a basis of perfect 
equality, could not be so illogical and unreasonable as to " suppose 
that the professional qualities of any man can be changed by legis- 
lative enactment; " or that a society which for .a hundred years has 
suffered repression and paralysis through abnegation of its inher- 
ent powers of sovereignty, can at once take position by the side of 
sister societies, which, for almost the same length of time, have 
been developing under the more favorable influences of freedom 
and equality. 
Let us remember, gentlemen, in our efforts to determine what 
changes in our organic law are required by the exigencies of the 
hour, that we are working now, not for to-day only, but for the 
next century. Petty variations of methods, that carry not with 
them the recognition of great principles brought to light through 
the demands of a progressive civilization, change nothing. Fre- 
quent appeals to the legislature should not be mistaken as evidences 
of progress; yet every one must concede that in each change thus 
far, particularly in the most recent one, that of 1870. good pro- 
gress has been made. I will say, however, of this charter, as its 
committee said of the work of all their predecessors, " that so far 
as it goes it is very well; but it does not go far enough." Yet 
they ventured as far as it seemed probable at that time, the 
society was prepared to follow. Surely it cannot be necessary to 
remind any reader of this paper that its sole aim is to aid in plac- 
ing the society upon a higher plane than it has ever yet occupied; 
and to invite special attention to the primary step of several it 
must make before it can assume the position which its distinguished 
parentage, its century of existence, and its own self-respect demand 
that it should take. It must be apparent to every intelligent 
reader that the tendency of this movement for a reorganization of 
the society under a new charter is not toward centralization, but 
toward the very opposite condition. Its object is to increase greatly 
the general interest in the society's prosperity by formally elevat- CENTENNIAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONN. MED. SOCIETY. 
19 
ing each of its members to the dignity of fellowship, and thus 
restoring to every one the high constitutional powers belonging to 
him by right, but hitherto exercised by a small body, without per- 
manence or special qualifications for the trust. There are already 
possible indications that the society may soon be called upon to 
vote, through its fellows, for a change in the by-law concerning 
its places of meeting. In my judgment, a vote to restrict the 
place of meeting to any single locality would be equivalent to a 
long stride toward centralization, and fatal to the very life of the society. 
In so small and compact a State as Connecticut, with its superior 
railroad facilities, there can be urged no valid reason for such a 
vote. On the contrary, it would be easy to demonstrate that it is 
of the utmost importance for the society not to restrict its liberty 
to hold its meetings wherever it may choose, in any of the cities of 
the State. 
The most striking and commanding features of the proposed 
new charter are its simplicity, and the freedom it confers upon 
every member of the society to do, through its by-laws, in all time 
to come, whatever its highest interests may demand. Under the 
simple provisions of this charter, or of one framed in express 
recognition of the great fact that the sovereignty of the individual 
man is inalienable, and that the power to deprive him of it exists 
nowhere, not even in himself, under such an accepted declaration 
of rights as our working charter there can be no room for discord, 
none for political combinations, none for personal ambition, except 
for superior excellence in professional work. 
There will be room only for perfect unity of purpose, mutual 
respect, harmony, and brotherly love.