PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.

BY DR. F. A. ROSS, OF MOBILE.

Fellows of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama :

GENTLEMEN: Nearly a quarter of a century has glided by since I assisted in the first organization of this association. As if it were but yesterday I recalled to mind the youthful energy, the san. guine hopes, the earnest love, the pure devotion which I honestly dedicated to the advancement of my chosen profession; and now that the frosts of many winters have left their impress, they have not chilled the ardor of my youth, nor my earnest desire to do all that lies in my power to promote the advancement of our science, and particularly the interests and welfare of our professional brethren in this State. Chosen by your suffrages, to the office of president of this association, I feel while expressing to you great gratitude for the unexpected and undeserved distincttion, that I can only repay your confidence, by trying to the utmost extent of my poor abilities, to deserve the trust which you have confided to me. In endeavoring to do so I shall, no doubt, frequently be compelled to solicit your forbearance and charity.

Perhaps it would be better for me to give, for the benefit of those who are comparatively young in this association, a rapid, imperfect sketch of the history of the association. In 1849, a medical convention consisting of delegates from the Selma, Montgomery and Mobile Medical Societies, met in Mobile, and resolved themselves into the Alabama State Medical Association, which, under that name, has existed ever since. I need not detail its history further than to say that it continued a rather feeble existence until 1861 when the war prevented any further meetings. The credit of its reorganization is due to the Selma Medical Society, and particularly to Dr. A. G. Mabry, of that city. The Selma Medical Society during the latter part of the year 1867 issued a call to the medical societies of the State, as well as to all professional brethren, to meet in Selma, on March 3d, 1868. This Convention was held, and delegates from the Selma, Greensboro, Montgomery and Mobile Medical Societies, with other medical gentlemen, met and reorganized the medical association of the State of Alabama.

From its reorganization its progress has been rapid, and during the presidency of Dr. Mabry several new societies were formed in

the State. In the spring of 1869 the association met in Mobile and was largely attended by delegates and members from all parts of this State. At this session the accomplished and popular Dr. R. F. Michel, of Montgomery, was elected president, and bringing all his energies and well known powers of persuasion to bear upon the profession in Alabama, he was successful in organizing eight new medical societies in Alabama. During the following year the number of societies was increased to (29) twenty-nine, and we have representatives from every portion of the State of Alabama. These delegates represent the medical talent of our State, and are capable of so reporting the diseases of their respective counties, with their hygrometic, atmospheric, telluric and hygienic conditions, as to aggregate an amount of information which must be of vast benefit to the profession and to the public.

Gentlemen: I do sincerely hope that hereafter full and complete reports will be made by all the appointees in every county in this State. The amount and value of the information thus obtained will be of incalculable value to the profession and to the State. To illustrate : A topic of conversation amongst the medical men of this city for years past, has been the certainty that the telegraphic wires would be made to serve the purpose of protecting, in warning all sections of this country of the approach and direction of storms. We now see that it has gone farther, and daily predicts with almost absolute certainty, although only under the term of probabilities, the weather for the next twenty-four hours. (Uncertainties now existing will doubtless be soon rectified by close observation and comparison.) There is no doubt in my mind that all atmospheric disturbances are governed by immutable laws, and that when this system can be so extended as to embrace the whole country, and regular deductions arrived at by close observation and comparison, a general law will be found to govern all these apparent mysteries. I adduce this fact simply to illustrate the importance of the suggestion which I make to you to observe closely all those apparent and palpable causes which change, in any way, the sanitary condition of your particular localities. What may impress one man as a circumstance or matter of no importance or bearing upon the diseases of a locality, will on repetition or multiplication assume an importance which in time may establish a rule which is found to be inviolable. There is nothing done by chance. The laws by which this Universe is governed have been fixed and immutable from the BEGINNING. There they are and there they have been from all time, and there they will endure forever. God breathed his spirit into the first man, to remain until the last man is gathered to him. He created man in his own image, and endowed him with his spirit. Was this to make him hide his talent away, or to use it to discover the principle of those laws which lead to his salvation and to his self-preservation, which is the first law of nature? Next to the protection and preservation of self is the

protection and preservation of your neighbor, your brother, your fellow man. Does it not then behoove us to investigate, to labor, to observe, to earnestly and diligently employ all those talents which have been mercifully given to us; to do all in our power to prove that we love our fellow man, by securing his good?

How can we, as medical men, better accomplish this purpose than by studying, discovering, and profiting by these natural laws which only reveal themselves to the most patient, untiring, and earnest investigation, comparison, and study? It is by this observation, comparison, and reason that we can trace the connection of circumstances, and learn from what combination of them we may expect to witness particular results. These results in the course of time will be found to follow so surely upon well settled principles, based upon securely established facts, derived from accurate observation, as to form a basis for a system of Hygiene for our State, that will place it in the front rank of the States of this country. And why should you not succeed in first occupying this position? I address myself to the professional pride of my native State. When I look back over the last few years and see the rapid progress manifested in your transactions, culminating in the last, which compares more than favorably with the transactions of any State in this Union, I feel more than encouraged. I feel confident that you can give to the State Medical Association, and to the medical profession of Alabama a prominence second to none in this country.

But in order to accomplish this end, we must combine to work together. We must allow no divisions in our ranks, no jealousies, no local nor sectional feelings, for such do not belong to, nor have any place in an enlightened, liberal profession; but looking solely to the honor, prosperity, and advancement of our cause, we must band together as brothers with the sacred object of devoting all our energies and our lives to the accomplishment of this object. Many conflicting views as to the mode of accomplishing these purposes, may be presented, but we must, in charity, allow for the differences of opinion inseparable from human fallibility, and labor upon the certainty that Time makes all things right. But other inducements besides those of pride, and love to honor our profession, surge us on to our labors. The world must move on. Every man has his allotted labor on this earth, and while statesmen, and warriors, and merchants, and artisans are astonishing the world with their progress, the medical profession has shown itself brilliant beyond all precedent, particularly in its vast discoveries in physiological medicine, and its application of Hygiene for the preservation and prolongation of life. To this field, and into this company we are called to take our places. Let us step forward and contribute our mite, even if it be a few little shells gathered on the shore. I feel that I shall not call in vain. What is the prize offered, what the goal to reach, what the ends to attain? The preservation and prolongation of human

life, the prevention of disease, the elucidation of those comparatively hidden laws which govern our healthful existence, and the enforcement of those laws for the welfare of our fellow-creatures. Can this be done? Imperfect, crude, and ill-directed as have been most attempts to accomplish these purposes, we can now profit by past experience; and by the lights of the present day we can map out a course for future guidance, by following which we can avoid the errors of the past, and arrive at that inevitable conclusion which is the basis of all truth and knowledge. To do this, we must enter into these labors imbued with the proper spirit; we must have a due sense and a proper appreciation of the importance of the subject, leaving out of consideration its difficulties; we must only look to the great ends to be obtained. When we cast our eyes around the mundane horizon, we see that the whole world is alive and active. This is indeed an age of progress; of rapid railroad progress. Every science, art, and trade is advancing with lightning speed. Education is becoming universal, and as the mass of the human intellect is enlightened and developed, it rises above the fogs and mists of ignorance. Superstition, false teachings, and pernicious doctrines, and profit by the light of truth and knowledge.

In this rapid progress it is our pride to know that our profession has kept up. When we cast our eyes over the great and rapid advance, made by our profession in all its branches, but more particularly in the materia medica, chemistry, and physiological medicine, we can but feel the earnest call which it makes upon us Alabamians to take our places in the ranks of those whose highest ambition was to contribute something to the honor and advancement of their calling. The field is open to us. Observations and reports, such as I have alluded to, may, at first, be crude, ill-digested, imperfect, and incomplete; but with a certain end to be obtained, and the means of arriving at that end well understood and clearly observed, we may be the first to demonstrate the practical benefit of the application of those great Hygienic laws, the observance of which is so essential to the well-being of individuals and States. I do not think that we should be discouraged or disheartened at the extent of the labors before us, but rather let us be stimulated to exert the proper spirit and determination to overcome the obstacles that stand in the path of advancement of our beloved State.

You may say that this is only a probable or possible theory or hypothesis. Now I do not set out with vague and disconnected observations, unsuggested by rational hypothesis, but with a preconceived idea, the result of thought and careful examination of the facts and phenomena that bear upon this subject. If we can faithfully observe and carefully compare the observations made and results obtained, and note well every fact that can have any bearing upon this subject, and carefully exclude every possible source of