Section Meetings
The annual meeting held in Portland lasted 3 days. During part of that time there was a meeting of sections, in which the various experts discussed the state of the Eclectic Medical profession and its recent changes and discoveries. Section I, Materia Medica, had two papers given. The first was given by Dr. H.T. Webster entitled “Medicinal Plants of California”. The second was “Medicinal Plants of Maine” by Dr. W.C. Hatch.
In Section II, Clinical Medicine and Pathology, Oregon physician W. S. Mott, of Salem, Oregon, presented a bit of his prose entitled “Medicine in Meter.” The other more serious presentations for this section numbered six, and ended with Anna E. Park’s “La Grippe and its Sequelae.” Dr. Mott’s second presentation came in the Section IV, Pediatrics meeting in which he gave a lengthy more serious presentation on “Etiology and Treatment of Diseases of Bones and Joints in Children.”
Section III, Obstetrics and Diseases of Women, was the longest section in this program. It had seven presentations geiven including “Mistakes of the Obstetrician” by Dr. G.W. McConnell of Newberg, Oregon. This was followed four presentations later by Portland Doctor James Surman’s article entitled “Woman and the Bicycle.”
The remaining sections V through XII had 27 presentations, of which just one was presented by an Oregon doctors: H.E. Curry’s “Modern Medical Science,” Four of these were presented by California Eclectic physicians, and an equal number from midwestern doctors of the Illinois-Iowa region.
In the “List of Members” for 1897, 308 members are listed, of which the Oregon members were Charles Band of Monroe [joined 1878], J.M. Cain of Halsey [1896], H.E. Curry of Baker City [1895], S.A. Davis of Salem [1896], H.L. Henderson of “La Grand” [1890], Emil Kirchgessner of Medford [1896], J.A. Kuykendall of Portland [1896], Robert O. Loggan of Philomath [1891], G.W. McConnell of Newberg [1895], Byron E. Miller of Portland [1896], W.S. Mott of Salem [1896], and George U. Snapp of Cottage Grove [1896]. California members numbered 29. Also listed as members were one doctor from Wardner Idaho, and four from Washington. The largest representations of members from other states were for Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, New York, and Connecticut, with smaller numbers of representatives from Nebraska, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee Utah, Arkansas and “Okmulgee, Choctaw Nation, I.T.” of the 119 members who appeared on the “Deceased Members” list, none were from Oregon; Dr. John H. Bundy of Oakland, California, the doctor to publicize the Oregon Grape and Cascara is noted as having died in 1881.
It is interesting to note that none of the members go back to the pre-1870 post-bellum period, suggesting the interest in Eclectic Medicine was slow to rebuild after the war. High enrollments of members began in the late 1880s.
Oregon authors published in several of the Eclectic trade journals reviewed for this study were were Drs. McConnell of Newberg, Henderson of La Grande, Miller of Portland, and Curry of Baker City.
John K. Scudder gave a report on “Numerical Strength of the Different Schools of Medicine in the United States.” Scudder provides a list meant to surpass similar information published in the Polk Director, 3ed. On his published list he notes Oregon as having 597 regular doctors, 72 Eclectics, 52 Homeopaths, and 13 Physio-Medics in 1896/7. A total of 73,028 allopaths were accounted for, as well as 9763 eclectics, 8640 homeopaths and 1553 physiomedics. The largest number of Eclectics were practicing in Indiana (1020), Illinois (988), New York (824), Ohio (670), and Missouri (538). Most of the Homeopaths were in New York (1338), Illinois (912), Ohio (850), Pennsylvania (684), and Massachusetts (646). Seventeen of the fifty regions listed had no Physio-Medics. Those with large numbers were Indiana (400), Illinois (192), Michigan (97), Iowa (95), Pennsylvania (75), Kansas (63) and New York and Texas (each 50).
JJ Harrington [1896] This listing appears on pp. 321-329.
Doctors D.J. Turner from Cheney [1891], W.M. Patterson from “Freemont” [1891], Sidney J. Darrin from Tacoma [1890], and Jacob C. House from Port Washington [1891].
p. 321, for the last mentioned in this list: George W. Bell of “Okmulgee, Choctaw Nation, I.T.” [1892].
pp. 330-333.
pp. 62-64.
Those without physio-medics: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. The two non-state regions were: “Indian Territory, which had 266 allopaths, 62 eclectics, 1 homeopathic and 4 physio-medics; and District of Columbia, with 565 allopaths, 26 eclectics, 65 homeopaths, and 3 physio-medics.
California had 1795 allopaths, 452 eclectics, 325 homeopaths, and 25 physiomedics; Washington had 643, 18, 56, and 19, respectively. Idaho: 101, 24, 7, and 0. Eclectics are outnumbered by Homeopaths in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Brian Altonen, MPH, MS 