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Transactions of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (1919)
Transactions of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia - 1919 Author:College of Physicians of Philadelphia Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT1 By COLONEL RICHARD H. HARTE, M.C., U.S.A. It has been a time-honored custom in this old institution that at each annual me... more »eting the presiding officer should make a report in the form of an address, of the varying activities of the College during the year that has just past. The task is often a difficult one, even when one has been on the ground, present at all the meetings and in close touch with all the activities of the College during the year. In that way your presiding officer is in a position to reflect the sentiments of the College, which can only be acquired by association with the various officers and committees, who represent the working forces and on whom the success and failure have depended. On this occasion, however, the position of your presiding officer is unique in the history of the College. There is no record or precedent in which he has so consistently neglected the honor and the responsible duties conferred on him when elected to the post of President, three years ago. All that I can offer is to plead your indulgence in the extenuating circumstances incident to the Great War in which we suddenly found ourselves plunged. If you remember in April, 1917, the commission from the Allies came to this country, headed by Mr. Balfour and General Joffre, asking for assistance, and, as Mr. Balfour specially requested, for medical aid. Prior to that time the Red Cross had organized a group of Base Hospitals in the different large cities, many of which were equipped and organized, ready for any emergency. As it happened, Base Hospital No. 10, one of the fortunate ones, whichwas composed largely of members of the staff of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and at the same time of many of the most representative Fellows of the College, includ...« less