NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINING AND

LICENSING BOARDS.

Officers, 1897: President, Wm. W. Potter, N. Y.; vice-presidents, Chas. A. L. Reed, O.; J. N. McCormack, Ky.; Secretary-treasurer, A. Walter Suiter, Herkimer, N. Y. Executive council, Perry H. Millard, St. Paul; Jos. M. Hathews, Louisville; Wm. S. Foster, Pittsburg; Hugh M. Taylor, Richmond; Jas. M. Hays, Greensboro, N. C.

Preliminary announcement of the seventh annual meeting. Office of the president, 284 Franklin St.. Buffalo, N. Y., March 15, 1897.

Dear Doctor:-The seventh annual meeting of this confederation will be held in the small banquet hall of the Hotel Walton, at Philadelphia, Monday, May 31, 1897, at 10 o'clock, A. M. The following programme has been arranged:

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

Address of welcome by A. H. Hulshizer, of Penn., St. Bd. of
Med. Exam.

Response by Vice-President Reed.

Report of the committee on minimum standard of requirements.
Discussion and action thereon.

Report of the secretary and treasurer.

Annual address of the president.

Some practical experience with, and results of, the medical law of Pennsylvania. Wm. S. Foster, Pittsburg.

VIII. The need for exact information as to the equipment, methods, and requirements of our medical schools. J. N. McCormack, Bowling Green, Ky.

Address by Prof. J. W. Holland, M.D., Dean Jefferson Med.
Coll., Philadelphia.

IX.

The object of the confederation is to consider questions pertaining to state control in medicine and to compare methods in vogue in the several states; the collection and dissemination of information relating to medical education, and to consider proposition's that have for their purpose advancement of the standards in the United States. A cordial invitation is extended to all members and ex-members of state medical examining boards, and to physicians, sanitarians and educators who are friendly to the objects named, to attend the meeting and participate in its proceedings. By order of the Executive Council.

A. Walter Suiter, Secy.

WILLIAM WARREN POTTER, Prest.

In the opinion of some very excellent military men, the lance and the sword are passing out of use. The terrible precision and destructive ability of modern arms are so great that cavalry charges will seldom be made use of in actual warfare.

Be that as it may, there are men of wide experience who will not believe that the days of cavalry service are numbered. Not only this, but they believe that the cavalry service will be developed and made use of for many years to come.

Surely in the war in Cuba, the use of cavalry by the insurgents has made a formidable impression upon the Spanish regulars.

During student days in Germany, I noticed that those of my countrymen who entered duel corps, or Burschenschafts, of students, soon became excellent swordsmen, in some instances making remarkable records.

But in this country comparatively little attention is paid to the sword, and few know how to wield one with dexterity.

The Americans are excellent shots with rifle or revolver, but are more or less indifferent to broadsword exercise.

Then the present bicycle craze has seized every one so firmly by the ears, and its friends would have us believe that the bicycle will take the place of everything, and carry everything, including babies and sweethearts.

I have spent too much time in the saddle to be willing to straddle a treadmill machine called a bicycle; and I believe that for pleasure even one hour on horseback is worth a day of cycling.

For years I have observed the opinions which, from time to time,

have been expressed in our military and other journals, concerning the "passing of the horse."

I have been told that bicycling is so much safer than horseback riding. I have tried very hard to secure statistics concerning accidents from equestrianism, but these are very difficult to obtain.

Neither the Surgeon-Generals of Armies or of Militia seem to consider equestrian accidents of sufficient importance to tabulate by themselves. The greatest interest in this subject has been shown by the military medical authorities of the Republic of Switzerland.

I have received some interesting letters from surgeons who are known to be excellent riders, and from gentlemen connected with riding clubs. Some time since, I read an interesting paper by Dr. Hall, of Colorado, concerning accidents from equestrianism among cow boys.

In my experience I have never seen better riders, either among the European nations, or among Canadians, Americans, or Mexicans, than our American cow boys, or as they should be more properly called, "riders of the plains."

Among our American cavalry regiments, the horsemanship certainly equals that of any military organization I have ever seen; and, although I may seem to show partiality, the riding between the years of '67 and '77, of the 3d U. S. Cavalry, was in my opinion unequaled by that of any cavalry organization of England, Germany, France or Austria.

There is much to be said in favor of horseback riding for civilians.

A recent article in the Illustrated American on this subject is well worthy of notice. The writer of the article quotes, "The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse"-and from Lord Herbert of Cherburg, "A good rider on a good horse is as much above himself and the rest of mankind as the world can make him." "It is true," says the writer, "that the bicycle had not then come to its modern state of perfection and popularity as a means of individual locomotion, so some knight of the wheel may question the present truth of this statement. Nevertheless, I have yet to find a person who has really felt the sense of power, freedom, and exhilaration which comes from the consciousness of a thoroughly secure and ‘at home' seat on the back of the noblest of all animals, who does not agree with Lord Herbert."

So far as my own experience is concerned, I cannot recall a single accident from real equestrianism which had a fatal result. The only accident which rendered the soldier utterly unfit for service was in the case of a sergeant of cavalry who volunteered to ride a powerful iron-gray cavalry horse of fiery disposition. No one had been able to conquer the animal, and this sergeant having had experience in the War of the Rebellion, asked permission to try his hand.

We were then on the march with a detachment of recruits and regular cavalry proceeding to New Mexico; and harassed as we were by daily desertions and by strong bands of hostile Sioux who forced their company upon us, we could ill afford to spare so good a soldier.

One afternoon, shortly after making camp, the command assembled to witness this extraordinary encounter between soldier and horse. The man succeeded in retaining his seat in the saddle after an exciting mount. The animal made every possible effort to unhorse the rider, but without avail. Finally, with one wild rush he threw himself upon the ground, and before the sergeant could extricate himself from the stirrups, the horse rolled over the man twice. He was brought to the hospital tent in a semiconscious condition, and upon examination it was found that he had sustained an inguinal rupture on each side with a severe prolapse of the

rectum.

The first equestrian accident I witnessed was in the vicinity of Fort Riley, Kansas, when the horse of a cavalryman stumbled and fell, throwing his rider violently onto the ground; from the effects of which fall he received a dislocation of the humerus of the left shoulder.

In my own experience, which has covered a great many miles of horseback riding, I have had two falls, one in attempting to mount a very spirited and restless animal, when I lost the stirrup and fell to the ground; another time in fording a river in Western Kansas, the banks being very steep and made slippery by reason of the numerous wagons, ambulances, and mounted men having dragged the water up onto the banks; when about half way up the slippery incline my horse lost his footing and fell heavily upon my left leg. But with a powerful spring he succeeded in gaining his feet again and in making the rest of the ascent safely.

So far as I can recollect, I have never attended a patient injured in the head from an accident of this nature.

Indirectly, cavalry service may cause injuries resulting from the pressure of the belt; such a case I reported in the Philadelphia Medical Times.

A soldier formerly of the Royal Life Guards of England, and later in our own cavalry, came under my care only a few weeks before his death and about eight months after he was taken ill.

I found him much emaciated, feeble, and anxious, complaining of severe pain and pressure in the abdominal region.

Upon examination, a large tumor was found occupying a considerable space in the epigastric, umbilical, and left hypocondriac regions. Although the treatment under which he was immediately placed seemed for a time to relieve his suffering, he suddenly became much worse and died. The autopsy revealed a large tumor in the abdominal cavity. The man had been. in the habit of wearing a heavy saber, and, naturally of thin figure, the

pressure of tightly buckled belt, and the sudden jerks of the saber on the belt in the violent military exercises may have been the origin of this fatal tumor.

*

We more or less frequently read in the newspapers of accidents happening to gentlemen, where the horse has made a sudden shy and thrown the rider. In falling, the head struck against the curb stone, fatal injuries being sustained. I have more than once noticed that in these accidents the rider has been mounted upon some favorite horse in which he placed the greatest confidence.

A former schoolmate of mine who was afterwards cadet at West Point, received a severe injury to the left testicle while exercising at jumping.

The only case I ever attended resulting from the kick of a horse, was where a dismounted soldier struck the horse on the flank, the animal promptly kicking him in return. The blow struck the man directly over the symphisis pubis; the bladder was ruptured. We were on the march, and although we gave the man every attention possible, he died within twentyfour hours, in the ambulance, before we could reach a military post.

I have received one kick in the region of the knee from a horse, and that I escaped serious injury was quite remarkable.

A very interesting letter has been received from Edward S. Martin, Esq., who recently contributed a valuable paper on "Hunting" to Scribner's Magazine. He states that-"There have been a great number of accidents among the huntsmen of the Genesee Valley Hunt Club, of which none have been fatal, and very few serious. Legs have been broken sometimes, collar bones oftener. The most troublesome case I remember was an accident to the head which occurred three years ago (in 1892), and made serious trouble."

In a letter from Dr. J. H. Brinton, of Philadelphia, he states:

"In the war of 1861-65, I recall several luxations of patella (knee bone), incomplete, or axial, caused by careless and awkward riding, men passing in opposite directions."

From Charles E. Mather, Esq., secretary of the Radner Hunt Club, Bryn Mawr, Pa., I received a report that he knew of no fatal accidents. from equestrianism, and of no serious injury to the head, only slight wounds. In one case, the man was laid up for ten days. So far as fractures of the bones are concerned, he states that he has known of but one case in ten years, and that was in the arm. He reports no dislocations and states that in his experience "serious results seldom follow equestrian accidents, unless the horse falls on or rolls on the man, and we have not had such a case."

He has been master of the Radner Hounds for ten years, hunting three