County Medical Society." We who celebrate the fiftieth anniversary, though antedating the exact time by a couple of months, can hardly realize what it meant to start a new society in a county of the then size of Luzerne, which contained an immense area and whose facilities for travel were by no means what they are to-day. The present populous and important county of Lackawanna was then a part of Luzerne. The founders of the society were Drs. Rooney, of Hazleton; Moody, of Lehman; Throop, Ladd, Marr and Green, of Scranton; Tubbs, of Kingston; Lawton, of Pittston; Cressler and Casselberry, of Conyngham; Urquhart, Dennis, C. Wagner, E. B. Miner and E. R. Mayer, of Wilkes-Barre. Of the original founders Dr. Mayer was the only one present at the quartocentennial celebration. He said: "We were few and far between, but we were, and have ever since been, increasingly becoming a power in the goodly land we occupy. We and our successors have been fortunate in bringing order out of chaos in all medical matters among us, in unifying the decent and honorable members of our guild in one harmonious whole, in dignifying its character, and in demanding and securing from the public the appreciation and compensation which we, its members, earn and deserve."

Such was the founding of the society and such the brief record given by the very best man of all the good and true men who in fifty years have honored the society by their presence, and who in turn have been honored by membership in it.

The records of the first two meetings have been lost and the first recorded meeting in the minute books in our possession was that of September 11, 1861, held at Scranton, though Dr. Mayer states that the society was founded in March and the declaration was signed on April 17, 1861. Of the original members elected on March 4, 1861, Dr. Charles Marr was the first to die in 1864, followed by Dr. Moody in 1866.

MEETINGS.

For a number of years meetings of the society were held but three times a year on the second Wednesday of January, May and September; the January meetings being held in Wilkes

Barre, the May meetings in Pittston, and the September meetings in Scranton, and it is a pleasing fact to note that in general these meetings were fairly well attended, considering the small total membership.

As early as January, 1870, a motion was introduced by Dr. W. F. Dennis, and carried, that the society meet on the second Wednesday of each month, but this motion must have been rescinded, for meetings continued to be held but three times a year up to 1875, an amendment to the By-Laws being adopted on January 13 of that year providing for bi-monthly meetings; these to be held, three in Wilkes-Barre, three in Pittston, and three in Scranton. In the latter part of 1878, owing to the newly created county of Lackawanna having separated from Luzerne, the meetings in Scranton were discontinued, and it was provided that four meetings of the six should be held in Wilkes-Barre, and two in Pittston, but after May 18, 1881, it was provided that all meetings should be held in Wilkes-Barre, owing to the difficulty of securing a quorum at Pittston, On July 18, 1885, the By-Laws were again amended providing for monthly meetings, and the Executive Committee was directed to announce the subject for discussion and the essayist two months in advance. In January, 1891, the By-Laws were again amended, calling for meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, the first meeting of each month to be devoted to the regular formal paper and discussion, the second to be for the presentation of voluntary papers, pathological specimens, etc. This was continued for some time, until the society, without formal action, gradually fell into the plan of having a paper presented at each meeting.

PLACES OF MEETINGS.

In the early or migratory days of the society, the meetings were held in various places in the three towns, sometimes in the offices of members, sometimes in the court house in WilkesBarre, the town hall in Pittston, the Wyoming House in Scranton, and usually at the hour of 1:30 p. m. For a number of years previous to the death of Harrison Wright, Esq., the genial and accomplished Secretary of the Historical Society,

the meetings of the medical society were held in the rooms of the Historical Society on South Franklin street, up to May 13, of 1885. On May 20, 1885, a special meeting was held at the Wyoming Valley Hotel to discuss the Plymouth epidemic of typhoid fever, which at that time was attracting the attention of the valley, as well as of a large part of the country.

To this meeting all practitioners of the county were invited. Meetings continued to be held at the Valley House until December 1, 1886, when the society moved to the rooms of the Royal Arcanum on South Franklin street. On January 8, 1890, the Executive Committee reported having leased the Young Men's Hebrew Association rooms in Loomis Hall, North Main street, and meetings were held there until September 3, 1890, when the society moved into rooms rented for its exclusive use on the sixth floor of the Coal Exchange building, at the corner of River and Market streets. This marked a new epoch in the life and dignity of the society. The feeling of having a home we could call our own seemed to give stability and feeling of secureness for the future. These rooms were held until November 17, 1897, when we moved to our present quarters in the Anthracite building, the rooms having previously been attractively fitted up by the society. As previously mentioned, the hour for meeting was usually 1:30 p. m., though several efforts had been made to change this. Beginning with January, 1890, the meetings were held alternately in the afternoon at 1:30 and the evening at 8 o'clock. Beginning with the first meeting in February, 1891, all meetings were held at 8 p. m., and this was changed a few years later to 8:30 p. m., our present hour of meeting.

ANNUAL DUES.

In the beginning of the society and up to May, 1886, the annual dues were two dollars per year, though as far back as 1876 Dr. Harvey had introduced a motion that the initition fee be $5.00 instead of two. In 1886, however, adopting the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the annual dues. were made five dollars, but owing to deficits in publication accounts, banquets, increased expenses, etc., this was increased

on March 3, 1897, to $10.00 per year, at which price it has since remained. It is an interesting fact that the society had more lapses for non-payment of dues under the two-dollar charge than under five, and more under the five-dollar charge than under ten. The Secretary has more than once reported at the end of the year, "all dues paid to date". In other words, that which we pay for we appreciate, and with the establishment of a library and reading room with many publications, the publishing of our transactions, etc., the members have felt that they are receiving a fair return for their investment, and in general there has been but little complaint of high price of dues.

MEMBERSHIP.

The membership, which started in 1861 with fifteen, had increased in twenty-five years to sixty, and in the last twentyfive years, in spite of some lapses and some discouragements, the society has gone steadily forward, till we now number one hundred and fifty members. This we all admit is much smaller than it should be and much smaller than we trust it will be in a very few years. And when I have the honor to address you again in twenty-five years from now, we hope to see every reputable physician of the county enrolled as a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society.

SECRETARIES.

The good work of any scientific society depends in a measure upon the efficiency of its Secretary, and while we have elected a new President yearly, and from time to time have changed the personnel of our committees, we have had but few secretaries. Dr. George Urquhart held the office from its foundation till January, 1869; he resigned from the society May 13, 1869. Dr. J. B. Crawford acted as Secretary from January, 1869, till January, 1873, when Dr. William Hartman, of Pittston, who is still a member of the society, was elected. for one year. At the annual meeting in January, 1874, Dr. G. W. Guthrie was elected Secretary, though he was not then a member of the society, and was not elected to membership till January, 1875, it being decided at that time that the Secre

tary need not necessarily be a member of the society. This office he held with credit to himself and honor to the society for sixteen years, until he was called to go up higher by being elected President of the Society, if it really be going higher to be advanced from the Secretaryship to the Presidency.

The office was efficiently held by Dr. Maris Gibson from 1890 to 1899, when he too was called to go forward by being elected President. In like manner the office was conducted by Dr. E. U. Buckman for three years, from 1899 to 1902, when he resigned, and his place was filled by the election of Dr. Delbert Barney, who has since held the office and of whose work you all know.

THE PRESIDENTS.

I presume I ought to mention the Presidents, who have been many, whom this society has honored by calling them to preside over its destinies. But, lo, are they not written in the chronicles of this society? Are their names not duly enshrined in the various volumes of our transactions, and their memory cherished in the hearts of all our membership? Let them rest in peace!

THE WORK.

In the early days of the society, when our Secretaries were not so busy and our transactions not published, making full minutes unnecessary, it was customary for the minutes to be written up in full, and we often find four, five, and six, and even as many as twelve folio pages of minutes giving abstracts of papers and discussions, reports of cases, and of pathological specimens.

These are full of interest and well worthy of perusal. On January 9, 1868, Dr. Crawford read a paper on "Cryptogamic Poisons", which is the first recorded paper read before the society. The previous meetings being occupied, seemingly, with extemporaneous discussions. At this time, and for many years after, it was the custom to pass a vote of thanks and request the reader of the paper to have the same published, which he usually did in pamphlet form, at his own expense, for distribution among members of the society and friends.