Mr. Sherman to Mr.
Buck.
Department of State,
Washington, March 30,
1898.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
dispatches Nos. 95 and 97, dated, respectively, the 14th and 18th
ultimo, on the subject of such recognition of the diploma of the Laura
Memorial Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, as will enable its
graduates to practice medicine in Japan without further examination, and
to send you, herewith inclosed, in compliance with your request, such
further information, furnished by the Secretary of the Interior, and
relating to the requirements, course of study, etc., of said college, as
will enable you to make an intelligent presentation of the case to the
Japanese Government, with a view to obtaining, if practicable, the
desired recognition.
Respectfully, yours,
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Bliss to Mr.
Sherman.
Department of the Interior,
Washington, March 21,
1898.
Sir: In further reply to your communication
of the 10th instant, inclosing a copy of a dispatch from the United
States minister at Tokyo, in regard to the refusal of the Japanese
Government to allow graduates of the Laura Memorial Women’s Medical
College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to practice medicine in that country
without an examination, and requesting to be advised as to the
standing, etc., of said college, I have the honor to transmit
herewith a copy of a letter and accompanying inclosure from the
Commissioner of Education, to whom the matter was referred, giving
further data regarding said college, from which it appears that it
is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Very respectfully,
[Subinclosure.]
Mr. Harris to Mr.
Bliss.
Department of the Interior,
Bureau of
Education,
Washington, March 17,
1898.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge, by
reference from the Department, the letter of the Assistant Secretary
of State, inclosing a copy of a letter from Hon. A. E. Buck, envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Japan, requesting
information as to the standing of the Laura Memorial Women’s Medical
College, of Cincinnati.
I have the honor to state that the above-named institution, which
opened in 1890 as the Woman’s State Hospital Medical College, has
been reporting to this Bureau for a number of years. It has a four
years’ course, and the last report showed that it has 19 professors,
7 assistants, 40 students, and 9 graduates for that year. The
institution is recognized by the Illinois State board of health, as
shown in the list published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, Chicago, November 27, 1897. The high standard of
professional education insisted upon by the former
[Page 437]
secretary, Dr. Rauch, made the
Illinois State board of health well known throughout the world, no
institutions being quoted on its list except those known to require
a strict examination for entrance, a four years’ course of study,
and a rigid examination for diploma.
The Laura Memorial Women’s Medical College is a member of the
Association of American Medical Colleges. The requirements for the
admission of a medical school to this association are set forth in
the accompanying rules. (Exhibit A.)
Very respectfully, etc.,
W. J. Harris, Commissioner.
[Subinclosure.]
Exhibit A.—Association
of American Medical Colleges.
- Section 1. Each college holding
membership in this association shall require of each student
before admission to its course of study an examination, the
minimum of which shall be as follows:
- 1.
- In English, a composition on some subject of general
interest. This composition must be written by the
student at the time of the examination, and should
contain at least 200 words. It should be criticised in
relation to thought, construction, punctuation,
spelling, and handwriting.
- 2.
- In arithmetic, such questions as will show a thorough
knowledge of common and decimal fractions, compound
numbers, and ratio and proportion.
- 3.
- In algebra, such questions as will bring out the
student’s knowledge of the fundamental operations,
factoring, and simple quadratic equations.
- 4.
- In physics, such questions as will discover the
student’s understanding of the elements of mechanics,
hydrostatics, hydraulics, optics, and acoustics.
- 5.
- In Latin, an examination upon such elementary work as
the student may offer, showing a familiarity usually
attained by one year of study; for example, the reading
of the first fifteen chapters of Cæsar’s Commentaries
and the translation into Latin of easy English sentences
involving the same vocabulary.
- Sec. 2. In place of this
examination, or any part of it, colleges members of this
association are at liberty to recognize the official
certificates of reputable literary and scientific colleges,
academies, high schools, and normal schools, and also the
medical student’s certificate issued by any State examining
board covering the work of the foregoing entrance
examination.
- Sec. 3. Colleges members of this
association may allow students who fail in one or more branches
in this entrance examination the privilege of entering the first
year’s course, but such students shall not be allowed to begin
the second course until the entrance requirements are
satisfied.
- Sec. 4. Colleges, members of this
association, are free to honor official credentials issued by
medical colleges of equal requirements, except in the branches
of study embraced in the last year of their own
curriculum.
- Sec. 5. Candidates for the degree of
doctor of medicine in the year 1899 and thereafter shall have
attended at least four courses of medical instruction, each
course of at least six months’ duration, no two courses of which
shall have been in the same calendar year.
- Sec. 6. Colleges, members of this
association, are free to give to students who have met the
entrance requirements of the association additional credit for
time on the four years’ course as follows: (a) To students having the A. B., B. S., or equivalent
degree, from reputable literary colleges, one year of time, (b) To graduates and students of colleges
of homeopathic or eclectic medicine, as many years as they
attended those colleges, provided they have met the previous
requirements of the association and that they pass an
examination in materia medica and therapeutics, (c) To graduates of reputable colleges of
dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine, one year of
time.
- Sec. 7. Colleges, members of this
association, may confer the degree of doctor of medicine during
the year 1898 upon students who have attended three courses of
six months’ duration each. Each course shall have been in a
separate calendar year.