16. Committee to Consider the Request of the Commissioner of Health of This Commonwealth That the College of Physicians of Philadelphia Express its Opinion as to the Desirability of the Free Distribution of Tetanus Antitoxin Throughout the State report, 04 May 1910

File — Box: 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The committee reports in this collection are part of the records of the Office of the Secretary of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The reports span the tenures of six secretaries of the College of Physicians: John H. Packard (1862-1877), William G, Porter (1877-1879), Richard A, Cleemann (1879-1885), Isaac Norris, Jr. (1885-1890), Charles W, Dulles (1890-1896), and Thomas R. Neilson (1896- 1914), The reports, spanning 1867 to 1911, were produced by various ad-hoc committees appointed by the Fellows of the College of Physicians to address issues affecting the College and the medical profession during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Many of these committees existed for only one or two months, their purpose being to prepare a public statement containing recommendations about a particular issue;in many cases, the committees prepared only one report before being discharged. The topics addressed in the reports include legislation affecting the medical profession, public health issues, the invasion of communicable diseases, and the selection of suitable memorials for deceased Fellows. Three of the reports (the Report of the Sub-committee of the Committee on Tablets [1885], the Report of the Committee appointed to Collect and Distribute Funds for the Relief of the Members of the Medical Profession who sustained losses by reason of the Floods at Johnstown [1889], and the Report of the Committee to prepare a memorial of the Late Dr. Samuel Lewis [1891]) were originally contained in the same envelope.

Dates

04 May 1910

Extent

From the Collection: .2 Linear feet (1 half document box)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Overview

Filed with this report is a letter of 28 February 1910 from Commissioner of Health Samuel G. Dixon, In his letter, Dixon asks the College of Physicians to respond to correspondence he had received from the Dauphin County Medical Society; the Society recommended free distribution of tetanus antitoxin to the general public, A committee consisting of James C. Wilson, Alexander C. Abbott, and chairman Gwilym G. Davis was formed on 6 April 1910 to address Dixon's request. The committee reported that the antitoxin was not useful as a cure, but was effective as a preventative measure. The committee presented its report to the Fellows of the College of Physicians and was probably discharged on 4 May 1910.