Bench and Bar of Dayton

            (page 172) The Miami valley in its early history stands almost unparalleled in the number of notable men who, as judges and barristers, upheld the majesty of the law, as between man and man, throughout its scattered settlements. Elsewhere is told the story of the dauntless spirit and fervid earnestness of the pioneer minister who, in performance of his sacred duties, rode the blazed trails through the dark and lonely woodlands, his Bible and few personal belongings carefully stored in the saddle-bags that lay across the saddle, in order to keep his "appointment" at the cabin of a settler, which he would convert into a temple of praise and exhortation for the faithful who gathered from near and far to sit under the "gospel drippings."

            (page 173) In like manner traveled both judge and attorney, the only difference being in the literature carried by the saddle-bags,, legal writs and pleadings taking the place of the volume of sacred lore. And it must be remembered that these equestrian trips were no scriptural "Sabbath-day" journeys for these pioneer disciples of Blackstone. One of the principal acts of the first legislature that convened under the new state government was the organization of the judicial system of Ohio. The enactment apportioned the state into three judicial circuits, Montgomery county falling into the compass of the first circuit, which also comprehended the counties of Butler, Clermont, Greene, Hamilton and Warren. The present limits of Montgomery county embrace but a small area of the territory that took the name of the Irish hero on the date of its formation, March 24, 1803; for it then included the present counties of Allen, Darke, Defiance, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert, Preble, Shelby, Paulding, Miami, Williams, Henry, Fulton and Putnam, and weary and long were the journeys through the gloomy forests, sometimes perilous by reason of fording swollen streams, and welcome, indeed, the gleam of the hearthstone blaze through the little window or open door of the log hostelry in which, many times, the tribunal of justice was held. Where can be found a brighter constellation of intellectual force, legal understanding, genuine wit and true comprehension of justice, than radiates from some of the names of the pioneer bar of the Miami valley? Dunlevy, Collett, the incomparable Corwin, McLean, Burnet, Crane, and others perhaps equally endowed, but less famous, whose attainments and high ideals made them formers of public thought and opinion, not only in the settlements of the Miami valley, but placed them among the leaders of both state and national life.

            In the "Old Log Cabin" that stands today near the river side in Van Cleve park in Dayton was held the first Common Pleas court for Montgomery county. It figures in the early history of Dayton as "Newcom's tavern," and could the student of pioneer history for even a brief time materialize the forms and voices that made the old building a house of fame, he would meet those whose ability and energy vitally helped in laying the foundation of the intellectual renown of southwestern Ohio.

            It was on the 27th day of July, 1803, that Benjamin Van Cleve, as clerk, announced the opening of the first Common Pleas court for Montgomery county, Judge Francis Dunlevy presiding, Benjamin Archer, John Ewing and Isaac Spinning being associate judges. The small upper room was crowded with a motley assemblage, for it was a gala day in the records of the county. There were but few men in the log houses in the scattered clearings ; all had followed the trails leading to "Newcom's tavern." But, unfortunately for the eager audience, there were no culprits to be brought before the arbiters of guilt, and the disappointed settlers were compelled to return to their monotonous life without carrying to their firesides material for discussion as to the justice or injustice of the judges' decision or jury's verdict. It is of amusing interest to know that, in lieu of a jail, George Newcom, in performing his duty as county sheriff, confined his white prisoners in a dry well, (page 174) lowering and pulling them up by means of a rope. One naturally wonders if he covered the opening when it rained, thus leaving them in worse than Plutonian darkness. Indian offenders were first "bucked," and then left to meditate in the seclusion of a corn crib.

            Judge Joseph H. Crane, the first attorney to open an office in the village of Dayton, came from New Jersey in the spring of 1804. His portrait, which hangs in the Dayton Law library, indicates an authoritative personality, and his legal ability and wide scholarship speedily made him one of the most influential men in Montgomery county. The year of 1809 marked two important events in his life, viz: his marriage to Miss Julia Ann Elliott, a daughter of Dr. John Elliott, and his election by the Whigs to the state legislature. Three years later he was carrying a musket on his shoulder in the war against England.

            From the office of prosecuting attorney, Mr. Crane succeeded Francis Dunlevy as presiding judge, stepping from that distinguished position into the National Congress, where for eight years he most ably represented his district, returning at the close of his political career to Dayton and resuming his law practice, which brought him both wealth and distinction. For several years he was in partnership with Robert C. Schenck, another attorney whose name adds additional renown to the early history of Dayton and the Miami valley. Acquiring his legal education under the tutelage of the Hon. Thomas Corwin, of Lebanon, Ohio, Mr. Schenck chose Dayton as the arena of his life-action, and was at different periods associated with judge Joseph H. Crane, Peter Odlin and Wilbur Conover as law partners, making steady advancement in the pursuance of his profession. Sent by Montgomery county, in 1840, to the state legislature, three years later he was the choice of his district for congressional honors, retaining his seat until the year 1850, when he refused re-nomination, but in a short time was requested by the government to represent it as united States Ambassador to Brazil. During the anxious days of the Civil war, the military efficiency and bravery of Mr. Schenck won him the commission of a major-general, but severe wounds received in the second battle V Bull Run, rendered him unfit for future active service, and he retired from the army to serve his country with unabated patriotism in the grave and important sessions of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth congresses. The last public service of this distinguished and highly honored citizen of Dayton, was that of Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Saint James, a trust which he discharged with distinctive credit to his country and himself.

            The history of the bar of Dayton from pioneer days to the present time is a story of men qualified by natural ability and study for notable success, which they achieved both meritoriously and financially. George B. Holt, who succeeded judge Joseph H. Crane on the bench ; Charles Anderson, who attained Ohio's highest political preferment; Henry Stoddard, Robert A. Thruston, Peter Odlin, Edward W. Davies, Daniel A. Haynes, Peter P. Lowe, Warren Munger, are a few of the names of Dayton's first attorneys who not only were noted for intelligent, forcible pleading before judge and jury, but some were intrusted by the people of (page 175) Montgomery county and the Miami valley, with the making of laws, both in state legislative assemblies and the great Federal Congress. To this list, in passing years, were added the names of other legal advocates not less endowed with mental caliber and the gift of persuasive oratory, and who were of equal influence in advancing the civic interests of the community in which they lived. C. L. Vallandigham, whose tragic death caused all the bitterness of political partisanship to be lost in regret at the loss of a man distinguished for intellectual ability and legal attainments. Wilbur Conover, Edmond Staford Young, Samuel Craighead, George Houk, Robert G. Corwin, Simon Gebhart, Isaac M. Jordan, John W. Stoddard and Lewis B. Gunckel, the last-named attorney being the man to whom the State of Ohio and the Miami valley are chiefly indebted for the selection of Dayton by the Government as the location for the National Soldiers' Home, an institution that leads the world in care and comfort for the noble men who offered their lives for the preservation of their country's safety and honor. These names are taken from a long list of attorneys who, like their predecessors, reflected distinction upon their profession and home environment. On the same roll belong two men whose individual lives, reaching far over the Scriptural allotment of four-score years, have seen the rude clearings develop into magnificent farms, the old trails lost in splendid highways, steam and electricity laugh the slow canal boat into oblivion and Dayton grew, along all lines of true progression, with almost phenomenal swiftness from a country town into a large, influential municipal center and who, today, still stand in the front rank of Montgomery county's most revered and honored citizens Judge Dennis Dwyer and the Honorable John A. McMahon. Following along the well-worn trail left by those preceding them, come others worthy of record in every chronicle written of Montgomery county and the city of Dayton : Robert M. Nevin, John M. Shauck, John C. McKemy, Edwin F. Matthews, Oren B. Brown, Alvin W. Kumler, Roland W. Baggott, Ulysses S. Martin, D. B. Van Pelt, D. W. Allaman, R. C. Patterson, E. T. Snediker, Chas. M. Dustin, C. D. Wright, H. L. Ferneding, Daniel W. Iddings, John C. Shea, Mahlon Gebhart; limited space forbids further enumeration, or rather particular mention, of many others worthy to be written in the history of the Miami valley. But, from the day, so many, many years ago, when judge Joseph H. Crane placed his modest law library on the wooden shelf in his little log cabin office, to the opening of the twentieth century, the bar of Montgomery county has "gone over the top" in its quota of men, distinguished not alone for profundity of learning, wide scholarship, eloquent pleading, advancement of the civic interests of their home town, but also for that which more enriches the moral assets of a community, professional integrity.

            Courthouse of Montgomery County. The erection of schoolhouses, churches and jails followed in regular sequence in pioneer days. But the building of a "temple of justice" was never long delayed after the location of a county seat had been fixed by law. A temporary jail, constructed of round logs, was built in the village of Dayton in the year 1804, some months before the town had (page 176) received its articles of incorporation from the legislature, the building being located on West Third street, directly behind the lot that had been chosen for the site of the courthouse then in the public prospective. The town received its charter in the month of February, 1805; in the following June advertisements for the erection of a brick courthouse were inserted in the columns of the Cincinnati and. Lexington newspapers. The contract was secured by Benjamin Archer, one of the associate judges, for $4,766, the building to be two stories in height, and cover a space of ground 38x42 feet at the corner of Third and Main streets. Whether "thieves and robbers" were less numerous, according to the population, or whether there was not anything in the building worth the trouble of unlawful appropriation, might be a mooted question, for so great was the confidence of the legal authorities in the honesty of the people that, for the space of four years, the doors of the courthouse in Montgomery county were minus lock or bar.

            The rapid growth of county business in a few years necessitated the erection of a new court house, and in the year 1817 a two-story brick structure, twenty feet deep and forty-six feet front, at a cost of $1,249, was built on a corner of the court house lot. However, Montgomery county was not satisfied with the outward appearance and accommodations of the building; its increasing population and wealth demanded better representation through its courthouse.

            In the midsummer of the year 1845 special commissioners, consisting of Messrs. Samuel Forrer, Horace Pease and John W. Van Cleve, delivered a contract to Mr. John W. Cary for the construction of a courthouse that in elegance of appearance and availability of interior would be a credit in every way to the public spirit of the county. The result was that in the year 1850 there stood on the northwest corner of Main and Third streets, in the very heart of the enterprising little city, a courthouse, that in proportion and design was not only an ornament to Montgomery county, but was immediately classed among the beautiful structures of the Miami valley ; by many, indeed, it has been ranked with the most elegant public buildings of the state. Both city and county grew so rapidly in the number of inhabitants that but a few years had slipped by before a still roomier courthouse was deemed requisite for satisfactory accomplishment of the public business of the county, but by a vote of 3,916 to 412 the proposition was voted down by the people when presented to them for ratification. But on March 13, 1867, the need of the new courthouse was approved by legislative act, and the preliminary steps towards its erection were soon taken by the commissioners. The excavations and building of the new structure were begun in the summer of the year 1880 on North Main street on land adjoining the courthouse built thirty years before. The new structure cost many times what was paid by the county for the former building, and though a handsomer modern building, it must be said that it lacks the majestic, satisfying beauty of the courthouse of 1850; and for the beauty of the city, it seems almost unfortunate that the new building could not have been added to the older one on similar lines of architecture. The courthouse now (page 177) in use was ready for occupancy in the year 1884, public sentiment prevailed against the demolition of the older edifice, and it is utilized as the domicile of the Probate court.

            Montgomery county proved no exception to the general rule that larger prisons are needed as population grows, and seven years after the building of the log jail in 1804, it was removed to give place to a stone jail, part of which was used as a sheriff’s residence. There was no city prison in Dayton before the year 1858, all offenders finding lodgment in the common jail; but that year an old engine house, located on South Main street, between Fifth and Sixth, was utilized for the purpose, which, in 1872, was abandoned for the use of a church near the corner of Logan and Sixth streets, purchased from the United Brethren. Dayton finally awoke to the realization that a city prison worthy of the town was to be seriously considered. After much contention as to a desirable location for the new edifice, additional ground west of the courthouse, and adjoining it, was purchased, and in the winter of 1875, at a cost of over two hundred thousand dollars, the building was ready for its unhappy, forcibly detained, lodgers. The sheriff’s residence, which is a part of the prison, fronts on West Third street, and is a large, rather handsome house, and the passer-by, if he failed to notice a small signboard on the east side of the mansion, which announces that the stone walk between the residence and the courthouse is the "Jail entrance," would think it a modern commodious dwelling.

            The Dayton Law Library. But two of the original incorporators of the Dayton Bar Association, the Hon. John A. McMahon and Judge Thomas O. Lowe, are still numbered with those who live "this side of the veil." Mr. McMahon. resides in his home city, venerated and honored by the whole community, but judge Lowe, some years ago, abandoned legal pleading for work in the ministry, and is the occupant of an eastern pulpit. The other incorporators were Messrs. A. Cahill, Samuel Craighead, John Howard and E. S. Young. The expressed aim of the organization was "the advancement of legal knowledge and the better and more convenient discharge of professional duties connected therewith, to purchase, hold and acquire a library and books, for the purposes, uses and objects of said corporation."

            The first election of directors was held December 24, 1868, with Mr. J. A. Jordan as chairman and Mr. William Craighead filling the office of secretary. Seven directors were chosen: Messrs. D. A. Haynes, J. A. Jordan, T. O. Lowe, C. L. Vallandigham, E. S. Young, J. A. McMahon and D. A. Houk. The first association officers were Mr. D. A. Haynes, president; Mr. O. M. Gottschall, secretary, and judge T. O. Lowe, treasurer. The first library board consisted of Messrs. Young, McMahon and Jordan. The bill for the first payment for books amounted to $2,500, purchased from Banks & Brother of New York City. One of the sources of revenue for filling the library shelves can be seen in a resolution passed by the board of directors as follows: "Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed members of the board of directors, to confer with the commissioners of the county, to make with them a contract by the (page 178) year to defend indigent persons accused of crime, the proceeds of which shall be paid into the treasury of the association for the purpose of purchasing books for the use of said association and to belong to the same." The first librarian appointed was Mr. J. A. McDonald at a salary of $100, which allowance was later increased.

            The library was first installed in a back room of a second story of a building located on North Main street, but in the fall of 1871 was removed to a room adjoining the old superior court in the Clegg building on East Third street. In the year 1873 the association discovered that its exchequer would not permit the meeting of the librarian's salary, and the county was asked to assume it, which was done, the librarian's office being placed on the list of county assessments as "court assistant." In the year 1896 the attorneys voted to change the name of the organization from "Dayton Bar Association" to the "Dayton Law Library Association," and though no legal steps were taken for a new charter, the name immediately became popular and is now used in connection with the corporation. The association is in "good and regular standing" as member of the American Association of Law Libraries, and a majority of the Dayton bar have their names on the membership list of the local organization.

            The lawyers of Dayton and Montgomery county are justly proud of the splendid array of legal literature upon the library shelves of the Dayton Law Library Association. Reports of the different courts of law in all states and territories are flanked by the year books and statutes from the same sources. Original editions, almost worth their weight in gold, of Irish, Australian, English and Scotch reports are a priceless acquisition, while the latest and most comprehensive text books stand ready to yield up their lore to the student desiring to acquire thorough, practical knowledge of the tenets of his profession.

            This splendid collection of legal lore is handsomely ensconced in four rooms on the third floor of the new courthouse, under the care of the very efficient librarian, Mr. Daniel W. Iddings, who, since the day of his appointment, January 2, 1899, has devoted both time and interest to the work intrusted to him. Since the incumbency of Mr. Iddings, the membership of the association has about doubled in numbers, and the well-stocked shelves are silent witnesses to the growth of the library from 5,640 volumes in January, 1899, to its present enumeration of 16,443 tomes. And so wise has been the selection of books by Mr. Iddings, that the library has been pronounced the freest from worthless literature of any law library in the State of Ohio. An additional room, now in course of preparation, will soon relieve the somewhat plethoric condition of the shelves, and new steel book cases will be security against both human and insect invaders. The present governing officers of the Dayton Law Library Association are the Hon. J. A. McMahon, president; the Hon. O. B. Brown, vice-president; the Hon. J. W. Kritzer, treasurer; Mr. D. W. Iddings, secretary and librarian; additional trustees, the Hon. E. P. Matthews, the Hon. R. R. Nevin, and Mr. E. H. Turner.

            (page 179) The Edmond Stafford Young Law Library. One of the most highly regarded names connected with the legal fraternity of Montgomery county, is that of Edmond Stafford Young, one of the incorporators of the Dayton Bar Association, who, for many years, was a leading attorney in the city of Dayton. After his death, in loving memory of his work and influence, his sons George R. Young and William H. Young, in the year 1912, took upon themselves the founding of a library in connection with the Dayton Law Library, to be known as The Edmond Stafford Young Library, the collection to consist of the most valuable legal literature. Mr. George R. Young's death occurred several years ago, but his brother, Mr. William H. Young, continues the work of affectionate remembrance.

            The collection already amounts to nearly six hundred volumes.

Physicians

            The year 1799 saw the entrance into the Miami valley of its first physician. This was Doctor John Hole of Virginia, who had seen service in the army during the war of 1776, and who, after returning to his home in Virginia, came north to Cincinnati where he started a new practice. Later still he located a few miles south of Dayton and was for several years the only physician to whom the widely scattered families of the valley could turn. How primitive were the times as indicated in the fact that was often paid for his services in such communities as "leather shoes," "a winter's smoking of tobacco," and venison hams. Dr. Hole died in 1813. The first doctor to take up residence in Dayton itself was John Elliott, who arrived before the incorporation of the town. The year of his coming to Dayton was 1802, and his activity was limited to a brief seven years, as he died in 1809. In addition to his profession he was influential in forming the Dayton Social Library association in 1805, which had the distinction of being the first library which the state legislature allowed to be incorporated.

            The next few years brought several more physicians to the town, among them Dr. James Welsh in 1804, Dr. William Murphey in 1805, Drs. Abraham Edwards and Charles Este in 1812, came Dr. John Steele, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the first physician in Dayton to possess a medical degree. In fact, there were only three medical schools in the whole country at the time Dayton was settled, and it was some time before medical degrees were a matter of course. Dr. Steele was a man of broad interest, active in matters connected with public welfare, being at one time a member of the state legislature and more than once a member of the Dayton town council. His active life was terminated by his death in 1854.

            Another physician who claimed a prominent place in hearts of Dayton's citizens was Dr. Job Haines, a graduate of Princeton and also of the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, who settled in the city in 1817. From that time until 1860, the time of his death, he led a most active and useful life, the record of which may be found in part of his own diary which still exists in the Dayton Public library. The fact that doctors in those days (page 180) found time to assume duties outside of their profession is attested by Dr. Haines' having at one time been mayor of the town. A homely but enduring monument to his memory is found in the watercress which lines the banks of so many streams in the valley and which Dr. Haines is said to have brought from Pennsylvania across the mountains in his saddle bags.

            The foregoing are the most prominent among those physicians who ministered to Dayton's needs while it was still a village. During the life time and practice of the last-mentioned, however, Dayton had grown to a population of 10,000, and could muster forty-one doctors. In 1849, therefore, ten of these physicians called a meeting of the rest of the profession for the purpose of forming a medical organization. From this meeting came the Montgomery County Medical society with Dr. Edwin Smith as its first president. The Civil war interrupted the history of this organization which held no meetings during the years 1861-1865, but which, except for that break, has had a long and useful existence. Since 1849 its presidents have been as follows : Edwin Smith, 1849; M. Garst, 1850; Julius S. Taylor, 1851, 1857; John Davis, 1853, 1867, 1876; Job Haines, 1853,1854; James Crook, 1855; J. A. Coons, 1856; W. H. Lamme, 1858; S. G. Armor, 1859; C. McDermont, 1860, 1868; J. C. Reeve, sr., 1861, 1873, 1877, 1878; Richard Gundry, 1866, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872; T. L. Neal, 1874, 1875, 1880, 1881; J. M. Weaver, 1879, 1891; J. S. Beck, 1882, 1883, 1901, 1902; W. J. Conklin, 1884, 1885, 1899, 1900; H. S. Jewett, 1886; C. H. Humphreys, 1887; E. C. Crum, 1898; F. H. Patton, 1889; George Goodhue, 1890; G. C. Myers, 1892; Horace Bonner, 1893; G. B. Evans, 1894; R. R. Petit, 1895; D. C. Lichliter, 1896; D. W. Greene, 1997; D. C. Huffman, 1898; J. C. Reeve, jr., 1903, 1904; F. C. Gray, 1905, 1906; C. W. King, 1907; W. S. Smith, 1908; E. M. Huston, 1909.

            The medical profession of Dayton has always been in the forefront of advanced measures for the public health, even when those measures were far from what are now included under that term. It has established hospitals, boards of health and quarantine regulations and if it-. advice had always been heeded Dayton would have been saved many a devastating epidemic. The earliest hospital was one which the War of 1812 brought into existence. After the humiliating surrender of Hull's army on August 22, 1812, an immediate effort was made to undo the wretched tragedy and a force of men under Captain James Steele was rapidly organized and sent out against the British and Indians at Piqua. In December, an engagement took place in which eight of the men of the Nineteenth Infantry were killed and forty-eight wounded. These victims were brought to Dayton in wagons after a ten day's trip, in condition which may well be imagined. The old histories say that icicles of blood hung from underneath the wagon beds. These forty-eight wounded soldiers had to be taken care of in some way by the people of Dayton, then but a small village. The citizens opened their homes and some had as many as four patients to be cared for. When these private efforts were exhausted a small military hospital was established on the courthouse corner. It consisted of several tents, affording small protection against the bitter (page 181) winter weather and its staff consisted of Dr. John Steele as the head, two other doctors assisting and the devoted women of Dayton as nurses. The impassibility of the roads prevented the importation of either supplies or equipment so the hospital was one in name only and owed whatever success it might have had to the well meaning efforts of the early doctors and the helpful citizens. It is a far cry from that day to the present when our well equipped hospitals are a credit to those who have brought them into being. The first of these is St. Elizabeth hospital which was founded in 1878 under the organization of the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis. It began its existence in a plain two-story brick dwelling on Franklin street which was put in as good order as the place and the means permitted and twelve beds provided. Its need was immediately emphasized by the fact that before it was formally opened there were two amputations performed and during the first year 183 patients received treatment. The first medical staff which continued as long as this building was occupied, consisted of Dr. J. C. Reeve, sr., chief of staff; consultants, Doctors John Davis, Thomas L. Neal, E. Pilate ; visiting physicians and surgeons, Doctors H. S. Jewett, J. D. Daughtery and W. J. Conklin.

            It was in 1882 that the needs of enlargement having been persistently kept before the public, it became possible to build a new hospital. It was situated on Hopeland street, had a capacity of two hundred beds and represented the best ideas in hospital construction of that day. The increase in ward work led to the enlargement of the staff and its division into a medical and surgical service which became effective in January, 1883. Since the time of its first construction St. Elizabeth hospital has been several times enlarged until now its capacity is many times that of its original form. It maintains a large medical and surgical staff, an equally large staff of nursing sisters, has a finely equipped operating hall and continues its work with increasing facilities and gratifying success each ensuing year. The devotion of the Doctors and the Sisters to their work is irrespective of the religious affiliations of their patients. Their duty is to relieve suffering in whatever form and regardless of creed. In its thirty-seven years of existence St. Elizabeth hospital has had the gratuitous services of over seventy of Dayton's physicians and surgeons all of whom have given gladly of their time and training.

            The Miami Valley hospital owes its existence to a society of Protestant deaconesses of Dayton and was organized in 1890, having for its first habitation the Adam Pritz home on East Fourth street which was opened for the admission of patients in October of that year, with thirty-seven beds and during the first year cared for eleven hundred patients. The first staff of the hospital was as follows: chief, Dr. J. S. Beck; surgeons, Drs. George Goodhue, William Plattfaut, P. N. Adams ; physicians, Drs. G. C. Myers, C. W. King, and F. D. Barker. In 1894, this institution also became too small for the demands upon it and a new building was constructed on Magnolia street overlooking the city from the south and costing in the neighborhood of $150,000. Here as in the past the doctors gave loyally of their services. The difficulty of securing a sufficient (page 182) number of nurses led to the establishment of a Nurses' Training school which, however, does not belong to this chapter. It is true, but not as well known as it ought to be, that the great desire and aim of the medical profession is preventive rather than curative. They inform us that 50 per cent of illness and death is unnecessary and can be prevented. They urge upon the city the care and segregation of those afflicted with tuberculosis, the sanitary control of slaughter-houses, universal vaccination, the ventilation of public buildings, the care and feeding of infants, the cleaning of our streets, and the inspection of the milk supply. They keep a record of all cases of contagious disease and when the maps in the Health Board show the prevalence of measles, diphtheria, or typhoid fever in any district of the city they descend upon it and order a general clean-up and strict quarantine. Through these preventive measures the death rate is steadily lowered and the infant mortality decreased as any one may see for himself by the figures in the health reports.* If the general public were as interested in maintaining a high rate of health as are the doctors we should have only the actually unpreventable cases of disease and death. But the public is careless and prefers to call in the doctor after they are sick instead of taking his advice so as to avoid sickness. No stronger proof of the above statement could be had than an experience with an epidemic of small-pox which occurred in Dayton in 1910 or 1911. In a certain school room of the city (which for reasons quite comprehensible cannot be designated), a little girl came to school with a flushed face and a high fever. The teacher soon noticed her condition and the child was sent home. Shortly after another pupil showed the same symptoms and was also dismissed. One after another other children in this room were attacked and then, to make a long story short the doctors found they had on their hands a well-defined epidemic of small-pox. Before this condition had been ascertained, the trouble had spread to the next room and a number there had succumbed. Investigation was immediately begun to find out where the disease came from and how it had got such a start. (*See article on health in account of Dayton's City Government.)

            No one could trace the contagion of the first child taken down but it was most evident that all the others (about forty in all) had taken the disease from her. Questions elicited the fact that only ten per cent of the children in that school house had been vaccinated. The matter had not been compulsory, but had been left to the individual preferences, or it might better be said, prejudices, of the parents involved. Then the startling fact came out that every single vaccinated child in those two school rooms escaped contagion, even the one occupying the same seat with the first victim, and remained perfectly well; every unvaccinated child without exception came down with the disease. A chart of the two rooms affected showed the absolute preventive effect of vaccination. If the whole thing had been arranged by the doctors to prove their claim of such immunity, it could not have been better done. But it was far from a "show up." It was a proof positive that Jenners' (page 183) wonderful discovery has saved the world from untold suffering and loss.

            Imagination will be needed to compass the suffering and loss in this particular case. The fever, aching, the painful and loathsome eruption on the sufferers may be taken for granted; the schools were fumigated and closed for six weeks-loss of that much school time ; destruction in every infected household of all bedding, clothing, etc., that had come into contact with the patient (estimated at the time as $5,000). Loss of time and pay for the teachers ; loss of money for the Board of Education for the disinfection and renovation of the school house. All this might have been saved if the doctors advice as to universal and compulsory vaccination had been strictly followed. Small-pox was once the scourge of the British army ; now under strict military discipline, acting under the principle that prevention is better than cure, there are practically no cases at all, even when the troops are quartered in such centers of small-pox as India.

            Why was this epidemic in Dayton not given to the public in order that its lesson might not be lost? For reasons which may well be understood. In the interests of public sanity and business concerns it seems not wise to let a panic grow. The corporate mind acts under the stress of the mob spirit when actuated by fear. Complete disorganization of public life might have followed the revelation that forty children out of one school had been stricken by the dread disease. Time enough has passed for it now to be made public property. Complete accounts, however, may be found by consultation of the medical records of the city.

            Within the last six or seven years an undertaking of great advantage to the profession has been carried out. The Ohio State Medical association divided the state into what are called Councilor Districts, a sort of medical Chautauqua, where by means of cooperation and mutual understanding, noted medical men from all over the country may be heard by the doctors of each district, who are organized into a medical society. There are eight such districts and societies in the state.

            At first the meetings were one day affairs, occurring once a year in each district, but so much benefit resulted that the demand for more of the same kind of instruction and recreation was widely demanded with the result that the one day has been lengthened into a conference lasting five or six days.. Special speakers are had from the large medical centers and it is thus possible for practitioners in small towns to have the benefit of contact with the great minds of their profession. The Councilor District that meets in Dayton includes not only Montgomery, but several other counties. The most notable of the meetings took place September 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, 1919, in the new quarters in the Medical building on South Main street. Several hundred were present and the five days were filled full of work of value to medical men. The special speakers on this occasion were : Drs. Richard C. Cabot of Boston, George W. Crile of Cleveland, Harold N. Cole of Cleveland, Albert E. Sterne of Indianapolis, H. Brooker Mills of Philadelphia, Wm. D. Porter and Martin H. Fischer of Cincinnati. Some of these men (page 184) held clinics with patients from the hospitals, the doctor audience noting the manner of diagnosis and asking what questions they saw fit.

            The officers for the present year are : President, Dr. E. M. Huston ; secretary, Dr. E. L. Braunlin ; treasurer, Dr. H. C. Haning.

The Dental Profession

            The progress and work of the dentists of Montgomery county and the Miami valley in the past few years has been one of the most gratifying phases of professional advancement. So great have been the strides and improvements in the science and practice of dentistry in the more recent years that it can safely be said that the entire science owes its present degree of perfection to the efforts of men still in the prime of life, who by their constant research and experiment have brought their profession into its present important position in the life of today.

            The degree to which they have succeeded in arousing the interest of the general public found its first genuine expression in the Ebersole meeting of 1914, which attracted more laymen than any similar meeting ever held in the world. This meeting was preceded by meetings held in the high schools for teachers and the more advanced grades, and so effective were they that when Dr. Ebersole of Cleveland, president-of the National Mouth Hygiene association, made the principal address of the meeting he spoke to an audience of some 2,000. Unusual interest was displayed in his message, which was to the effect that national health depended upon a proper care of the mouth and teeth.

            In December, 1917, the Miami Valley Dental society entertained the Ohio State Dental association, the annual convention of which was brought to Dayton, only after a great deal of work by the members of the local organization. More than 1,000 dentists from various parts of the country were registered, and many more were in attendance, the meeting attracting great attention both because of the splendid talent of the men making up the program and because of the fame of Dayton. The exhibit of dental supplies and equipment at Memorial hall was conceded to be the best arranged of any of the various conventions ever held throughout the country, attracting men of all walks of life and leading manufacturers of the city. Mr. Patterson was an honored guest on the last day of the meeting, and the convention was concluded by a visit to the plant of the National Cash Register company at his special request. The work of the dentist during the past two years, and the showing made by them in the world war can best be ,summed up by a review of the address of Dr_ H. C. Huffman, president of the Miami Valley Dental society, in September, 1919, before that society at its annual convention. Out of a membership of 74 the society had 14 commissioned in the Dental corps of the army with 11 of them placed in active service. Of the 14 commissioned, one of them was a Major, two were Captains, and the balance, 1st Lieutenants. Ormsby Kesselring and H. J. Schiewitz saw service (page 185) in France. The majority of the members not in the service served as members of the Preparedness League of American Dentists, rendering valuable aid to the drafted men as well as to the government. The league was formed for the purpose of putting the mouths of the drafted men into good condition, and 51 members of the society joined the Miami valley unit. The work of the unit was under the supervision of Dr. Siegfried, and was well started when he resigned to care for other dental activities, being succeeded by Dr. E. B. Tizzard. Some difficulty was at first experienced in obtaining the names of the men from the local draft boards, and also in securing the federal approval of the plan, but when these matters were adjusted the work proceeded with great speed and perfect cooperation. The men were examined in lots of a hundred or more, and in almost all cases the work to be done was completed before the men entrained for the camps. Following is a summary of the work done by the unit : Prophylactic treatments, 245; amalgam fillings, 786; cement fillings, 84; root treatments, 51; crowns, 4; bridges, 7; plates, 1; synthetic fillings, 22; extractions, 417; making a total of 1,617 treatments out of a total of 1,469 men examined. But in spite of the large amount of time given by the dentists of the country to the government, time was found to make giant strides in the scientific advancement of their profession. By careful experiment and observation it became apparent that many disorders which in previous years were considered obscure in origin and incurable are due wholly or in part to chronic infection in the teeth, and Dr. Huffman said that such diseases can often be cured or at least retarded by removal of the source of infection. It was learned that chronic infection is of much greater frequency than was formerly believed to be the case, and that a standard method of sterilization of the teeth was a most vital need to the people of the world.

            The X-ray has recently been extensively used by the dental profession, and has been of untold value in determining sources of infection, alveolar abscesses, absorbed roots of teeth, and other disorders of the teeth. The work of the radio-graphic diagnostician requires a full knowledge of not only the interpretation of the plates but the clinical expressions of the various affections as well. Although the X-ray shows that many of the disorders of the dental region are the results of the presence of devitalized teeth in the mouth, a majority sentiment among the members of the calling does not favor the wholesale extraction of devitalized teeth.

            More general teaching of oral hygiene is now noticeable in the public schools of Dayton and other towns in the county, as a direct result of the influence of the progressive dentists on the school and health boards of the city. It is a recognized fact by the medical and dental professions that the condition of the mouth has a most important effect on the health of the public, and dental inspection in the public schools has been instituted. The first public school clinic was established in January, 1915, and was located in the Steele high school building. During the first two years that the clinic was in operation its work was of a reparative nature only, but in 1917 a system of dental inspection and education (page 186) was instituted with the most gratifying results. During the school year 1918-19, over 9,000 children had their teeth examined, and it is predicted that during the year 1919-20, 14,000 will be examined if the schools remain open for the entire school term. During the last year one-third of the children examined were found to have defective permanent teeth, and the belief was expressed that the number would be largely increased if the examinations were made with instruments. A total of 5,883 treatments have been given in the dental clinic since its establishment.

            A clinic established in the summer of 1916 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where both adults and children may receive free treatment, has been of inestimable benefit to the city's poor.

            A commercial phase of the clinics has been the establishment of industrial clinics in Dayton. The first of these was located in the Dayton-Wright Aeroplane plant, followed almost immediately by one in the Dayton Metal Products plant. These were established in November of 1917 and both placed under the supervision of Dr. Milhof, but inasmuch as both plants were engaged in war work they were closed soon after the armistice was signed. To arrive at some idea of the amount of good done by these clinics, the records show that a total of 8,988 operations were made in one of the clinics in the space of six months, saving the company at least 25,300 hours. The next industrial clinic to be instituted was the one at the plant of the National Cash Register company. This clinic was commenced in May, 1918, under the supervision of Dr. Brewer, and during the first year 6,024 operations were rendered. This clinic has proved itself to be so popular with the employees and so valuable to the company that another dental outfit has been added to the equipment and another dentist employed. The most recent dental clinics to be established are those in the plant of the Dayton Engineering Laboratories company. One is located in the Delco plant and the other in the Delco light plant.

            The greatest credit is reflected upon the members of the dental profession by their progress and helpful activities as briefly reviewed above. But the success which has greeted their efforts at almost every turn has not dulled their desire to progress, and more far-reaching plans, and greater trips into the realms of science and discovery are planned for the years to come.

            Osteopathy. Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy, often spoke of Ohio as being second in importance in the developmental history of osteopathy only to the state of Missouri, which is its birthplace. Among osteopathy's earliest supporters were several prominent Ohioans, two of whom were the late Senator Joseph B. Foraker of Cincinnati and Colonel A. L. Conger of Akron, Ohio. Before osteopathy had become generally known, or before any practitioners had entered Ohio, these men had availed themselves of its benefit in the treatment of disease. They afterwards lent their influence to the graduates who came into Ohio to practice. The first practitioner to locate in Ohio was Dr. Herman Still, son of the founder, who located in Cincinnati in the nineties. He remained there but a short time, returning to Kirksville to teach in the American School of Osteopathy. In the early days of osteopathy, patients (page 187) who went for treatment to Kirksville, Mo., the home of osteopathy, and the parent school, took graduates back with them to their native states. These graduates were in great demand.

            It was in this manner that Dr. H. H. Gravett, one of the organizers of the Ohio Osteopathic society and its president for two terms, 1899 and 1900, and around whom much of the early history of osteopathy in the Miami valley developed, came to Ohio. In 1898 he located in Greenville, Darke county. He remained there but a short time, moving to Piqua, where he still continues in active practice.

            Soon after, he met with considerable opposition from the medical fraternity. In 1900 he was arrested for practicing medicine.

            The case was eventually taken to the supreme court, where a decision favorable to osteopathy was rendered. Provision was later made by a legislative enactment for the examination and registration of osteopathic physicians. The law has been amended from time to time, granting osteopathists greater privileges in the general practice of medicine. The last enactment in 1918-19 permits graduates of recognized schools of osteopathy to practice major surgery upon passing the examination required by the state for the practice of that branch of medicine.

            Dr. W. J. Rhynsburger located in Dayton in 1900. He remained here for several years, finally going to the Pacific coast. Previous to his coming, -there were several itinerants, who, by faming newspaper advertisements, announced themselves as osteopathists. With the enactment of legislation pertaining to the practice, they soon left the state.

            Dr. O. G. Stout came to Dayton in 1901, where he remains in practice. He early identified himself with the organizations of the profession. He served as president of the state society in 1906. In as much as the standing of any profession is dependent very largely upon the men who represented it in its developmental stage, much credit belongs to Dr. Stout for the high standing of osteopathy as a profession in this community.

            During the winter of 1912 the Dayton District Osteopathic society was organized in the office of Dr. E. H. Cosner, in the Reibold building. There were present at this meeting Doctors H. H. Gravett and J. E. Hoskins of Piqua, Ohio, Dr. J. 0. Minear of Springfield, Ohio, and Doctors E. H. Cosner and W. A. Gravett of Dayton. The first officers chosen were W. B. Linville of Middletown, president; E. W. Sackett of Springfield, vice-president; W. A. Gravett, Dayton, secretary-treasurer. It was decided to meet at Dayton the first Thursday of each month. This organization comprises osteopathic physicians of Dayton, Springfield, Xenia, Piqua, Sidney, Lebanon, Greenville, Urbana, Middletown, and Troy. Its present officers are Dr. J. O. Minear of Springfield, president; Dr. Paul A. Greathouse of Dayton, secretary. During this brief period of twenty years osteopathy has developed from what was regarded very largely by the public as a high-grade specialty, based upon spinal adjustment, to a system of general medicine, acceptable to the state-and having the full confidence of the public. It is represented in the Miami valley by an efficient organization, where, less than ten years ago, there were but a few individuals in practice.

Return to "Memoirs of the Miami Valley - Volume Two" Home Page