Office of the Historian

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,

John Sherman.
[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,

C. N. Bliss.
[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.