it will pass the Senate. . . ."; letter, Billings to Jacobi, June 3, 1882: MS/C/1. 25 "I am happy to say we have induced Senator Logan to have the appropriation restored to the amount usually given"; letter, Billings to Jacobi, June 8, 1882: MS/C/1. of Amer. Laryngological Assoc., Nov. 27, 1883: AMM. Resolutions of Amer. Library Assn. in Med. News 43: 222 (1883) and Library J. 8: 278 (1883). Letter, Holmes to J. R. Chadwick, May 16, 1883; draft of petition, n.d.: MS/C/1. Four drafts 26 Annual Report of the Surgeon General... of the AMA resolution, with an attached note 1883, pp. 25-26. Annual Report of the Surgeon General . . . 1884, p. 28. 28 Garrison, Billings, p. 165. 29 Letter, Yarrow to Billings, Jan. 15, 1883: MS/C/1. 30 47th Cong., 2d sess., Bill HR 7861, and H. Report 1995 to accompany the bill. The bill and report were reprinted in 48th Cong., 1st sess., Senate Executive Doc. 12, Dec. 17, 1883. 31 Billings' draft of the amendment is in NLM. Letter, Crane to Hawley, Mar. 1, 1883; NA. 32 Letter, Johnson to Billings, Oct. 11, 1883; MS/C/1. 33 Letters, O'Leary to Billings n.d., 1883; Spooner to O'Leary, Jan. 26, 1883; Mastin to Billings, April 1, 1883; Johnson to Billings, April 22, May 12, 1883; Cochran to Billings, May 3, 1883; Wyckoff to Billings, Nov. 16, 23, 1883; Richardson to A. Flint, Sr., Nov. 24, 1883; Parvin to Billings, May 28, 1883; all in MS/C/1. Mitchell to Billings, Dec. 1, 1883: NYPL. 34 Letters, Reeves to Billings, May 4, 18, 1883; Robertson to Billings, May 12, 18, Nov. 4, 1883: MS/C/1. Med. News, v. 42 (1883), resolutions of medical societies of Pa., p. 563; Mass., p. 702; Conn., p. 634; N.Y. p. 726; N.H., pp. 746–7; Minn., pp. 748-9. Notice of these resolutions may be found in other medical journals. Printed copy of resolutions of Iowa State Medical Association, dated Dec. 13, 1883; typed copy of resolutions of N. H. Med. Soc., dated Nov. 25, 1883; extract from minutes of annual meeting N.J. Med. Soc.: AMM. 35 Congressional Record 1883, Jan. 5 re petition of Phila. Co. Med. Soc.; Jan. 10, of Med. Soc. Kings Co.; Jan. 13, of N. H. Central Med. Soc.; Jan. 22, of physicians of Beaver Co.; Jan. 26, of R.I. Letters, H. F. Campbell to Billings, Jan. 17, 22, 24, 1883; Chaillé to Billings, Dec. 29, 1883; W. H. Geddings to Billings, Nov. 7, 1883; A. Flint Jr. to Billings, Nov. 18, 1883: MS/C/1. 36 See, for example, Louisville Med. News 15: 40 (1883); St. Louis Courier Med. 9: 43-45 (1883); Med News 42: 419-20, 428-30 (1883); Nation, June 7, 1883; Boston Med. Surg. J. 108: 20 (Jan. 4, 1883). 37 Resolution of Amer. Surg. Assn., Med. News 42: 693 (June 16, 1883); Boston Med. Surg. J. 108: 561 (June 14, 1883). Copy of resolution in Billings hand re the order of signatures, and an endorsement indicating that 600 copies were printed (undoubtedly for distribution where Billings thought it would do most good) is at AMM. The petition and AMA memorial were reprinted in 48th Cong., 1st sess., Sen. Ex. Doc. 12; in 47th Cong., 2d sess. House Report 1991 to accompany Bill H.R. 7681; in a pamphlet containing Bill H.R. 7681 and Report 1991 to accompany Bill H.R. 7681; and cited in later congressional debate over the building. Resolutions reported in Med Times, June 16, 1883, p. 637, and Med. News, June 9, 1883, p. 657. 38 Letters, Surg. Gen. Crane to Sen. J. R. Hawley, Mar. 1, 1883; Surg. Gen. Murray to Rep. S. M. Stockslager, Dec. 28, 1883; Surg. Gen. Murray to Sen. William Mahone, Dec. 14, 1883; Surg. Gen. Murray to Rep. S. J. Randall, chairman House Comm. on Appropriations, Feb. 9, 1885; NA. 47th Cong., 2d sess., H. Report to accompany Bill H.R. 7681, Feb. 28, 1883. 39 Letters, Bayard to S. W. Mitchell, Feb. 5, 1883; J. Mitchell to S. W. Mitchell, Feb. 8, 1883; Johnson to Billings, Dec. 9, 1882; Gibney to Billings, Feb. 2, 1883; MS/C/1. Debate in Senate on Amendment to Army Appropriation Bill H.R. 7077, for purpose of reducing LibraryMuseum appropriation, Congressional Record, Feb. 22, 1883. Boston Med. Surg. J. 108: 278, 309 (1883). 40 Lucy Salamanco, Fortress of Freedom: the Story of the Library of Congress, (1942), p. 217. "Letter, Billings to Poole, Sept. 11, 1882. Poole in reply, Sept. 14, promised to use his influence to keep the Library under control of the Medical Department. Letters in MS/C/1. 42 Billings, to my knowledge, had no proof that “the scientific and medical departments of great national libraries, such as those of England, France, and Germany, are very little used by scientific and medical men." Of course physicians of Edinburgh, Lyons, Hamburg and other towns preferred the convenience of their local medical libraries rather than travel to London, Paris, or Berlin. Furthermore the rapid growth of the SGL was mostly owing to Billings' exertions, not to the preference of American physicians who would have sent him books and journals whether he was housed in Ford's Theatre or the Library of Congress. But Billings' arguments sounded reasonable, and he made the most of them. 43 Address delivered April 1883, published in Trans. Med. Chirurgical Faculty Maryland 1883, pp. 58-80, and in Med. News 42: 507-511 (May 5, 1883), and reprinted in Rogers, Selected papers on John Shaw Billings, pp. 149–169. Billings devoted part of his speech, “Libraries in Washington," at the meeting of the American Library Association, Buffalo, August, 1883, to the same argument: Library J. 8: 199–200 (1883). Note that he told his audience that the Surgeon General's Library was "your medical library in Washington." Billings cleverly gained support of the medical profession for the Library on every possible occasion. * Column entitled “Sunday Gossip," Washington Sunday Herald, Apr. 1, 1883. 45 "The Medical Library," Washington Sunday Herald, Apr. 8, 1883. According to this account, Spofford, much earlier, had opposed the formation of other libraries in Washington, but Billings had appealed to him, pointing out that the Library of Congress was already overcrowded, that the museum needed medical books at hand for reference, and that if the Surgeon General's library was to be absorbed ultimately by LC, it would be preferable if the SGL was complete. Since that time the SGL had vastly increased, partially through congressional appropriations, but "very largely through the liberality of physicians in all countries.' X The Library-Museum Building on the Mall BILLINGS IS NOMINATED AS SURGEON GENERAL ETWEEN 1881 and 1884 important persons in the Surgeon General's Office died. George Otis, curator of the museum since 1864, passed away in 1881. Surgeon General Barnes, head of the department for almost 20 years, retired on June 30, 1882. Charles Crane, Assistant Surgeon General from the Civil War until 1882 and then Surgeon General, died on October 10, 1883. Joseph J. Woodward, Otis' colleague in the museum, the department's bestknown scientist, and president of the American Medical Association in 1882, was in very poor health and died in 1884. Billings alone remained of the officers who had developed the Library and museum from a few books and specimens into collections of national prominence. When Barnes retired a number of physicians and scholars tried to have Billings elevated to the post of Surgeon General.' Billings felt that his friend Assistant Surgeon General Crane, a competent officer with 35 years service, deserved the promotion. "I did not wish my name to be urged against that of General Crane," he said later, "and wrote decidedly to that effect to my friends, though without much effect."2 After Crane died physicians again pushed Billings' candidacy. On this occasion he stated his views to Ezra Hunt, president of the American Public Health Association:* 3 I have no objection to having my name presented to the President by those who think proper to do so, but I shall certainly not do it myself nor ask, or hint to, anyone else to do it. I presume that Dr. Baxter and Dr. Murray are urging their claims from what I see in the papers. . . Dr. Murray is the senior officer of the corps and has two years yet to serve before compulsory retirement. He is in every respect most estimable gentleman. The difficulty is that if he is appointed the war will break out again two years hence, and the medical corps wants the thing settled once and for all. Moreover the practice of promotion in any medical corps by seniority gives bad results as you know. Now I do not consider that I have any claims to the office any more than any other officer who has done his duty. It is open to all. If I should be appointed I shall do my best for the interests of the Department and of the profession. I cannot say I am anxious for the place, it is a high honor, but it brings with it much responsibility and worry. I am content as I am. I want to do what is right, and I take the duties nearest at hand. I have always found plenty of them. Now I can only advise you to think the matter over + do what you consider best for the service and the profession. There are other comparatively young men in the corps who will fill the office well. I name Moore, Sutherland, + Huntington. Dr. Baxter you know. Do not be swayed in the least by personal friendship in this matter—it is an important one-and I shall esteem you just as highly if you recommend someone else or if you do nothing. But if you have a decided opinion I think you ought to express it. I have written two or three letters similar to this to friends who have asked me what they should do. I cannot in the least tell them what they should do. I know absolutely nothing as to President Arthur's views nor whether he will make the appointment at once, or wait until Congress meets. To my other correspondents I have simply made one request, which I know is not necessary in your case, viz that they should not attempt to depreciate in any way the other gentlemen whose names are before the President. On November 23, 1883 the President chose Robert Murray, who had joined the army before the Mexican War, when Billings was a boy. Perhaps it was just as well for the Library that Billings was not selected. As Joseph R. Smith, medical director, Department of Texas, told him, "You would make a good chief to our corps. I cannot but fear, however, that if you were appointed your duties as chief would much interfere with valuable bibliographic and scientific work."5 Murray was not a young man and his duties weighed heavily on him. He had to oversee a medical organization whose officers served at more than 150 Army posts and treated more than 40,000 cases a year. There were physical and mental illnesses, epidemics, accidents, suicides, and murders at barracks and forts. Cavalry and infantry fought Indians in the West from Montana to New Mexico-in 1880 there were at least 17 engagements in which soldiers were killed or wounded. All manner of administrative, financial, and professional problems came to rest on the desk of the chief medical officer. Murray divested himself of some of his responsibilities by combining the museum and Library into a single entity called the Museum and Library Division, with Billings as director. This happened on December 28, 1883; thereafter Billings was curator as well as Librarian. Billings now had more paper work and responsibility for larger funds. He could make or change policy for the museum, and he did this in at least one important direction, by ordering the collecting of microscopes of all styles. Known today as the Billings Microscope Collection, this is one of the finest historical collections of specialized scientific apparatus in existence.7 The new position and title gave Billings more prestige in his attempts to gain a building, and it made easier the settling of decisions that arose later during construction. CONGRESS PROVIDES A NEW BUILDING On December 3, 1883, the 48th Congress convened, and Surgeon General Murray started again on the same path that his predecessors had trod in 1880 |