American College of Surgeons - Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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8 American College of Surgeons Director and the Secretary General visited the President of the College in Nova Scotia and, in accordance with the program formulated at this interview, the Board of Regents met on call in New York City on September 20, 1916, with the following mem- bers present: Edward Martin, George E. Brewer, Frederic J. Cotton, Charles F. Stokes, George W. Crile, Charles H. Mayo, John M. T. Finney, and Franklin H. Martin. The plan of the Murphy Memorial Association to locate the College in Chicago, on a suitable site that would be furnished the organization without cost and on which would be erected one of the first structures or units of its home, to be known as the Murphy Memorial, was presented in detail and was unanimously approved. The Regents realized, however, that their judgment should be confirmed by a referendum vote accorded to all the Fellows. This was done by mail, and out of 1,865 votes cast, 1,550 favored Chicago, the 315 scattered votes favoring other cities. The Memorial Association perfected its organization. Then came our entrance into the World War. The President of the Association, Mr. Hurley, was placed at the head of the United States Shipping Board; Judge John Barton Payne, a member of the Association, became Chief Counsel for the same Board, and other members were called to Washington for an indeterminate period. Seventy-five per cent, of our Canadian Fellows were already in France; in six months fifty per cent, of the Fellows in the United States were in uniform and fully thirty per cent, additional were doing other important work for their country. For two years, of necessity, all work of the Committee was abandoned. With the signing of the Armistice, however, the frayed ends of peace-time were gathered up. It had been deemed possible that a site might be given to the College by the Park Commissioners of Chicago. Later it developed that such a gift might be attended by many legal difficulties, and might eventually involve the College in undesirable political compl ications. Possible Site in Chicago This view of the situation, substantiated by the best legal advice that could be secured, was imparted to the Regents at their

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The Permanent Administrative Home 7 Creation of the John B. Murphy Memorial Association But the horrors of a European war could not distract us from the great loss which the medical, and especially the surgical, profes- sion of the world sustained in the death of one of the most distin- guished Fellows and influential founders of our College, Dr. John B. Murphy. His death, occurring as it did at the height of his activity and influence, brought us face to face with the mutability of our transient problems. It also brought vividly to the minds of his nearest friends his transcendent interest in the American College of Surgeons and his regret that, at the time the permanent location of the College was discussed, Chicago, the city in which he had done his work, was not even seriously considered. Before he had been laid to rest, a host of his lay friends were discussing and planning a suitable memorial for this great man — something other than bronze or marble; something connected with his life ' s work; something useful; something essential; something enduring; something in Chicago. The suggestion that in the permanent home of the American College of Surgeons a memorial hall bearing his name be dedicated to his memory, as the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons commemorates a leader of surgery of England, appealed to these friends, and an organization known as the John B. Murphy Memorial Association was immediately incorporated. The plans of this Association included the securing from the municipality of Chicago or from the citizens of Chicago a gift of land on which to build the first unit of the future home of the American College of Surgeons, the building to be known as the Murphy Memorial of the College. It was obviously necessary that the tentative plans of this organization should be immediately considered by the College and a decision definitely rendered. It was mid-August and the Regents were scattered, enjoying their vacations. The Chicago contingent — the Treasurer, the Director, and the Secretary General — realized that favorable action could not be authorized concerning the tentative emergency offer of the Memorial Associa- tion without the consent of the Regents of the College. The

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The Permanent Administrative Borne 9 meeting in Atlantic City in June, 19 19, with the suggestion that the College accept, in lieu of a location in a public park of Chicago, a suitable site if purchased by the citizens of that City and made an outright gift, free from all entangling alliances, to the College. In the discussion that followed it was made clear that the Regents favored the selection of a medical center rather than a neutral city. This opinion, supported by the referendum of the Fellows which had definitely favored Chicago, determined the Regents to authorize the Secretary General to negotiate for a site which was already under contemplation in Chicago, and to accept it in the name of the College as a gift from the citizens and Fellows of that city. A time limit of sixty days was given the Secretary General in which to accomplish this work. A purchase price was secured and on July i, 19 19, after con- sultation with and obtaining the approval of the President, the Treasurer, and the Director, the Secretary General took a forty- five day option, the utmost that could be obtained, on the property which was afterward secured, and immediately proceeded to raise the money for the purchase. August 15th was the last date on which the option and the five thousand dollar guarantee could be redeemed. The price placed on the property was one hundred thousand dollars, which was practically the value of the land. The property surrounding the site is in the process of transition from the most exclusive residence district of Chicago to that of high-class hotels and apartment buildings. T herefore, when the land is sold for business purposes, these residences are considered a liability rather than an asset because of the expense of wreckage. Many of them, including the one secured by the College, cost fabulous sums to build thirty years ago. Inasmuch as the building that goes with the College property is occupied now as a residence by the people who have owned it for many years, it has been kept thoroughly modernized and is in a perfect state of preservation. To facilitate our campaign in raising the money, we divided the amount needed into two parts — seventy-five thousand dollars and twenty-five thousand dollars. We honored the milHonaires by assigning to them the larger sum, and insisted that the Fellows