American College of Surgeons - Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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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

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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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lo American College of Surgeons of the College living in Chicago be content to contribute the smaller amount. The Association of Commerce intereste d itself in our task and gave us not only good advice but material assistance in plan- ning our campaign. The real raising of the money, however, came by hard work in the way of personal solicitation. Two days before the option expired we were thirty thousand dollars short of the necessary amount. On Saturday, August 15th, two days later, we had to give notice of acceptance of the property or lose it, with our deposit. While there were a number of good prospects in sight, actual subscriptions were not in hand. To fulfill to the letter our instructions from the Board of Regents as recorded by their vote, the accepted site must be guaranteed to the College without a cent of the purchase price coming from that Institution. The Secretary General took the matter to the Treasurer ; what could be done to save the seventy thousand dollars already subscribed and to secure the home of the College? It was decided that the Treasurer and the Secretary General should personally underwrite the outstanding balance, and notice of the purchase of the prop- erty was given. Today the deficit on the guarantee is eleven thousand dollars. A number of good prospects are being followed up, and there is no doubt that the whole amount will be subscribed before December ist and the underwriters of the diminishing deficit released. In the meantime title to the property has been taken in the name of the College, and sixty thousand dollars paid on the contract. The house has been rented to the late owners and present occupants until ISIarch i, 1920, for a sum considerably in excess of the rent that we are now paying for our temporary quarters. The property which has been purchased for the College is located on the northeast corner of Cass and Erie Streets. The building faces Erie Street and is a block and a half west of the main driving thoroughfare, Lake Shore Drive, with a two-minute bus service from and to the loop center; it is one block east of North State Street, with a through line of trolley cars; it is less than a mile from the most distant loop hotel; it is a five to ten minute walk from the central business section of the city. The lot has a frontage of one hundred and fifty feet on Erie Street, and a depth on Cass