University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

Page 24 text:

THE MIRROR Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in the year 1839 by Dr. Chapin A. Harris, to whose name may all honor be ascribed. With our Alma Mater as a nucleus other Colleges were estabHshed and dentistry has by great strides, reached its present stage. The growth of this profession shows undeniably its great usefulness to humanity. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes has beautifully expressed this in the following lines : The dental profession has established and prolonged the reign of beauty; it has added to the charms of social intercourse, and lent perfection to the accents of eloquence. It has taken from old age its most unwelcome feature and lengthened enjoyable human life far beyond the limit of the years when the toothless and purblind patriarch might exclaim. ' I have no pleasure in them. ' Ladies and Gentlemen: it was with this as one of the motives, that of being useful to our fellowmen by becoming members of the dental profession, that we, the class of 1907, came to your city in the fall of 1904. To leave Baltimore without endeavoring to thank you, its representative people, for the many benefits, advantages, kindnesses, and pleasurable experiences, which you have afforded us, would be to display a trait of ingratitude which should not be, and is not listed in the dental student ' s voluminous category of faults. Your magnificent edifices, beautiful homes, stately churches, glorious monuments, delightful parks, modern theaters, have excited our admiration. Of educational institutions you have an abundance. Your schools and colleges have a world wide fame, hence Baltimore has become the students ' home. But good people of Baltimore; it is you yourselves, of whom we wish to speak. If ever hospitality reached its highest development, if ever a stranger in a strange city experiences the sympathy and kind- ness for which he longs when away from home it is here in your midst. It seems to be a part of your nature to clear away the clouds of unhappiness which so often overshadow the everyday life of routine, with the gentle yet firm hand of friendship. This is general of Baltimore, but we must speak, in particular of the ladies. We came here in expectancy, having learned that Baltimore was noted for the marvelous beauty of the fair sex; and ladies, we 18

Page 23 text:

We, the people of the present generation, Uve in an age of progress. Look where you will in every walk of life and you will see the truth of this statement. Particularly is this progress manifested along scientific lines, so much so, that this century is termed the age of scientific research. We do not need to carry our memories back very far to note the evidence of this wonderful progress: ten or fifteen years are sufficient. How vast a number of phenomena which were then in the realm of the mysterious, or unthought of, are now clearly understood by not alone men of scientific inclinations, but by the laymen as well, and put to practical use in everyday life. How has this wonderful prog- ress been brought about? It is the result of untiring work of master minds, along a special line, until success has been attained. The idea that one man could successfully accompHsh two or more things, has long been abandoned, and the result is the speciahst. This is true of all the professions, and especially so of medicine. There is the eye speciahst, the ear specialist the throat specialist, and many others, but not the least of these is the oral specialist, the dentist. Dentistry is by no means a modern profession, although it never had the rank it occupies today. It was practiced by the ancient Egyptians with fairly good success. Down through the centuries, and numerous peoples it has come with ever increasing prominence until today, right here in our own, our native land, it has reached the stage of comparative perfection. Why here in the United States? Because its first and greatest professional impetus was given it in this very city by the estabhshment of the old 17

Page 25 text:

THE MIRROR were not disappointed. Not only is the Baltimore woman beautiful to look upon, but she has a personality which distinguishes her as one of the foremost in the land. In a few days we leave you and your good city. Some of us will feel a certain something missing in the region of the heart; others who have been more fortunate, have succeeded in effecting a fair exchange in that commodity, whilst others are richer in friends and friend- ship ' s tokens; but all replete with recollections of pleasantly and profit- ably spent days. Faculty, honored and esteemed gentlemen: Wisdom may be attained by many by dint of hard work, but to teach others is a gift which few possess. Your proficiency along this line is manifested by the success which has crowned those who have been under your intellectual guidance. Look where you will, on this or the other side of the mighty water, and you will find in many of the high places of our profession repre- sentatives of this our Alma Mater, many of whom you have instructed. Today you are masters of your respective professions, not simply because you possess the required knowledge, but because of the right application of such knowledge and it has won for you the laurels you so well deserve. Not only have you narrated to us your numerous successes, but also j our failures. This is indeed where you have exhibited to us your nobility of character, as it is human nature to secrete the failures in the innermost depths of the heart. Your teachings have been characterised by firmness, thoroughness, willingness, patience, and kindness; and if we have been faithful we need not despair of the reception our educational status will meet in the world of thought. A great responsibility rests upon you as educators; for As the twig is bent so the tree inclines, and the first impulse of the thought we receive, we are prone to carry with us through life; your teachings will be a nucleus around which to fashion our future studies and research. You have taught us to think and act for ourselves, not to accept one theory or one statement but have revealed to us different opin- 19