Back to Founding of AATS
The American Association
for Thoracic Surgery was now a reality. Officers had been elected and empowered
to proceed with selection of a council and preparation for the first AATS
Annual Meeting in 1918.
Samuel Meltzer, Willy Meyer and Nathan Green met in Dr. Meyer's office
at 5 in the afternoon of October 31, 1917, and chose these four members to
complete the council: Dr. Edward R. Baldwin, Dr. Rudolph Matas, Dr. Samuel
Robinson, and Dr. Charles L. Scudder, all of whom readily accepted their new
responsibilities. They were informed of their election by this letter:
November
3, 1917
My dear Dr. -
On October 31st, 1917, a Meeting of the Executive Members of the
Council of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery took place. At that
Meeting you were elected to fill one of the remaining places on the Council of
the Association as provided for at the Founders Meeting.
Kindly signify your acceptance of this duty to the Secretary.
Very
truly yours,
American
Association for Thoracic Surgery.
Secretary.
Dr. Samuel J. Meltzer,
Pres.
Dr. Willy Meyer, Vice-Pres.
Dr. Nathan W. Green, Sec.
& Treas.
152 West 57th Street.
The original concept of a strong council as a governing body has
persisted in the Association throughout the years. At inception and during the
early years, it undoubtedly preserved the AATS by wise guidance through many
difficulties.
Following are the minutes
of the first council meeting:
On October 31st, 1917 at 5 P.M. a Meeting of the members of the Council
took place at the office of Dr. Willy Meyer. There were present the President,
Dr. Meltzer; the Vice-President, Dr. Meyer and the Secretary, Dr. Green, all
being members ex-officio.
At the meeting the following men were unanimously elected to fill the
four remaining places on the Council as provided for at the Founders Meeting.
Viz.
Dr. Edward R. Baldwin
of Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Dr. Rudolph Matas of
New Orleans, La.
Dr. Samuel Robinson of
Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Charles L. Scudder
of Boston, Mass.
At this Meeting it was also voted to address for a second time the
following men:
Dr. R. C. Coffey Dr. Jos.
Ransohoff
Dr. Karl Connell Dr. James F.
Mitchell, Wash.
Dr. William Halstead Dr. Rufus Cole,
Rockefeller Inst.
Dr. Yandel Henderson Dr. Evan Evans ?
Dr. Leonard Freeman Dr. K. A. O. McKenzie
?
Dr. Fred B. Lund Dr. Fred W.
Parham ?
Dr. Harris P. Mosher
A second council meeting took place at Dr. Meyer's home on January 28,
1918. Although it was difficult for out-of-town council members to attend each
of these meetings, they were kept well informed by mail of all matters under
consideration.
The January 28th meeting saw action on a variety of subjects.
Additional names for membership were proposed and dues set at $3 a year. The
first Annual Meeting of the American Association was scheduled concurrent with
the AMA convention in Chicago, the AATS session to take place within one day -
Monday, June 10th, 1918. Program material was to include a President's address
and a historic review of progress in thoracic surgery during the past fourteen
years, the latter to be divided into two sections and presented by two
individuals. Post-Operative Thoracic Drainage was proposed as a discussion
topic. Minutes of the second council meeting read as follows:
On January 28th, 1918 a meeting of the Executive Officers of the
Council was held at the office of Dr. Willy Meyer, 700 Madison Avenue.
Reading and adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting.
Dr. Meltzer suggested that any man Dr. Meyer and Dr. Green suggested
should' be written to inviting him to join, in the name of the Council:
Dr. James B. Herrick,
Chicago, Ill.
Dr. T. M. Joyce,
Portland, Ore.
Dr. Conrad Georg, Jr.,
Ann Harbor, Mich.
Dr. Lewellys Barker,
Baltimore, Md.
Dr. H. S. Plummer,
Rochester, Minn.
Dr. William S. Thayer,
Baltimore, Md.
Dr. A. J. Ochsner,
Chicago, Ill.
Dr. Carl Beck,
Chicago, Ill.
were proposed for
election if heard from' favorably. Their names to be referred to the other
members of the Council aswell for election.
Dr. Meyer moved that the first annual meeting be held in 1918. The
Motion was seconded and carried.
Dr. Meyer moved that on account of transportation difficulties the
first annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery should
take place at the same time and at the same place as the American Medical
Association, that is in Chicago. (June 10th to 14th, 1918.) That the meeting
should be on one day.
It was moved, seconded and carried that the meeting should be on
Monday, June 10th, 1918.
The three Executive Members of the Council met and agreed to submit the
aforesaid points to the other members of the Council for their approval or
suggestions within fourteen days.
The Committee on Constitution reported progress.
Dues: It was proposed that the Dues should be
Three Dollars annually. Seconded and carried. (Send this also to the other
members of the Council).
Programme: It was thought advisable that no papers be
solicited but if offered the Council would have the right to decide upon
papers.
Dr. Meyer proposed
that a
1. President's
Address be made.
2. Historic
Review of the Progress of Thoracic Surgery in the Past Fourteen Years be
Outlined.
This to be divided
among two referees.
Post-Operative Thoracic
Drainage to be the one topic for discussion.
Dr. Willy Meyer and Dr. Green were appointed by the President, Dr.
Meltzer, A Committee of two to make out the programme.
This letter was sent to members informing them of actions taken at the
meeting:
My dear Doctor: -
Addressing you as a member of the American Association for Thoracic
Surgery, I herewith beg to advise you that at a recent meeting of the Council
it was voted to hold the First Annual Meeting of the Association this year at
the same time as that of the American Medical Association in Chicago, June
10th, 1918.-
The Programme will be sent to you in due time. It will contain:
1. President's
Address.
2. A
Historical Review of the Progress of Thoracic Surgery in the Past Fourteen
Years.
3. The Topic
for Discussion: "Post-Operative Thoracic Drainage" (exclusive of Empyema).
4. Presentation
of Patients and Specimens. Case Reports.
Papers are not to be
solicited this year. However, if announced the Council will decide upon whether
time will permit to accept them. If there are any patients or specimens for
presentation, or any brief- case reports, kindly notify the Secretary at your
earliest convenience.
At the same meeting of the Council it was voted to make the annual dues
Three Dollars. I am accordingly enclosing bill for the year 1918.
Very
truly yours,
American
Association for Thoracic Surgery.
Secretary.
Council
Dr.
S. J. Meltzer, Pres. Dr.
Rudolph Matas
Dr.
Willy Meyer, Vice-Pres. Dr.
Edward R. Baldwin
Dr.
N. W. Green, Sec. & Treas. Dr.
Charles L. Scudder
152
West 57th Street, N.Y.C. Dr.
Samuel Robinson
At the next council meeting
on April 12, eight new names were added to the Association membership list.
Drs. Janeway and Halsted were chosen to share responsibility for the Historical
Review scheduled for the first AATS Session. The question of a Constitution was
discussed at length, and the decision reached to study the Constitution and
By-Laws of the American Surgical Association and the American
Gastro-Enterological Association before drawing up similar documents for The
American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Minutes of the third council meeting
read as follows:
On April 12th, 1918 a meeting of the Executive Officers of the Council
was held at the office of Dr. Willy Meyer, 700 Madison Avenue.
Reading and adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting.
The following names were added to the membership list:
Dr. Lewellys Barker,
Baltimore, Md.
Dr. Rufus Cole, New
York City
Dr. Conrad Georg, Jr.,
Ann Harbor, Mich.
Dr. Wm. S. Halstead,
Baltimore, Md.
Dr. Yandel Henderson,
New Haven, Conn.
Dr. F. W. Parham, New
Orleans, La.
Dr. H. S. Plummer,
Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Jos. Ransohoff,
Cincinnati, Ohio
The Committee on
Programme had decided at a previous meeting to have A Brief Historical Review
of the Progress of Thoracic Surgery in the Past Fourteen Years. This to be
divided among two referees. Dr. Janeway and Dr. Halstead were chosen. Dr.
Janeway was asked to take "Lungs and Oesophagus", and Dr. Halstead was asked to
take "Anterior and Posterior Mediastinum (exclusive of the oesophagus) and
Diaphragm."
It was also decided upon that the letter appearing on the following
page was to be mailed to all members with a bill for 1918.1.
The Committee on
Constitution decided to write for a copy .of the Constitution and By-Laws of
the American Surgical
Association and the American Gastro-Enterological Association before
drawing up one for the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
Meeting adjourned.
(N)
Secretary
Election of additional names to membership by the Council was primarily
an attempt to broaden the scope of the Association, particularly in securing
greater representation from Western states. In all, fifteen names were added by
the Council, acting under authority granted at the organization meeting. Among
the eight elected on April 12th was included the only individual not actually
in a position to be an active member of The American Association for Thoracic
Surgery, namely, Yandell Henderson, Physiologist on the Medical School faculty
at Yale University. His election, on the basis of his physiological work at the
University, resulted from the policy of recruiting in a variety of fields. Dr.
Henderson, a Ph.D. at the time, later received an honorary M.D. at the behest
of the Connecticut State Medical Society.
At the fourth Council meeting on May 11, another seven names were added
to the membership roster. These were the last to become members without formal
election by the American Association as a whole. The remainder of their meeting
was devoted to consideration of the program for the first Annual Meeting in
June.
Unfortunately, Drs. Halsted and Janeway found it impossible to prepare
the historical address due to already overly heavy workload. Dr. Samuel
Robinson was then approached but he too found it impossible to comply. The
eventual outcome was that the job fell to Willy Meyer, or rather that he was
"charged" with it as Dr. Meyer so wonderfully puts it in his opening remarks on
June 10.2- The minutes of May 11 follow:
On May 11, 1918, a meeting of the Executive
Officers of the Council was held at the office of Dr. Willy Meyer, 700 Madison
Avenue. Reading and adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting.
The following names were added to the membership
list:
Dr. Emil G. Beck,
Chicago, Ill.
Dr. Carl Eggers, New
York City
Dr. Charles A.
Elsberg, New York City
Dr. James W. Hitzrot,
New York City
Dr. Leon T. LeWald,
New York City
Dr. Frank C. Mann,
Rochester, Minn.
Dr. James F. Mitchell,
Washington, D. C.
In view of the fact that Dr. Halstead and Dr. Janeway were unable to
give a brief historic review of the progress of thoracic surgery in the past
fourteen years, Dr. Meyer has offered to give a "General Birdseye View of
Thoracic Surgeryin the Past Fourteen Years, Comparing the View of
Abdominal Surgery and Thoracic Surgery and Mentioning the Necessity of
Concentrated Action to Develop Thoracic Surgery."
It was voted that the meeting of the Association
shall take place at the Congress Hotel, Chicago, Ill.
There are to be two sessions: a morning session to begin at 9:30 A.M.
and an afternoon session to begin at 2 P.M. The programme was temporarily
outlined as follows:
Morning Session
1. A Council
Meeting at 9:30 in which the Secretary is to read the minutes of the previous
meetings of the Council and the names of all those who are members of the
Association.
2. Short
Business Meeting in which the President will appoint a nominating Committee.
3. President's
Address by Dr. Meltzer
4. Historic
Address by Dr. Meyer
Afternoon Session
1. Committee
to report nominations.
2. Topic for
Discussion: Post-Operative Thoracic Drainage Discussion introduced by Dr.
Green.
(Drs. Martin, Hartwell and Rehling to be asked to open discussion)
3. Papers.
(Drs. Mitchell, Plummer, Matas, Scudder and Beck to be
asked to present subjects with manuscript or extemporaneously).
4. Presentation
of Patients and Case Reports.
5. Presentation
of Roentgenograms and Instruments.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully
submitted,
(Signed)
Nathan W. Green
Secretary
Several doctors were asked to provide material for
the meeting. Following is the letter by means of which these requests were
made, this particular one addressed to Dr. Matas:
May
14, 1918
Dr. Rudolph Matas,
2255 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, La.
My dear Dr. Matas: -
The meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery will take
place on one day, June 10th, 1918, at the Congress Hotel. There will be a
morning and an afternoon session.
The Council of the Association would deem it a
favor if you could find it within your power to present any subject you may
consider of interest for the coming meeting. An address of a paper would be in
order and as the time for preparation is short, it may be that you would prefer
to present your subject extemporaneously and without a manuscript.
If you will do me the kindness to indicate at your early convenience
the subject which is agreeable to you, the Committee on Programme will take
steps to have the title placed on the programme.
Very
truly yours,
Secretary
152
West 57th Street
New
York City.
Dr. Matas, who again could not attend the meeting
due to Government duties and his wife's continued illness, replied as follows,
pointing out the enormous expansion of available material resulting from the
emergency situation of war:
May
21, 1918
Dr. Nathan W. Green,
Secty. The American Assn.
for Thoracic Surgery.
New York, New York
My dear Doctor Green:
It would please me very much to comply with the Council's wishes as
expressed in your appreciated letter of the 14th. inst. but, unfortunately, I
see no prospect of attending the meeting at Chicago, as my official duties as
Director of the School for War Fractures, established by the Surgeon General in
this City, will compell me to remain at home. In addition, my good wife's
protracted ill health and invalidism make it impossible for me to leave her as
she is wholly dependent upon my presence at her side.
Had I been free to follow my own inclinations, I would have gladly
prepared an address, or at least, a critical review of "the progress of
Thoracic Surgery as influenced by the experience of the present World War".
There is an enormous wealth of material and suggestive thought in the recent
achievements of surgery as displayed in every department of thoracic surgery,
and, I trust, that someone who has been alive to the extraordinary and almost
revolutionary experiences that have
characterized the accomplishments of the military surgeons, and
especially the French operators at the Western Front, -will not fail to utilize
this opportunity to prepare a message that will be of service to our own
surgeons now at the Front preparing for service abroad.
With the assurance of my very sincere appreciation of the compliment so
graciously extended to me by the Council and my great regret at my inability to
attend the meeting, I remain with kindest regards and best wishes for the
success of the association,
Yours
very truly,
(Signed)
R. Matas
The following note, from correspondence exchanged
preparatory to the meeting, may be of interest to the contemporary surgeon who
often finds himself involved in similar preparations today:
Dr.
Emil G. Beck
2632
Lake view Avenue
Chicago
May
27, 1918.
Dr. Nathan Green, Secretary
The American Association
for Thoracic Surgery,
New York, New York
Dear Doctor:
I can arrange for you to rent a film machine from a Chicago firm. I
have a man who can operate it and I believe the rental of the machine for one
day is $5.00.
A nurse for the dressing of the patients can be easily procured the day
before the meeting. I shall be pleased to attend to that for you.
Very truly yours,
Emil G. Beck
