Eclecticism. However, as a result of ignorance, we must sometimes fall back on empiricism-which is all there is in so-called "regular" treatment. THEO. GRIFFIN, M.D.

Kansas City, Mo.

REPORTS OF SOCIETIES.

The Seventeenth Annual Session of the Arkansas Eclectic Medical Association will convene in the Senate Chamber, in Little Rock, on Wednesday, May 19th, 1897, at 10 o'clock A.M. All persons interested should take due notice, and make preparations accordingly.

The officers and members are determined to make this session excel all previous ones, and in order to do so each member should come with a well-written article on an up-to-date subject, or the report of a case that is interesting, and thereby contribute his part. E. H. STEVENSON, M.D.,

J. F. LEWIS, M.D., Secretary.

President.

The Illinois State Eclectic Medical Society. -The Illinois State Eclectic Medical Society will hold its twenty-ninth annual meeting in the State House in the city of Springfield, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 19th and 20th, 1897.

The headquarters of the Society will be at the Leland Hotel, where rooms can be had from $2.50 to $4.00 per day.

A good program is in preparation, and we hope to have a large and profitable meeting. Every live eclectic in Illinois should make a big effort to attend this meeting.

Programs will be issued three or four weeks before the meeting. We are going to make every effort, before and at this meeting, to have a large delegation go to Minnetonka, in June, to attend the meeting of the National, and we hope to pattern after the California example of having every delegate that goes have his membership fee with him, and those who do not go to send their fee with the Secretary of their State Society, so the membership can be completed.

This way of sending in a lot of names as delegates, have them

voted into the Association, and then only about one in twenty-five complete their membership is wrong, and a positive detriment to the Association and the parties themselves.

Fraternally, W. E. KINNETT, M.D.,
Recording Secretary.

Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the National Eclectic Medical Association, at Minnetonka, Minn., June 15, 16, and 17, 1897. Members of the National Eclectic Medical Association:-As officers of sections of our annual meeting, to be held at Minnetonka, Minnesota, June 15, 16, and 17th, 1897, the following have been appointed by the president. This, however,

does not release every member of the association from making the success of our convention a personal matter.

The stronger our organization the more attention it commands, and the greater its influence. Every Eclectic physician should be a member of the National. We do not expect that all can attend, but they should contribute to its support.

There should be a bond of sympathy between the association and the profession throughout the country. Our National Association is our representative body. By it we are judged. The whole profession either profits or suffers from its actions.

It is the duty of members to impress upon all non-members the necessity of a closer affiliation, the increase of our membership, and usefulness of our association. The time for an awakening is ripe, and we hope that our friends will gather from far and near and enroll their names at Minnetonka in such numbers as shall be a landmark for the future as the banner year of Eclectism.

Section on Practice of Medicine.-Chairman, H. T. Webster, M.D., Oakland, Cal.; Vice-Chairman, C. A. Shoemaker, M.D., Lincoln, Neb.; Secretary, R. L. Thomas, M. D., Cincinnati, Ohio.

Section on Surgery.-Chairman, E. F. Buecking, M.D., Chicago, Ill.; Vice-Chairman, W. M. Durham, M.D., Atlanta, Ga.; Secretary, E. L. Standlee, M.D., St. Louis, Mo.

Section on Obstetrics.-Chairman, H. C. Wintermute, M.D., Cincinnati, Ohio; Vice-Chairman, Geo. Covert, M.D., Clinton, Wis.; Secretary, Harriet C. Hinds, M.D., East Orange, N. J.

Section on Gynecology.— Chairman, L. E. Russell, M.D.,

Springfield, Ohio; Vice-Chairman, O. G. Cranston, M.D., Paola, Kan.; Secretary, W. H. Hipp, M.D., Chicago, Ill.

Section on Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat.-Chairman, M. E. Daniel, M.D., Honey Grove, Texas; Vice-Chairman, G. T. Fuller, M.D., Lowes, Ky.; Secretary, M. J. Rodermund, M.D., Appleton, Wis.

Section on Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology.-Chairman, A. Merrell, M. D., St. Louis, Mo.; Vice-Chairman, W. S. Latta, M.D., Lincoln, Neb.; Secretary, N. A. Graves, M.D., Chicago, Ill.

Section on Medical Diseases of Women and Children.-Chairman, T. Garth, M.D., Clarion, Iowa; Vice-Chairman, W. S. Mott, M.D., Salem, Oregon; Secretary, J. V. Stevens, M.D., Chicago, Ill.

Section on Materia Medica and Therapeutics.-Chairman, F. Ellingwood, M.D., Chicago, Ill.; Vice-Chairman, H. W. Felter, M.D., Cincinnati, Ohio; Secretary, V. A. Baker, M.D., Adrian, Mich.

Section on Hygiene and State Medicine.-Chairman, A. Niles, M.D., Wellsboro, Pa.; Vice-Chairman, L. S. Downs, M.D., Galveston, Texas; Secretary, Wm. Bell, M.D., Smyrna, Mich.

Special Topics.-President, W. H. Halbert, M.D., Nashville, Tenn.; Vice-President, H. E. Curry, M.D., Baker City, Oregon; Secretary, F. E. Thornton, M.D., Chicago, Ill.

Every section should be completely organized and report made to the president by the 15th day of April of the names of the writers and titles of papers, so that a complete program may be in the hands of every member of the association by the 1st day of May, 1897. D. MACLEAN, M.D., President.

710 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, Cal.

The New England Eclectic Medical Association will be held at the State House at Montpelier, Vermont, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, June 1, 2, and 3, 1897. Veterans, lady physicians, and the young physicians are invited to attend. Graduates in good standing, recognized by the National Eclectic Medical Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Institute of Homœopathy, are invited and made eligible to membership.

SELECTIONS.

THE NEW TREATMENT FOR SPRAINED ANKLES.

In the International Journal of Surgery, Dr. Lawrence Crook of Jackson, Tenn., gives an account of six cases of sprained ankle treated by what has been called "the Gibney method." It is now about three years since Dr. V. P. Gibney, of the New York Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled, advanced, in the New York Medical Journal, certain propositions as to this lesion that were, in his estimation, new, yet reasonable, and worthy of general adoption. "The experience of numerous observers since then has verified his statements, and as one of those who have used his method I am before you to-day to advocate it and prove its efficacy. The treatment, according to Gibney, involves no loss of time, requires no crutches, and is not attended with any impairment of functions.' The method is as follows: A number of strips of rubber adhesive plaster, about nine to twelve inches in length and of appropriate width, are prepared. I then proceed thus, not following exactly the method of Gibney. Beginning at the outer border of the foot, near the little toe, the first strip partially encircles the joint and ends behind the foot. The second strip is begun on the inner side of the foot, and is applied on the opposite side, nearly meeting the first strip behind. Other strips. are applied in like manner, each one over-lapping the last and crossing its fellow on the opposite side in front, so that the ankle is snugly and smoothly encased, care being taken not to completely encircle the joint with any one strip. After having bound the foot firmly it is well to add one broad strip, running around the foot from the internal side of the leg, down the internal side of the foot, across the plantar surface, and up the outside of the leg, 'as much as possible to take the place of the middle fasiculus of the external lateral ligament, which is so often the one most injured.' It is a good plan to place a pad of absorbent cotton over the external malleolus, and in the fossa below, to prevent undue pressure and chafing. Any one of the injured ligaments may receive a similar reinforcement from an extra strip. I then apply a roller smoothly over the entire surface, allowing it to remain until the

plaster takes firm hold. The simplicity of the strapping treatment, the ease with which it is applied, and the immediate and marvelous effect upon the patient, can not fail to impress even the most skeptical. Though in direct opposition to the teaching of most of the authorities, it is none the less deserving of attention and application. To judge it by its effects and results, the only just basis from which to deduce a conclusion, we are forced to decide that it is a wonderful improvement over the old methods. The saving of time alone is of great importance in the case of men employed by corporations that pay their employes for time lost when injured; to accident insurance companies, to whom the saving of time means a saving of many hundreds of dollars in indemnities; and last and best of all, to the patient himself, who can soon resume his work, free from pain and without fear of unfortunate results in the future.

"CASE 1.-A male, age 22, was brought in one evening on a litter, apparently suffering great pain, and unable to walk. White, the superintendent, called me in, and we diagnosed sprained ankle. Deciding to use the Gibney treatment, the foot was cleansed, and the adhesive strips applied as explained previously, reinforced with a roller bandage. The patient was then told to take up his litter and walk, which, after some hesitation, he did, walking out of the hospital with only a slight limp.

He

"CASE 2.-Some weeks ago I was called to attend an employe of the I. C. R. R. who had fallen from the top of a box car, severely spraining both ankles. The injured parts had been dressed for thirty-six hours in lead and laudanum lotion, but were, nevertheless, greatly swollen, discolored and painful. had them elevated on a pillow when I arrived. I told him I would have him walk about the room in a few minutes, a statement which greatly amused his friends and himself. Shaving the parts and proceeding as usual, I ordered him to arise and walk, allowing him to use his cane. Slowly, cautiously, timidly and fearfully, at first, he placed his feet to the floor, exclaiming: 'Boys, that don't hurt, I can walk,' and he walked about the room several times. Three days later he was on the street telling his friends of the wonderful treatment.

"In conclusion, in the Railway Surgeon for January 28, 1896,