5«4  Edttortal.  { %i°C.rr ■"• 
such  be  done  under  the  law  cited  above,,  by  which  medical  colleges  are  held  to  be 
institutions  of  learning,  and  as  such  the  incorporators  are  responsible  to  the  authori- 
ties of"  the  district,  and  are  empowered  to  confer  degrees,  and  are  annually  required 
to  file  with  the  Recorder  of"  Deeds  a  statement  of  the  trustees  and  officers  of  the 
institution.  But  the  fact  of  being  legally  incorporated  would  seem  to  be  quite  suf- 
ficient for  assuming  the  responsibility  of  issuing  diplomas. 
The  name  of  neither  of  the  four  corporators  appears  on  the  list  of  medical  practi- 
tioners of  Washington,  and  only  Smith  and  Crow  seem  to  have  resided  there  for 
some  time  5  the  latter  claims  to  be  a  graduate  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia  and  of  the  National  Medical  College  of  Washington.  The  building 
No.  215  Twelfth  St.,  southwest,  where  this  institute  claimed  to  be  located  in  1875, 
is  at  the  present  time  a  tenement  house. 
The  New  York  "Herald"  publishes  also  a  letter  addressed  to  a  New  York  physi- 
cian, offering  to  the  latter  a  diploma  for  ^25  \  but  it  is  likely  that  in  most  cases  the 
"Institute"  offered  its  sheepskins  to  quacks  and  to  those  whom  the  "Dean"  sup- 
posed to  be  quacks.  We  have  heard  of  two  other  cases  precisely  analogous  to  the 
following. 
On  August  29,  the  following  printed  postal  card  was  mailed  in  New  York: 
Take  Notice. 
By  Act  of  Legislature,  State  of  New  York,  Sec.  2,  You  Dr.  R  are  required 
to  Register  in  the  County  Clerk's  Office,  City  Hall,  New  York  City,  your  Name, 
Residence  and  Place  of  Birth,  with  your  authority  for  Practising  Medicine,  Surgery, 
Mid-wifery  or  any  branch  thereof  by  Electricity,  Magnetism  or  otherwise,  before 
the  First  day  of  October,  1880,  under  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  No  further 
Notice  will  be  given. 
By  order  of  the  Association  for  the  Suppression  of  Quackery. 
The  postal  card  was  addressed  to  a  member  (not  a  physician)  of  a  respectable 
mercantile  firm  who  have  been  advertising  a  beverage  under  the  name  of  orange 
tonica,  which  doubtless  attracted  the  attention  of  the  enterprising  "  Institute,"  and 
the  above  card  was  merely  sent  as  a  precursor  to  a  subsequent  offer.  There  is  no 
society,  having  the  above  title,  in  New  York,  and  the  handwriting  of  the  address 
and  name  in  the  card,  though  disguised,  evidently  resembles  the  handwriting  in  a 
letter  which  was  likewise  addressed  to  "  Dr.  R  ,"  and  was  mailed  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  on  the  morning  of  September  18.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
letter,  the  italicized  heading  being  printed  in  the  original : 
Washington  Medical  Institute. 
Incorporated  November  16,  1874. 
Act  of  Congress  May  5,  1870 
Post  Office  Box  221. 
Washington  J  D.  C,  September  17,  1880. 
Doctor: — Should  you  desire  to  procure  a  diploma  which  will  enable  you  to  prac- 
tice in  any  part  of  the  world,  you  can  procure  one  for  $25  from  the  Washington 
Medical  Institute.  If  you  wish  one  send  name,  age,  address  and  number  of  years 
in  business  and  the  Dean  of  the  faculty  will  call  upon  you  and  examine  you  and 
confer  degrees  as  provided  by  Act  of  Congress. 
Address  Washington  Medical  Institute, 
P.  O.  Box  221,  Washington  City,  D.  C. 
Further  comment  is  unnecessary.  That  the  charter  of  that  "  Institute"  is  legally 
forfeited  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  it  is  to  bs  hoped  that  the  proper  authorities  so 
