The dollar for the “beautiful certificate” and membership is solicited by means of circular letters signed “Emory Lanphear,” coming from 3447 Pine St., St. Louis, Mo., the address of what has been variously called the “American Polyclinic,” the “American Hospital,” and later, the “German Hospital.” The “Surgeon-in-Charge” of the “German Hospital” is Emory Lanphear, M.D., C.M., Ph.D., LL.D. When running under the name of the “American Hospital,” Lanphear solicited operative work on a “division of fees” basis, which, the general practitioner was told, meant that “you are to have 40 per cent. of all fees received from your patients sent to our staff for operation or treatment.”
The “Medical Society of the United States,” was originally organized on a basis of “fee-splitting,” as is shown by the reduced facsimile of a letter sent broadcast in 1916, announcing the birth of the new “society.” Apparently, “fee-splitting” as a rallying point did not bring in the desired returns, so today the “Medical Society of the United States” is alleged to be a “Society of Protest Against the Autocracy of the A. M. A.”
With the change in name from “American Hospital,” to “German Hospital,” Lanphear appealed for a “portion of your operative work on a basis of pure reciprocity.” This “pure reciprocity” seems to have been a still more liberal distribution of the patient’s money, for from a 40 per cent. basis it was raised to an even fifty-fifty. Said Lanphear, in a letter sent out a few months ago:
“I wish also to inform you in spite of the despicable opposition of the hypocritical gang in charge of the A. M. A., and the no less contemptible action of the St. Louis Medical Society, I am going to remain in St. Louis and continue to do surgical work upon a ‘division of fee’ basis. To be more explicit, if you bring me a case for operation I shall allow you one half of the fee for your time, trouble, responsibility and help in the management of the case.”
Before leaving the interesting professional personality of Lanphear, and carefully avoiding any details of a personal nature, we may remind our readers that as long ago as 1908 Lanphear was the “Dean” of the “Hippocratean College of Medicine,” with A. H. Ohmann-Dumesnil, A.M., M.D., M.E., Sc.D., “Vice-Dean.” At that time Lanphear sent out letters to physicians proposing the organization of a “Post Graduate Faculty” on the following basis:
“Those who hold full professorships shall purchase stock in the corporation to the amount of $1,000.00; those who become lecturers or instructors shall pay in the sum of $500.00; those who are to be merely clinical assistants will buy ten shares of stock, $100.00.”
The “Hippocratean College” was a “sundown” affair; it never graduated a student, and expired in 1910.
