History of the Medical College of Georgia

12. Survival

Chapter 12 Survival T-/he he Augusta political delegation, headed by the energetic and ambitious RoyV.Harris, sometime friend and associate of Governor Eugene Talmadge, went into action to see that the fatal vote to eliminate MCG was reversed. Petitions and letters poured into Hughes Spalding's office, prompting him to comment dryly that he had not realized how outstanding the school was—"until it was discontinued." He heard from Rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, Lions, Elks, Civitans, Kiwanis, and even received some chain letters—all of which was "certainly helping the Post Office Department." As for him, such effusions had no impact, "but I can see signs that it is having a great effect upon other members of the Board."1 And well it might, for Harris and the Richmond County delegation in the Assembly were bound and determined to convince Talmadge, who sat ex officio with the regents, that the Medical College must be reinstated. The students at the College petitioned the governor, and a committee of outstanding local leaders—including such men as Moss, Sydenstricker, Kelly, and Murphey—orchestrated public opinion. The regents, however, did not give in to the public outcry. Armed with the opinions of the influential Cutter and Ireland, Spalding dictated a memorandum for Erie Cocke, secretary of the board, on 1 May 1933 spelling out the conditions under which the regents could reestablish relations with MCG. Control of University Hospital, through the dean, must be assured, and the city council's influence had to be removed from the institution. Augusta must help the state maintain the hospital, however . The familiar deficienciesof the outpatient clinic and contagious diseases had to be remedied, and student registration should henceforth be limited to residents of Georgia. Whatever arrangements were finally 158 759 Survival worked out, Spalding stipulated, had to receive the specific approval of both Augusta and Richmond County so there could be no doubt.2 Moss, with rumors flying about, was confused. He had heard that the school would close "effective June 30,1933," and would aim toward that date, but what about the students who were not scheduled to graduate; what about scholarships offered, applicants recently accepted, and so on?3 The situation was so fluid that it was anyone's guess as to what might happen. Spalding, in fact, floated a trial balloon with Pleasant A. Stovall, founder-editor of the Savannah Evening Press, to see if Stovall would print an account based upon the findings of Cutter and Ireland in his newspaper. Stovall had commended the regents editorially for doing a "good, brave thing" by eliminating what could only be described as high schools from the University System. It made him nostalgic, though, that MCG, "where school boys have attended lectures on chemistry for the last sixty years" (Stovall being one of them), suffered a similar fate. Still, the regents' determination "in improving and perfecting the system" could only be applauded. Spalding wrote Stovall that he feared a number of things: he felt that there was already a surplus of doctors (citing as his authority a recent study by the Council on Medical Education); he deplored the attendant drain on "the distressed taxpayers"; and he therefore felt there was little justification "for two medical schools in the State of Georgia." Should the legislative and executive leaders decide that they wanted to devote Georgia's "limited resources" to medical education, then the state must spend two or three times more than it had in the past. It was fine to back the idea of supporting the school in such a way, but considering the paucity of income the danger was "that it will cripple the University System as a whole." Rather than reduce all institutions "to the level of mediocrity," the regents had opted for qualitywhen, after a year's deliberation , they eliminated the eight schools in their stirring April 15 vote.4 Stovall responded emotionally. He simply could not accede to Spalding 's request. "As a boy I went to Richmond Academy,"next to the Cluskey building, and took chemistry classes there. "I am an old Augusta man," he said, and he just could not bring himself to publish an article rationalizing the demise of the school. In closing Stovall cited Daniel 160 The Medical College of Georgia Webster's famous remark about Dartmouth College—how it was small and not very important, but that there were those who loved it...