The International Journal of

Orthodontia, Oral Surgeryand Radiography

(.J.ll rLo'hts reseroed}

VOL. XVII ST. LOUIS, JANUARY, 1931

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS*

By HERBERT COOPER, D.D.S., LANCASTER, PA.

No.1

A FTER being a member of the Dewey Alumni Society for some years, It-\. have been greatly honored by having been elected to the office of presi­dent. I find it very difficult to express my sincere appreciation for yoursupport, but I feel I can partly convey my gratitude if I can leave with yousome thoughts that will be of benefit to our organization. As our programis quite full, I will make my address as brief as possible so that we may havesufficient time for the discussion of the papers which will be presented.

Let me welcome you all, members and guests, to this year's meeting. Weare, indeed, fortunate this year to have an excellent program arranged. Onour program you will find men of national reputation, some of the most out­standing in our profession, and I heartily recommend that all the membersattend each session because I feel that much good can be gained from theirattendance.

This society is one of three societies that has a membership in which allhave a common foundation; that is, we have all received the same type courseof training, we are all graduates of the same school. However, that does notnecessarily mean that we all think alike or agree. In truth, one of the fun­damental principles upon which this school has been founded is the fact thatthere is no set form of mechanical treatment which is advocated. All themembers enjoy the privilege of thinking out their problems, and it is ata meeting such as this that they can bring their individual ideas for furtherdiscussion. And after all, that is a real privilege.

We are all, more or less, related by the very fact that we have had thesame training in orthodontia. However, this fact that we have had the sametraining has brought us to some considerable criticism as to that training.

-Read before the Alumni Society of the Dewey School of Orthodontia. New York City.Oct. 27-29. 1930.

1

2 H erb ert Cooper

During the past years much has been written concerning orthodontic edu ­cation, and the so-called short courses have come under the hammer quitefrequently. We as a membership have an individual duty to perform andthat is to try to show the profession at large, as well as the public, that ourtraining has been good, that this type of training has been worth while, sothat in the future less may be said about our form of training and rathermore that is complimentary to the work that we do.

lt seems to me that some of the men who have written quite extensivelyabout these so-called short courses have very poor memories, because in mostcases they themselves have taken the same type of course, probably of lesstime and duration, and I wonder if , when thinking back to the time they tooktheir course, they would have found it possible to take one year away fromtheir practice and family to devote to the study of orthodontia. After all,it is only the busy man, the successful man in general practice, if you please,who usually has the ambition to study a specialty of this kind. And it is avery hard thing for that man to leave his practice for an extended length oftime. After investigating somewhat on the prescribed course of training inthe universities which are supposed to take one year, we have found that thepostgraduate course usually runs hand in hand with the regular course ofundergraduates and that the same vacations are enjoyed by the postgraduatesas by the undergraduates, such as the Christmas holidays, Easter holidaysand summer vacation. I question very much the statement that more can beobtained from a regular university course of postgraduate instruction thancan be had in such a course as we have received here in a more intensive wayAs an example I would state that the men heading a university course usu­ally appear before their classes one, two or three times a week; the rest oftheir time in many cases, is spent in another section of the community anddevoted to their own private practice. This does not bring the class in con­stant contact with the very men who give the course. In a short, intensivecourse such as this we are constantly thrown in contact with the various menof the faculty. And after all, a school of any type cannot give to an indi­vidual more than he is willing and able to take. A school is only a means toan end; a school cannot give a man an education, the education is his for thetaking and it is up to the man to get it. A church cannot give it man reli­gion, it is only the environment in which he can find it if he is so inclined.Orthodontia by its very nature, being idealistic, usually .attracts the kind ofman who is seeking more knowledge, broader fields, eager for new truths inhis profession and is willing to take what is offered him and is able to absorbit. It does not attract the charlatan or the quack because the very type ofwork prohibits him from using quackery in the practice of the profession.Quackery cannot stand the test of time, and time is undoubtedly essential inorthodontia.

Consequently there is another .thought in this connection which I feelshould be mentioned, and that is that these men in condemning our type oftraining make very little mention of the men who are practicing orthodontiawithout having taken any course at all. I am not recommending that as aregular plan, but I will state that there are some men who have never

President's Address 3

taken any particular course of training in orthodontia who seem to be verywell versed in the subject, and that brings me back to the thought that afterall, it is the man with ambition, the man willing to work, the man with thevision, the seeker after knowledge, who advances orthodontia as a science,rather than the length of any prescribed course, that trains and makes theorthodontist.

There is one more thought I would like to leave with you before closingmy discussion and that is on the subject of the cooperation of the member­ship . As stated before, we should show to the ' profession and to the worldat large that we have had training that is worth while, that we are the righttype of men, and there is only one way in which that can be done and thatis by our heartiest cooperation in all affairs concerning this Society. I wishonly to make a plea for a membership that will be more interested in theaffairs of the Society, for a better understanding among ourselves. If eachmember would lend his support and show his interest by attending meetings,discussing his problems and giving his ideas, we each one individually andthe Society collectively would be immeasurably benefited. In years past thework of the Society has fallen on the shoulders of a mere handful of men,committees have been inactive, and the success the meetings were able toattain was due alone to the efforts of these few men. 'Ve cannot expect toget anything out of our Society unless we contribute to it, for it is only bygiving that we can get. There are some individuals who are "takers," theytake but they do not give. That is more or less a selfish way. We will fur­ther the interests of our Society, we will also promote and give the profes­sion something and in so doing benefit humanity if we will only give of our­selves. 'Ve can help in many ways; some by presenting clinics to the Society,others by reading papers, others by their constructive criticism and sugges­tions and still others by the support of their attendance at various meetings.

The Dewey Alumni Society has as its potential membership oneof the largest of any organized orthodontic society. The Society has un­limited possibilities and each member should be eager and willing to buildit up, not for political reasons but with the thought in mind that by workingtogether, by coming together here regularly, by friendly discussion and de­bate our various ideas can be interchanged and we can derive much benefitthat cannot be obtained in any other way. Lots of members seem to feelthat if they have anything original to offer they would like to present it toa larger society first and give it to our Society afterward. How much betterit would be if they would feel a spirit of loyalty to their own Society and letus hear first-hand their contributions to orthodontia. I am sure that theprofession in general would then be compelled to recognize that our traininghas been worth while.

Again let me welcome you all to this meeting. Our hope is that you willfind your time well spent here and that you may derive from our meeting agreat deal of profit and pleasure. 'Ve have endeavored to arrange the kindof a program which will hold great interest for everyone. Our essayists andclinicians deserve the appreciation of our members . I ask your loyalty, at­tendance, interest and attention to their offerings.

4 Herbert Cooper

With these few r emarks and suggestions, gentlemen, we are ready toconvene the Scientific Session of the Dewey Alumni Society. I want againto make the statement that if each one would take with him the idea th at weget only by giving, and in the future if an yone has any original ideas't hat would benefit t he profession I ask him to bring them here for furtherdiscussion.

In closing I want to read you a poem most of yo u have probably readbefore, but it expresses a th ought and 'is apropos of th e sent iment I so sin­cerely desire to leave with you.

THERE ARE TWO SE AS*

Within the land of Palestine, the river Jordan flows,Bringing from L ebanon mountains high, clear stream s of melted snows,Into the Sea of Galilee, amid green hills this lies;To gaze upon its sparkling sheen, is treat for any eyes.In waters of this sea, th e fish are often seen to leap at play,While on the shore th er e ma y be heard laughter of little children gay.About this sea the trees grow green and here th e song-birds love to nest;Men on these shores th eir homes do build and here all life seems blest.This sea the Master loved of old , ' twas here H e gave dis cipl es call,On green sward bere fed multitude and here He blessed the children smal l.Because of the Sea of Galil ee, enriching all with waters clea r,Life is by far th e happier for all things living near.The river Jordan sout hwa rd flows, until it fe eds an other se a,But here no hills of green arc seen and here no homes of me n there be ,N o children play upon the shore, no fish are seen in water clear ,There are no birds sing ing overh ead, in scope of eye all seems most drear.No man or brute or bird will drink the water of this dreaded sea,And travelers go by another ro ut e, unless their business urgent be .By the river Jordan's water fresh these separate seas are f ed,In similar soil , 'mid similar hills, each sea has found its bed.Wh y then, you ask , th e difference great between th ese waters fo und ~

If you to me your a t te ntion giv e, the reason 1'11 expound.Into the Sea of Galilee, the river Jordan flows,But also from t his living sea, the river Jordan go es.For every drop the sea rece ives, another drop it gives.

This is the story I would tell, it gives and gives and lives.The other sea is shrewder far, from it no outgo leaps,It takes and takes cont inually and what it gets it keeps.You ask if this sea has nam e, this cursed sea that all men dr ead,This sea that nothing ever g ives, it has been named "the Dead ."Two seas in Palestine there are, two kinds of folks there be,Scattered about this world of ours, folks dead and folks alive we see,Th e moral you may draw is this, 'tis short a nd may be qui ckly read,The folks tha t give a re th ose that Jive, the folks that mer ely keep are dead.

• BY Dr. 'V. McD, H al sey. Oswego. N. Y.• Published in Patclvuiork, July. 1930.