But this thought forced its way to the front in spite of all: The code-what is it? A set of rules and by-laws adopted by a body of medical men for the government and regulation of members of that body. It asserts no new law or principle, moral or social, binding on all men, but merely the rule of action for a brotherhood. When it asserts that it is "derogatory to the dignity and honor of the profession" to advertise, that statement applies only to those who are in the society by which it was adopted. It does not assert an abstract truth of all doctors, but an assumed rule of action to all members of that society. Consequently, to advertise does not violate a moral law of right or justice; but the member of the society who does so, violates his agreement with that society, and in this violation lies the dishonor. To illustrate this point more clearly A person who has withdrawn from a church organization is no longer bound by the distinctive doctrines or regulations of that creed, and may do any act not in itself derogatory to the character of a Christian, whether sanctioned or not by the society from which, in the exercise of his right of judgment, he has formally withdrawn, and still be as true a Christian as the straitest of any sect. The result of this train of thought and the outcome of its conclusion was that Dr. Sadler sent in his resignation to the society, received an honorable release He therefrom by its acceptance, and then followed his own sense of propriety as to what he should do. He modestly and independently announced his business and the location of his office in the morning papers, and before ten o'clock of the same day treated his first patients in his new field; and before night a young man, blind and suffering for months, was under his care, and to-day blesses him for that terse notice in the morning papers. Advertising opened the natural channels of business and success. After two and a half years of successful labors in Titusville, and on the decline of the oil fields about it, he determined to seek a still larger field, and on February 18, 1874, removed to Pittsburgh, which city has since been his home. The change of location certainly proved itself a wise one. realized that in a populous community he would be able to command a patronage commensurate with his professional skill, and accomplish more for himself and for suffering humanity. Untrammeled in his new field, he entered upon a career of usefulness and success which has rarely been equaled anywhere. In the midst of a great working community in which diseases of the eye and ear were common, he soon drew to his office scores of persons of moderate means, and as his fame spread abroad through the publication of the cures he had effected, men and women of the highest intelligence and social position became his patrons. Whatever criticism he has encountered from the "regulars" may be summed up in the phrase "he advertises.” It is not alleged that he is unskillful or unsuccessful, but that he violates the code of ethics, which, as we have shown, is not binding upon him, as he is no longer a member of their society, but their hostility has long since ceased to trouble him, and he has uniformly held his position at the head of the profession in the class of diseases treated by him. He has steadily gained in public confidence and regard, and to-day he stands without a competitor in western Pennsylvania, some of his cures bordering on the marvelous. By way of supporting the principle of advertising, it may be remarked that he has been the recipient of the most grateful and touching acknowledgments from patients who have not hesitated to say that they were saved from total blindness through having read the remarkable results of his skill in the newspapers. It is doubtful whether any man ever gained distinction in any department of art and science without the incentive born of professional enthusiasm. A leading characteristic of Dr. Sadler is his devotion to those branches of sur gery in which he has become so proficient. He is a close and untiring student, and his wide research, combined with that genius which seems intuitive with the favored few, has given him a national reputation. One of his greatest commendations is the stability of his habits. He is strictly temperate in all things, and scrupulously avoids whatever might in the least degree tend to retard or render uncertain the most rapid and delicate operations. Thus, he at all times possesses a clear head and steady hand. As to his medical opinions, they are always based on a thorough examination, and while they may not always be correct, the patient has the benefit of his honest convictions. Never laying claim to infallibility, he deals frankly with those who seek his advice, and makes it a rule never to "nurse" cases that are hopeless. In constructing an eye and ear infirmary in connection with his residence, Dr. Sadler's object was to increase his facilities for doing a larger business and rendering his operations more successful. With the class of patients requiring most careful treatment after operations, under his immediate care in his own house, his opportunities for effecting a speedy and perfect cure are greatly enhanced. A special correspondent of the New York Graphic, who accompanied a description of the residence and grounds with a very fine illustration, thus speaks of the place: It is located on Mt. Washington, at a height of four hundred and fifty feet above the din and confusion of the busy streets. The doctor, who stands at the head of his branch of the profession in this city, appreciating the benefit of a home for those requiring difficult operations on the eye and ear, has selected this most favorable spot for the purpose, and at an oulay of thousands of dollars has erected the palatial edifice shown in our illustration. It is built with all the latest improved conveniences. His most difficult and critical operations are performed here, where the patient remains under his care and receives the attention and homelike comforts to be attained nowhere else, and which are so necessary to success in the treatment of those delicate organs. The grounds surrounding the residence are large and beautifully decorated with trees, shrubs and flowers. The air is pure and bracing, free from the smoke and dust for which the "Smoky City" is so noted. From the observatory the views are grand in every direction. On one side is a beautiful country, on the other two cities and the three rivers-Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio-all forming an interesting panorama. At night the cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny present a tableau of inexpressible beauty and magnificence. The innumerable electric and gas lights, stretching for miles over the low hills, the many varied colored lights on the steamers plying the river and anchored at the wharves, the fierce flames leaping high above the house tops from the stacks of the numerous furnaces, and natural gas escapes and mills along the three river banks present a sight of grandeur and beauty not to be seen elsewhere in this country. to the needs and duties of his profession has received endorsement of a cordial character from the people and press of Pennsylvania, and many facts might be adduced in proof of that assertion. The Pittsburgh Post, in a solid and serious argument on the question above discussed, remarks that "Dr. Sadler has performed some extraordinary cures in difficult cases, and he has made the facts known through the newspapers; Dr. Sadler has been blest in his do- his remedies are not of the quack charmestic as well as his professional life. acter or his advertisements sensational At the age of twenty-four he married. or in violation of the canon of good Miss Josephine E. Slocum, daughter of taste." Another Pittsburgh newspaper George W. Slocum, now a resident of editorially makes a neat and sharp point Mantorville, Minnesota. She is also on the opposition when it says that of New England stock, her father's "Dr. Sadler is rather unprofessional in family being among the first settlers of the eyes of some of his brethren, not Rhode Island. Both of her grand- that they deny his skill as an occulist fathers were pioneers of western Penn- for this they do not and cannot, but sylvania, settling in Crawford county, because he makes a liberal use of near Conneautville, where an uncle, printer's ink, and pays for it. As a Hon. Frank Mantor, now resides. Mrs. rather interesting rejoiner to this objecSadler has proved herself a noble and tion he has a very large scrap-book in helpful wife in every meaning of the his office filled with notices which other term, and her husband never enters sons of Esculapias have obtained from upon any new project without first newspapers without paying for them, advising with her, and he attributes a and he suggests the rather pertinent large share of his success to her wise question: Which is the most profesand comprehensive judgment. Edu- sional, to pay or not to pay?" Another cated, cultured, and a friend to those tribute from a like source says: "Dr. in need, her sympathetic nature and Sadler does a legitimate business, and cheerful ways have strengthened many is 'honorable' enough to pay for his a fainting heart of those who through advertising, relying upon no one but blindness have been brought into the himself for his success in his profession, influence of her household. A lovely and asking gratuitous notices from none. little daughter and two sons add the That he is successful and has the ability sunlight of life and complete the do- to perform the most difficult and delimestic happiness. cate operations upon the eye and ear, Dr. Sadler's position with reference the many cases that have come under our personal observation leave no room for doubt." The above quotations might be continued by the score, and very many instances could be furnished in proof of all that has been claimed for Dr. Sadler's skill. But a continuation is needless. The success he has won and the endless amount of good he has been enabled to accomplish, because he was brave enough to mark out a path for himself and walk therein, are the best possible justification of his course. Although yet young in years, he is old in experience and has won a substantial reputation. Time will more and more justify his course, and the day is not far distant when others who now sneer at his methods may for very self preservation be driven to the necessity of adopting them. WILLIAM ANDERSON. HON. DAVID S. BENNETT. WHEN the commercial history of Buffalo comes to be written, many things of surprising interest will be brought to light, and the fact be made plain that nowhere among the cities that came into being with this century was one built on broader or more enduring foundations, or that from its location gave a more certain promise for the future. Situate upon the spot where the great western lakes find their only outlet toward the sea, and in the midst of a country full of promise and natural resources, its founders knew from the first that they had made no mistake, and every year that has passed between their time and ours but justifies the more the step so early taken. And when that history is written, much credit will have to be given to the men of courage, brains and energy, who, in the early days and in those of later times, have worked in season and out to make the city what it is, and to give it not only a name for business enterprise but business integrity as well. When the struggling little village was burned by the British in 1813, the disaster was not great enough to daunt the spirit of its peope. They set to work with a determined energy, as soon as circumstances would allow, and from 1816 onward the growth of the place was permanent and sure. In 1823 the harbor was permanently opened and a pier constructed. This gave the place a commercial importance it had not possessed before. The year 1825 was probably one of the most important the city had witnessed, as it marked the opening of the Erie canal. The city then possessed a population of two thousand four hundred and twelve, but the addition of this new water highway toward the east gave it a new impetus, and by 1830 there were eight thousand six hundred and sixty-eight people within her borders. The panic of 1837 |