REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, 1881, ON JOURNALIZING THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.1 AT the meeting of the Association in New York, in 1880, the President's Address contained a statement of the fact that complaints were constantly made in regard to the publication of the Transactions, and a suggestion that the Association refer the subject to some proper committee, who should report whether any plan can be devised which would, better than that now pursued, bring the proceedings of the Association before the profession. In accordance with this suggestion, the undersigned were appointed a committee to consider the subject. This they have done, and beg to lay before the Association the following as the result of their labors: The methods feasible for the publication of our Transactions, outside of the one now adopted, seem to be two, viz.:— (1) The issuing of a simple record of the business of each annual meeting; all the scientific papers being left in the hands either of their authors or of a committee, to find their way into the most convenient channels afforded by medical periodicals. (2) The publication of a special journal, under the control of an editor appointed by the Association, the business arrangements being intrusted either to a manager similarly appointed, or to some reliable publishing house. Each of these plans may now be considered somewhat in detail. (a) As to the present method. The objections to this may be summed up as follows: First. The expense to the Association, not counterbalanced by an extensive sale of the annual volume. Secondly. The delay in the appearance of the papers, so that they are often already stale, from having been noticed in journals, etc. Thirdly. The very limited circulation of the volume, and 1 See Minutes, p. 33. its inaccessibility as well as inconvenience to the general reader. Hence the authors are at a disadvantage, in that their papers are submitted to a small segment only of the profession; while to the great body of available readers, the results of the labors of the Association and its members are practically buried. So far as we can see, these objectionable features are inherent in the system now prevailing, and can only be done away with by a total change in the method of publication. (b) As to the second of the plans mentioned, it may be said at once that its advantages and disadvantages are both negative. It would not involve anything like the outlay of money required for the volume as now issued. It would not prevent authors from spreading, or the profession from acquiring, the views contained in papers read before the Association. But, on the other hand, neither would it afford to the Association the opportunity of keeping its material together, and presenting to its members the fruit of its year's labors as a whole. Thus the value of the business record, at best interesting only to a few, would be lessened by the absence of the scientific papers; while the latter, by being diffused through the sea of periodical literature, would lose the weight of the Association's indorsement, and fail to swell the credit and influence of the organization. (c) There remains to be considered the third method-the publication of a periodical, as the organ of the Association, and under its control. Whether it would be advisable that this should be an entirely new enterprise, or merely the acquired possession of some already established journal, it will be worth while to ask when the Association shall have determined upon taking action at all. Either plan would have its advantages. Your committee regarded the question of mere expense of printing as the first one demanding their attention. And so far as their inquiries went, they were led to the belief that the amount of material now issued yearly in the volume of the Transactions could be published in journal shape at very nearly the same cost, whether the weekly, monthly, or quarterly form were chosen. In general terms, it may be said that a quarterly, each number containing 252 pages, would involve an outlay of about $2400 per year. A monthly, giving the same aggregate of reading matter-say 84 pages in each number-would cost about the same; while a weekly would afford, at the same price, only about 20 pages. These statements are only approximative, and it must be borne in mind that they refer to the mere cost of printing, binding, and distributing, the work of editing being done free of charge by the Committee of Publication. But let us place them side by side with a report kindly furnished us by the Treasurer: "In reply to your inquiry as to the cost of publishing the Transactions of the Association, according to the present method, I would state that this, of course, varies. The greater the number of copies printed, the smaller will be the price per copy, as a general rule, although this is not invariably the case, as some of the volumes are more expensively illustrated, or contain a larger amount of tabular matter. One of the best exemplifications of this fact is the volume of 1876, which cost only $2.10 per copy, but the Prize Essay of the same year cost, with its expensive tables and illustrations, $4.52 per copy, although the same number of copies of each volume was printed. Perhaps I can give the best idea of the average annual cost of the Transactions by the following tabular statement: "The total cost of the eleven volumes included in this table was $29,934.49; 11,750 copies in all were printed, the average cost per copy being $2.55." Besides the mere expense of production, however, the issuing of a journal would necessitate the employing of an editor, to whom a salary must be paid. We need hardly urge that the man chosen to fill this post must be thoroughly competent and faithful, or the enterprise will utterly fail; or that, as his function would be most important, and the demands upon him very heavy, so his compensation should be a generous one. The great aim of the movement would be to furnish the Association with an organ-an exponent of its principles, a medium of communication between it and its members, between the members themselves, and between the Association and the profession at large. The columns of this journal should be open to all respectable contributors. It should be controlled by no clique, free from personalities, high in tone; discriminating, but not prejudiced; independent, but not erratic. All this-and nothing less will warrant any hope of success-implies the securing of the most able editorship. It would be necessary also to provide for the employment of one or more assistant editors, and for the payment of contributors. Beyond all doubt a weekly, properly conducted, would far better meet the requirements of the case than either a monthly or a quarterly journal; but the labor of editing it would also be much greater. Should the Association resolve to undertake this enterprise, the question of form would be a most important one. Such a periodical, maintained by the Association out of its funds, should be supplied as a right to all the members, and should be furnished to outside subscribers like any other journal. This leads us to an inquiry as to the actual numerical force of the Association, since here must be found the nucleus at least of the pecuniary support of the concern. Now it appears, from data furnished by the Treasurer, that the membership fluctuates greatly from year to year. Very few of those who attend any meeting as delegates can be counted on for the regular payment of subsequent annual dues. Most of them let their membership lapse, when the place of meeting is inconvenient, or they have no personal interest in the business to be transacted. Hence the income of the Association varies accordingly. By a rule now in force, a payment of dues once in three years is sufficient to obviate forfeiture, and we may let the following testimony of the Treasurer show what the effect of this leniency is:— In his report for 1879, the Treasurer, after speaking of the failure of many members to pay their dues, and of the causes of it, says: "Among them may be particularly mentioned the provision |