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Vintage Postcards of Indiana Health FacilitiesHealthcare in Indiana, continuedThe first three presidents of the Indiana State Medical Society: Livingston Dunlap (left),William T.S. Cornett (center), both graduates of the Transylvania Medical College, andAshahel Clapp (right) not a graduate but an internationally known botanist and geologist.who served between 1849 and 1853, two never graduated from medical school. Not all of the State Medical Society%u2019s work dealt with encouraging effective practices of medicine. For example, in 1864 the group%u2019s Ethics Committee was %u201cbusy settling even such petty affairs as brawls between members.%u201d Firmly on the Union%u2019s side during the Civil War, the Society passed a resolution in 1865 describing %u201cthe Confederate Army as shameless rebels and Jefferson Davis its venomous chief as a craven, dotard, and coward.%u201d Later, in 1878, the Society established the state%u2019s first medical defense fund to aid its doctormembers who were subjected to malpractice suits. For years, the organization%u2019s modest cash reserve was able to help accused physicians during legal difficulties. However, in 1910, the annual dues had to double from $1 per year to $2, with 75 cents going to the fund. By 1948, the fund had grown to $28,000, even though there had been 263 malpractice suits filed since 1910. Surprisingly, this level of litigation was low compared to other states. In 1923, the dues rose to $7.00 per annum. In 1881, the Indiana State Medical Society proposed a resolution stating that their organization was not opposed to the medical education of women. Although it was controversial for the time, it was offered up for vote%u2014and promptly failed. Another important vote came in 1893 concerning drug companies who wanted to use commercial exhibits at the association%u2019s annual convention%u2014which did pass. Oddly, at the same time, some members complained about advertisements for proprietary medicines being permitted in the best medical journals. The Society%u2019s payroll and conference expenses were also debated, and it%u2019s no wonder. In 1895, there was a balance of just 8 cents after paying the secretary%u2019s $100 salary and $153 for the annual convention. The next year, the balance rose dramatically%u2014to a single dollar. In the first decades of the Indiana Medical Society, papers, discussions, and arguments at their yearly meeting often revolved around recent new medical treatments%u2014although there was %u201cabysmal ignorance concerning causative agent(s).%u201d Subjects such as heredity and alcoholism were also discussed. And by 1935, the subject of birth control was brought up, but was %u201cpromptly side-stepped, straddled, and then irresolutely, dodged.%u201d Meanwhile, medical progress tended to move forward. Eventually, sub-groups in the Society for