Obtaining the B Rating (Concluded)

Obtaining the B Rating (Concluded): The Story of Accreditation at CME—Part 2

The continuing story of accreditation at the College of Medical Evangelists.

Historical Records librarian. Vernier Radcliffe Memorial Library, Loma Linda

THE next crisis that confronted he medical school occurred soon after the United States' entry into World War I, in April, 1917. Regardless of the rumbles and distractions of the war, by the summer of 1917 much had been accomplished toward the desired improvements in Los Angeles. The block of land, bounded by Michigan, Bailey, New Jersey, and Boyle streets, had been pur­chased and paid for; the dispensary had been completed, equipped, and occupied; the $60,000 fund for the hospital was mounting high; the girls' dormitory was practically completed; the boys' home was nearly ready for occupancy. Except for the war clouds on the horizon, the future had never seemed so auspicious for the College of Medical Evangelists. Even the mat­ter of the rating was not pressing, as the con­census of many was that perhaps it was not necessary.

The relation of CME to the Government did not become acute until October of 1917. By July there was some concern over the drafting of medical students and because of recognition that the national program was threatening to hamper seriously the teaching of the forth­coming year. Strong efforts had been made to cooperate with the Government emergency by offering a special summer school devoted to first-aid and emergency nursing; volunteering to operate a base hospital in France; carrying out the work of the Food Commission. Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Magan had met personally with Herbert Hoover and his colaborers at Washington, and described the occasion in a letter to Dr. Evans.

The position of the denomination, request­ing that the Government recognize Seventh-day Adventists as noncombatants, had been stated in a "memorial" drafted at the Spring Council in Huntsville, Alabama, in April. This had brought a flood of unfavorable criticism, especially after ex-President Theodore Roose­velt had come out with a strong article against conscientious objectors. But CME together with other medical schools throughout the nation, came up to the opening of school in the fall of 1917 still in uncertainty as to the draft status of its students. A telegram received August 31, from Dr. Franklin Martin, member of the Ad­visory Commission of the National Defense, stated: "A regulation providing for exemption o£ interns and medical students authorized by President; details by mail." This was encourag­ing, but lent a false sense of security, since this was just a formal notice, and moreover, did not apply to C-grade schools.

School opened September 10, 1917, but by the end of the month thirteen of the medical students were called in the first draft and were not exempt. By October 14, six had already gone to American Lake. Dr. Magan, en route to attend a council at Madison, began ponder­ing the situation in his berth, and couldn't sleep. From Albuquerque, New Mexico, he wired Dr. Evans suggesting that Dr. Evans wire Surgeon General Gorgas in Washington, asking if CME was included in the list of schools whose students would not be disturbed. Dr. Evans did so, and the answer came back from Dr. Gorgas on October 1, "Request discharge students your college disapproved." The reason for refusal was defined in a second telegram on October 3, by the statement; "College of Med­ical Evangelists not recognized by 50 per cent of the State examining boards."

Dr. Evans wired Dr. Magan immediately, asking him to go to Washington and interview personally the surgeon general. While Dr. Magan went on to Washington, Dr. Evans was active in Los Angeles. He talked with Dr. William R. Molony, president of the Board of Medical Examiners, who in turn wired Sur­geon General Gorgas on October 2: "... It has been suggested that a possible reason is that the college is rated as Class C. The Board emphatically protests this rating and can cer­tify that college is high grade in every partic­ular and should be rated Class B." On the same day Dr. Molony wired Senator Hiram Johnson, urgently requesting that he wield his influence to secure for CME students the same consideration given to students of other medical schools.

Dr. Magan's Story—Saga of CME

Dr. Magan proceeded to Washington fully determined to "never let up until we get Gov­ernment recognition." But he encountered ob­stacles at every step. Dr. Gorgas was out of Washington, and Dr. Victor Vaughn, who was handling the matter of the rating of medical schools, was also out of town. No one in the office could locate the telegram that Dr. Molony had sent. There was one redeeming factor in the experience—Dr. Magan found the brethren at the General Conference sympathetic and friendly in the dilemma. Dr. Magan's story of his experience on this occasion is part of the saga of CME. Students of twenty or more years ago all had the privilege of hearing him tell it in person. Here is a portion:

There is something about the experience of hav­ing the burden of a great crisis rolled upon you when you are all alone which drives you very close to God. I was on my way to save the only medical school in all the world which bore the name of God. Practically speaking, I knew not one soul there, not a man in the office of the surgeon general. I felt to pray the prayer of Martin Luther which had for years appealed to me:

"O Thou, my God! Do Thou, my God, stand by me against all the world's wisdom and reason. . . . For myself I would prefer to have peaceful days, and to be out of this turmoil. But Thine, O Lord, is the cause." . . .

From office to office and from one great man to another I went, but nowhere did I get a word of comfort. I remember one bitter cold day, with driv­ing wind and snow, disheartened and not knowing what next to do, I left the office of the surgeon gen­eral and sat down on the stone curbing supporting the iron fence around the White House. There I sat and prayed, and there came into my mind some of the closing words in Solomon's great prayer at the dedication of the Temple—"and let these my words ... be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant." . . .

I remembered the prayers which so often fell from the lips of Ellen G. White, of John Burden, of many another soul who struggled to launch the school. I, too, had prayed and it came into my mind that prayers do not die when they leave our lips; they are "nigh unto the Lord our God day and night." I knew that the prayers offered long ago were still doing duty before the great white throne, and I was comforted.1

Since it would be impossible to see Dr. Vaughn in Washington, Dr. Magan decided to return to Chicago, where Dr. Vaughn and Dr. Franklin Martin were attending the Clini­cal Congress of Surgeons. He remembered Dr. George Hare of Fresno, California, the presi­dent of the American Academy of Medicine, who was a close friend of Dr. Vaughn, so he wired Dr. Evans to get in touch with Dr. Hare and urge him to accompany him to Chicago. Upon receiving this telegram, Dr. Evans left immediately for Fresno and found that Dr. Hare was much interested in the fate of the medical school and willing to wield his influ­ence and accompany Dr. Evans to Chicago. Dr. Hare suggested that Dr. Evans prepare a statement showing the average grades obtained by students at the examinations for the years 1915, 1916, and 1917. "The Loma Linda group has improved each year and shows a very cred­itable record," he said. In fact, as it turned out, the prejudice toward the college was over­come by the splendid record of the students, one of CME's graduates having received the highest grade of any applicant at any examina­tion during the entire year.2

Before leaving for Chicago, Dr. Hare and Dr. Evans called Dr. Charles B. Pinkham, sec­retary of the Board of Medical Examiners of the State of California, by telephone while the board was in session in Sacramento, and asked him to put a resolution before the board in an official form, recommending that CME should have an increase in rating. Dr. Pinkham re­sponded to this and sent the following tel­egram on October 20, 1917: "Resolved, that the College of Medical Evangelists be consid­ered by the Board of Medical Examiners of the State of California as deserving of a higher rating than Class-C institution as rated by the Council of Medical Education of the Ameri­can Medical Association."

Dr. Evans, Dr. Magan, and Dr. Hare were able to see Dr. Colwell and others of the A.M.A. men in Chicago, but evidently did not see the elusive Dr. Vaughn, for when Dr. Evans wrote back to Loma Linda telling of their counsels in Chicago, he added that Dr. Magan and Dr. Hare had gone on to Washington to see Dr. Vaughn. Dr. Evans wrote Dr. Alfred Shryock on October 27, 1917: "Whether anything defi­nite will be accomplished at this time for the release of the medical students we do not know, but hope for the best."

Tide Turned With A.M.A. and Government

On October 25 Dr. Percy Magan sent the following wire to Dr. Lillian Magan from Wash­ington: "Tide has turned in our favor. Meet­ing with officers of the American Medical Asso­ciation, who agree to recommend Government to recognize us and to release our men already gone. . . .Tell students we will win." On Octo­ber 31 he wired that the Government officers had agreed to have Dr. Colwell visit the Col­lege of Medical Evangelists on November 10 with a view to raising the rating. "Impress on Drake to push the building [Drake was the contractor and builder]. Have Larson get dis­pensary in shape. Notify Loma Linda," he added.

Meanwhile the boys in camp were anxiously awaiting the outcome. Some of them were sched­uled to sail for France in the near future. Dr. Magan had been keeping in touch with them and sending regular reports of progress being-made for their release, and on November 13 wrote them a long letter of encouragement, telling them that Dr. Colwell had visited the school and there was every indication that the

raise in rating would be granted. "We voted this morning to spend awhile every evening for the rest of this week, beginning tomorrow night, in seeking God and humbling our hearts that He may give us the victory, and I rather think that next Sabbath will be a special day of fast­ing and prayer in behalf of the school and of you poor lads who are away from us." A post­script was added to this letter, dated November 14. "Since writing the above, Dr. Colwell has notified us that our rating positively will be raised. ... we are rushing everything for you as fast as possible."

This tremendous victory called for an appro­priate celebration at Loma Linda. New Year's Day, 1918, was appointed Jubilee Day, and invitations were sent to, all the doctors and their families on the Los Angeles and Loma Linda faculty, members of the Loma Linda church and their families, members of the sur­rounding churches, .including the faculties of the Glendale Sanitarium and Paradise Valley Sanitarium, and everyone else they could think of who had a special interest in the college. A free dinner was offered for students, nurses, and visiting physicians, and special guests.

The church was decorated with plants, ferns, flowers, and holly; the orchestra offered some "good triumphant pieces"; Miss Katherine Hansen sang, in her lovely contralto voice, "God Will Take Care of You" (by special request from Dr. Magan). Dr. Magan was master of ceremonies, and Elder John Burden had been asked to make "the big speech." All in all, it was a great occasion, a combination of Thanks­giving, Christmas, and New Year's. And not the least thankful among the joyous crowd were the boys who had returned from camp (all but one), to continue their studies in the College of Medical Evangelists.

1 Percy T. Magan, "President's Report to the Constituency, January 28, 1940, at 10:00 a.m.3' Minutes of the Constituency, CME. '1940, pp. 12, 13.

2 "Report of the North American Division Medical Depart­ment," Harry W. Miller. Review and Herald, 95:19, May 9, 1918. p. 19.

(All letters referred to are in the correspondence file of Historical Records Office.)

(To be continued)

Historical Records librarian. Vernier Radcliffe Memorial Library, Loma Linda

September 1960

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Evangelism the chief role of the church

WITHIN the soul of the Seventh-day Adventist Church there must ever remain a living spirit of aggressive evangelism. This is not a department of the church, nor just one of its lines of activity. It is the task of the church and its main line.

Evangelism in the White Memorial Church

Evangelism was given impetus in the Christian witness of the White Memorial Church on the Los Angeles campus of the College of Medical Evangelists during the recently concluded six week Flight of Time series.

Conducting the Baptismal Service

Many of our evangelists at the recent evangelistic council requested that some material on how to conduct a dignified baptismal service be published in The Ministry, and it was suggested that we reproduce here some of the material in chapter 16 of Elder R. A. Anderson's book The Shepherd Evangelist.

Teamwork for success

In the work of God we need close teamwork. Each department needs the cooperation of the other, for the objective of all is the winning of souls.

Evangelism in Poland and Finland

A report on evangelism in Poland and Finland

A Discussion of Walter Martin's Comments Relative to the Sabbath and the Lord's Day - Part 1

IN HIS book The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism Walter R. Martin at­tempts to show that the teach­ings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church concerning the binding obligation upon Christians to observe the sev­enth-day Sabbath are without Biblical foundation. It is our purpose here to exam­ine the arguments that he puts forth in chapter six.

Music and Religious Experience

The Seventh-day Adventist church is an evangelical church, believing that its prime objective is the proclaiming of the gospel in the world and the winning of souls to the kingdom of God. This means that our music should be evangelical in its objective. But evangelical suggests different meanings to various peo­ple. It is a word that embraces many kinds of missionary work and many kinds of mu­sic.

The high point of the council to me

Opinions about the Evangelistic council held in Denver, Colorado, May 16-19.

Ellen G. White and the Spirit of Prophecy

A look at some books critical of Ellen G. White and the Spirit of Prophecy.

Evangelistic Stimulants to Keep the People Coming to Meetings

In doing evangelistic work in the large cities it is imperative that we work out of the common order of things. With numer­ous attractions holding the interest of the people, with multitudes infatuated by tele­vision, movies, and other exciting pleas­ures, the evangelist is challenged to pro­claim a message that will startle the hearers and break the tie that so strongly binds them to the world.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - RevivalandReformation 300x250

Recent issues

See All