I am deeply sensible of the great honor conferred on me last April at our organization meeting in electing me the first president of this association. I feel that there are many men on this coast who, by virtue of their long service to the profession and because of their contributions to surgery, are better qualified than I for this position, but I am sure there are none who are more sincere in their loyalty to the cause of surgery nor more enthusiastic in their faith as to the possibilities of this organization. I believe it marks an epoch in the development of surgery on the Pacific coast.
I have chosen as my subject for the first presidential address, the surgical conscience.
The all important part played by infection in surgery, as first pointed out by Lord Lister, early focused the efforts of surgeons on the development of aseptic technic.