Szemészet, 2004 (141. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2004-06-01 / 2. szám
190 Szemészet In 1922, in consequence of a Ministerial decree, the Constitution had to be amended. The Association was re-named as the “Hungarian Ophthalamological Society” (“Magyar Szemorvostársaság”). It was during this period that Aladár Kettesy (at that time still using his original name, Kreiker), became active in the Society. His opinion was that the name-change had a hidden motive, to promote a certain right-wing influence; but this suspicion was not borne out by events. Although there were indeed significant changes in the succeeding years, these did not have any political character. The period 1920-1930 was one of progress for the Society. It both represented the interests of Hungarian ophthalmologists, and acted as a forum and a promoter of scientific activities. By 1929, the number of members had increased to 180. In 1924, the general meeting took place on 7 June. According to the report of the then Secretary, István Csapody, the texts of the proceedings of the previous (1923) congress, comprising 31 lectures, 12 clinical reports, and 34 presentations, had been distributed to the Members as a special addendum to the “Hungarian Medical Weekly” journal. Each year there was a commemorative session for colleagues who had passed away. To illustrate the language style of that era, let me quote one extract: “From among the ranks of our members we mourn the departure of Andor Kövér, deceased in the flower of his youth.” Another interesting linguistic characteristic of this period is that everyone was addressed as “Mr. Fellow-Member” (“tagtárs úr”) rather than with the use of titles such as Dr., Professor, etc. In 1924 the Society became a member of the Hungarian Association of Scientific Societies (“Tudományos Társaságok Szövetsége”). Courses for opticians were set up, covering for example the anatomy and physiology of the eye. The attention of the trainees was called to “dangers which an optician may cause by meddling with a client’s eyes while lacking the requisite expertise.” There was one case of an ophthalmologist who took up a post in an optician’s establishment. The Society’s leadership was critical of this situation, and demanded that he should resign his membership. The conflict between the two professions was however settled by 1925. In May 1925 a Ministerial edict ordered that opticians were obliged to obtain appropriate professional training. In 1925 “Szemészet” appeared in an abbreviated form. The Society President, László Blaskovics, wrote a piece concerning the forthcoming 17th general assembly and the proposed agenda. He emphasised that the objective was the development of the scientific activities, which in recent years had been somewhat neglected, since there had been no mid-year sessions. Despite this, a special issue titled “Researches” (“Dolgozatok”) was brought out. This contained 15 scientific articles by former students of Emil Grósz, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his university career. From another aspect, this year can be characterised by the words: runaway inflation. This was so bad that the annual membership fee had to be increased to 50 000 Crowns. The end-of-year cash balance, by comparison, was “only” 14 765 Crowns, plus 17 120 Crowns in the bank. In the following year however a new currency, the “Pengő”, was introduced in place of the Crown. The new membership fee set by the Committee was 4 Pengős. József Imre sen., the President in 1926, was at this time rather pessimistic about the general outlook: “Circumstances do not favour the publication of an ophthalmological journal. My cherished illusions of one year ago have now been dissipated. Nevertheless, we must never abandon our efforts to further develop the Society.” The Committee planned 3 lecture sessions, together with the general meeting. József Imre jun. was invited to deliver the Schulek Memorial Lecture. Professor Imre agreed to do so, and furthermore offered to host the general assembly in his home city, Pécs. And indeed in 1927 (18-19 June) the first general meeting held outside the capital took place in Pécs, and proved a great success. Over two days there were 21 lectures. József Imre sen. on this occasion made a decidedly positive evaluation, which is notable both for its style and content. He said: “We may now perceive, before our very eyes, what a magnificent and mighty tree has developed from the modest sapling planted back in the days of the good old Historical Hungary; and what productive and lively nests of scientific achievement have been woven in its foliage.” In the 1927 issue of the journal “Public Health” (“Népegészségügy”) the following data relating to ophthalmic activities was published. In Hungary there were then 3 university clinics, and various types of hospitals (state, public, and private). During the year, 567 ophthalmic inpatients had been treated in Budapest, and 493 in the provinces (total 1060). There was a total of 105 registered ophthalmologists; 49 in Budapest, and 56 in the provinces. In 10 provincial cities there were in all 30 ophthalmologists (Baja 1; Pécs 6; Miskolc 2; Szeged 6; Hódmezővásárhely 1; Székesfehérvár 0; Győr 3; Debrecen 6; Kecskemét 2; Sopron 3). The Debrecen eye-clinic had commenced its activities on 12 November 1921, housed in the pavilion building of the old public hospital; its current premises had been constructed some years later, in 1927. Aladár Kettesy was appointed as university professor in Debrecen in December 1929, and he took the earliest opportunity, in 1930, to host the Society’s general assembly there. This meeting took place at the customary time of year, between 28-29 June. One keynote lecture and 22 papers were given. 1931-1940 In the 1930s work continued undramatically, within the limits permitted by circumstances and resources. The journal “Szemészet” continued as the chronicler and mouthpiece of the Society; but due to financial constraints its issues appeared only at irregular intervals. Magdolna Zajácz
