The honor you have conferred in electing me to this high office is one which I shall always treasure. In common with all of you, I belong to a number of other surgical organizations, all of them excellent ones and of high rating, but I appreciate my membership in the Western most of all. As Dr. Donald McRae said many years ago: "The presidency of the Western is a greater honor than being President of either the American Medical Association or the American College of Surgeons; it is a more difficult office to attain." I, too, regard it as such.
During my term as Recorder I have looked over most of the old Transactions and, among other things, have read the presidential addresses of many years gone by. I find that they follow a general pattern. The new presidents have usually been surprised when elected and have shown a sense