The story of the first homoeopathic hospital is an interesting bit of history,not only be because it was the first institution of its kind,but because it seems to have set the pattern followed by many Homoeopathic hospitals of later years. When it opened its door to the public on January 22d 1993, it enjoyed the loyal support of the majority of the homoeopathic fraternity.
Its dissolution,after four years of rather precarious existence,was due to the jealousy and butter strife among the homoeopaths themselves, in which, regrettably , Hahnemann himself took part,and to the “fifty- column activities” of its enemies. However,its inception of its successors; for even before the simple inaugural ceremony by which it was dedicated, it was doomed to failure.
In August of 1829, a friend of Homoeopathy donated 1250 Thaler for the erection of a Homoeopathic clinic. Naturally, Hahnemann received the news of this generous gift with the greatest satisfaction. Now at last his dream of an institution where the marvelous efficiency of his new system of therapeutics could to practice according to his teachings was to be realized. But his enthuse was dampened when he learned that Moritz Muller had been appointed as medical director of the proposed hospital as clinic. Muller, though sincere and one of the most gifted of those who claimed to practice Homoeopathy in Germany , was unable to dives himself himself of many of his allopathic ideas.
Hahnemann knew this hence he was in grave doubt as to the kind of treatment the inmates of the hospital would receive. Subsequent events did not allay his fears. Muller seems to have been the most enthusiastic of all in promoting the new venture. The fund had been increased to the amount of 3500 Thaler.
By his zeal and energy, Muller was able to purchase a house in one of Leipsic’s suburb’s and through his personal influence, and , despite the strenuous opposition of Medical Officer Clears, an against of all things Homoeopathic, obtained a permit from the local government that placed the hospital on a legal basis. but to Hahnemann, who had lost confidence in Muller’s honor, this was a positive induction that the latter, “well reputed and influential as he was in Leipsic, had brought all this to pass by means of astonishing zeal simply to appropriate to himself the position as chief physician”.
Probably Hahnemann did not know that, at a meeting of the Leipsic members of the directorate to elect the chief director of the hospital, Muller nominated Schweikert of Grimma, but Hobbled proposed Muller, who was elected, or that Schweikert, who was Hahnemann’s choice and a thorough going homoeopath, was given the position of Hospital Physician at a later date. Muller wrote on the back of ballots sent to out of town members, that Schweikert was the only suitable one for this office.
The fact that Muller kept Hahnemann informed of the course of events, seemed not to have altered the attitude of the latter toward the hospital regime. “But ” says Haggle. (Life and Letters of Hahnemann) ” when all obstacles seemed to be set aside in an unexpectedly short time’; when the house was bought for the institution through Mortise Muller’s zeal; when the official sanction was accorded; when even Leipsic town seemed to be promoting the affair and Hahnemann could assume that his ‘strict’ pupil Schweikert would be removing from Grimma to Leipsic in order to undertake the direction of the institution entirely according his theories, them even Hahnemann’s anxieties were allayed for the moment ,and he rejoiced at God’s remarkable guidance.
For weeks later all this was ruined and the germ of blight had been laid at the threshold of the institution as yet unopened, by Hahnemann himself. It is the most pain full fact in the whole history of Homoeopathy, that its founder, in clumsy and thoughtless haste, should deal the blow which stifled the movement; united enterprise as it was coming to live.” In a sharp and unexpected attack, published in the Leipsic Tafgeblatt, Hahnemann branded the physicians who were behind the movement to build a hospitals “pseudo-homoeopathic and unreliable.” It was like a stroke of lightning out of a cloudless sky and not only ruined the moral support of the hospital outside of Leipsic, but created dissension among the homoeopaths themselves and caused Schweikert to declare that he would not come to Leipsic.
However, he chanted his mind and, after arranging his affairs in Grimma, made the journey, arriving on October 6th. But he did not assume the position Hahnemann had anticipated he would, for, as previously noted, at a meeting of the directors, Muller was elected Director in Chief of the hospital., thus were Hahnemann’s fears realized. Schweikert and his pupil, Edward Seidel, who had been called from his native town of Ober- Lausitz, were the only genuine homoeopaths on the staff.
