560 Crown Gall-Animal Cancer Analogy 



on " Twentieth Century Advances in Cancer Research," ^' presenter 

 first a few days previously at Detroit before the Radiological 

 Society of North America. On the afternoon of December 7, at 

 the society's annual meeting held at the Hotel Statler, he had 

 spoken before an audience of four hundred and fifty persons who 

 vigorously applauded him. At all three places the lecture evoked 

 interest. Dr. Bloodgood made Smith promise to giVQ it before 

 his medical students in January. Dr. Albert John Ochsner, noted 

 surgeon of Chicago, who spoke also before a joint meeting of 

 the society and the county medical organization on " Cancer from 

 the Surgical Standpoint," alluded to Smith's work during his 

 address. Smith became acquainted with him and that night told 

 in his diary: " He believes cancer is due to a parasite. . . . [H]e 

 said alluding to the sceptics, ' You have got them.' ' Next time 

 you go to Chicago let us know and we will be at home.' " 



Smith's exhibits attracted " very little attention." Ten photo- 

 micrographic illustrations of rat Spiroptera cancer mounted to- 

 gether on a white card board was one, and this will be mentioned 

 again later. Similarly mounted crown gall photographs of 

 dwarfings and killings of plants due to crown gall, solid em- 

 bryomas due to crown gall, tumor strands in crown gall, and 

 other carefully chosen charts and illustrations comprised another 

 exhibit. When his paper was published and reprints sent out, 

 however, several cancer research workers thanked him. Dr. Alexis 

 Carrel of the Rockefeller Institute, without criticism, found the 

 contents " most interesting." Peyton Rous sent " good wishes for 

 a continuance of your significant work. [Smith had] disclosed to 

 [him] many new things for which I," Rous said, " have to thank 

 you even more than for the just exposition of my own work." 

 Dr. J. M. T. Finney of Johns Hopkins wrote that he had read 

 the address " with the greatest interest and profit." He quoted 

 from it in a lecture to medical men from the northwest and told 

 them to visit Smith in his laboratory and see " the excellent 

 work " being done. He thought the reprint " most interesting and 

 scholarly," and he told Smith he believed he had " thrown a 

 good deal of light on the cancer question; your work," he said, 

 " has certainly given very interesting sidelights. . . ." Dr. M. C. 



^"^ Jour. Radiology 4(9): 295-317, Sept. 1923. 



