26 A HISTORY OF NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION 



of this precaution the following communications were received 

 from three gentlemen to whom the author had also written directly 

 for advice and counsel in this delicate matter. 

 Dr. Vincent Y. Bowditch, of Boston, wrote: 



"Dr. Simmons, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Associa- 

 tion, sent me your letter with the proof sheet of his editorial upon it, asking me 

 to give him my frank opinion of his editorial. I replied saying that I thought 

 both were admirable and that I thought the subject ought to be thoroughly 

 aired. It certainly would seem as though some definite committee should 

 be formed to represent the respectable profession on this matter, and, if Dr. 

 Osier or Welch would head it, it would be the best means of ensuring its success." 



Dr. J. H. Musser, of Philadelphia, wrote: 



"Concerning the Tuberculosis Congresses, I am heartily in sympathy with 

 you. I saw your letter and the editorial which were published in the Journal 

 of the American Medical Association. I was asked by the editor to vise them 

 before they were published in order that he might have the thoughts of two or 

 three others. These editorials are therefore an expression of my views, and I 

 think uphold you." 



Dr. Frank Billings, of Chicago, wrote: 



" I have read your letter and the editorial. In addition I had several inter- 

 views with Dr. Simmons and with Dr. Osier on the subject under discussion. 

 I most emphatically agree with all that has been written by you and by the 

 editors of the medical journals, who have discussed the subject. It is a very 

 serious business. If we cannot head off both of these so-called ' Congresses on 

 Tuberculosis,' it will be a disgrace to American medicine. A properly con- 

 ducted International Congress on Tuberculosis, in America, at the proper 

 time, after the Paris Congress, will, I think, be a very desirable and proper 

 procedure on your part." 



How very serious the situation had become may be gathered 

 from an editorial which appeared in the Journal of the American 

 Medical Association the week following the publication of Dr. 

 Knopf's letter, under the heading "Tuberculosis Congresses." 

 After quoting an official communication which had been sent by 

 the Assistant Secretary of State to the American ambassadors 

 in England, France, Denmark, and The Netherlands, inviting 

 those governments to send delegates to the Clark Bell Congress, 

 the editor continued as follows: 



"This letter of instruction to our ambassadors to England, France, Den- 

 mark, and The Netherlands, without referring to others, is sufficient to show 



