368 A HISTORY OF NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION 



the city of Chicago, which, it was universally admitted at the 

 time, was responsible for Dr. Sachs' untimely death. He had 

 made the Chicago Municipal Sanitarium an ideal institution, 

 but the Thompson administration refused to reappoint him until 

 practically forced to do so by the people of Chicago. Politics 

 finally gained the upper hand, however, and Dr. Sachs was forced 

 to resign; but even after his resignation nefarious politics made 

 life a burden for this brave pioneer who had unselfishly devoted 

 the best years of his life to the welfare of the consumptive poor 

 of the great city of Chicago. 



In an article entitled "The Civic Martyrdom of Dr. Sachs," 

 Dr. Graham Taylor, the distinguished social worker, says: 



"No altar of civic patriotism ever held a more loyal offering than that on 

 which Dr. Theodore B. Sachs sacrificed himself in life and death to save 

 Chicago's Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium from ruthless partisan spoils- 

 men. In truth, many altars and offerings seemed to unite in that one costly 

 sacrifice. Such supreme devotion to a cause as the Jewish religious spirit can 

 beget, such self-sacrifice as the Russian oppression of the Jew incites, such 

 idealism as only the Orient inspires, such sensitivity as the heritage of suffering 

 weaves into the very texture of the soul, such humanitarian achievements as 

 are possible only in America all combined to make the achieving life and the 

 tragic death of Dr. Sachs profoundly impressive." 



As the accompanying bibliography of Dr. Sachs indicates, his 

 achievements as a clinician and specialist in tuberculosis are 

 equal to his attainments as a propagandist and administrator. 

 He founded the Robert Koch Society for the Study of Tubercu- 

 losis, and read before that body a number of interesting and 

 valuable papers on the various phases of tuberculosis science. 

 A few months before his death (February, 1916) he was elected 

 a fellow of the Institute of Medicine in Chicago. His devotion 

 to high ideals, his passionate love for humanity, his integrity and 

 faithfulness to all things which he undertook, are best shown in a 

 passage from his letter of resignation from the Municipal Sani- 

 tarium Board, wherein he said: 



"My service to the Sanitarium during the last six years has been prompted 

 by the earnest desire to give the best in me to this community in which I have 

 resided during the last twenty-seven years. ... I have refused to betray 

 the community that has given me confidence. I have great faith in the city 



