12 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 601. 



directions, and mounted more frequently 

 than not to secure a wider prospect, but 

 without any thought of the final goal. The 

 army contains a multitude of recruits 

 drawn from the most various fields, the 

 biologist, the chemist, the physiologist con- 

 tributing their share to medical triumphs 

 just as truly as the pathologist, the bac- 

 teriologist, the hygienist, the clinician. 

 The inspiration has been the search for 

 truth and joy in the search far more than 

 any utilitarian motive. In the fullness of 

 time comes the great achievement; the 

 leader is hailed, but he stands upon the 

 shoulders of a multitude of predecessors 

 whose contributions to the result are often 

 lost from view. 



In full recognition of the dependence of 

 success in the warfare with disease upon 

 increase of knowledge, the Rockefeller In- 

 stitute for Medical Research was founded 

 by the enlightened munificence of Mr. John 

 D. Rockefeller, to whom we make grateful 

 acknowledgment. Likewise to the broad 

 sympathies and active interest of his son, 

 Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the origin 

 and development of this institution are 

 largely indebted. 



What has already been accomplished, as 

 well as the general scope and aims of the 

 institute, have just been concisely indicated 

 to you by Dr. Holt. My purpose has been 

 to show, although of necessity most inade- 

 quately, that these aims relate to matters 

 of the highest significance to human so- 

 ciety, that the present state of medical 

 science and art requires large resources for 

 its advancement, and that the returns in 

 benefits to mankind have been and will con- 

 tinue to be great out of all proportion to 

 the money expended. 



May the hopes of the founder and of 

 those who have planned this institute be 

 abundantly fulfilled! May it contribute 

 largely to the advancement of knowledge. 



and may the streams of knowledge which 

 flow from it be 'for the healing of the 

 nations. ' 



William H. Welch. 



It seems to me significant that this home 

 of scientific research is placed amid the 

 teeming population of a great city. Sci- 

 ence has for its end service, and there will 

 be no quicker or more useful application 

 of the discoveries made here than among 

 the tens of thousands who live just outside 

 these walls. 



In no way has knowledge more com- 

 pletely revealed its power than in the tri- 

 umphs of modern engineering and of mod- 

 ern medicine. Engineering and medicine 

 have conspired together to make human 

 life pleasanter and happier, and to relieve 

 it from a large amount of suffering and 

 pain. The transmission of energy over 

 long distances and in new forms and the 

 discoveries of the modern pathologists have 

 changed the conditions and even the aspect 

 of life more than we realize. 



These buildings are dedicated to the re- 

 lief of human disease and human suffering 

 by the application of scientific method to 

 the study of a concrete body of facts. 

 They will exert their influence in three 

 ways : they will add to the sum total of 

 human knowledge in respect to medicine; 

 they will aid in developing a company of 

 trained scientific observers; and they will 

 help spread abroad in the public mind a 

 respect for science and for scientific 

 method. Each of these services is a public 

 service, but the last named is perhaps the 

 greatest. 



Pasteur, whose name will often be spoken 

 here and always with reverence, understood 

 this. In 1870, when his country was 

 crushed under overwhelming disaster and 

 staggering under blow upon blow, he found 

 voice to say that neglect of science and of 

 scientific research was a powerful cause of 



