■OCTOBEB 28, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



687 



found that typhus is different from the Rocky 

 ^Mountain fever, although they have many 

 points in common; that the Mexican typhus 

 is communicable to the monkey; and that it 

 may be transmitted by an insect (Pediculus 

 vetitamenti). Some of these results are con- 

 firmatory of very recent results obtained by 

 others, but on April 23 they were able to an- 

 nounce the new discovery of a microorganism, 

 a bacillus, in the blood of typhus patients and 

 in the insect. There is good reason to believe 

 that this bacillus is the actual cause of typhus 

 fever. 



While courageously and devotedly pushing 

 this and other work on to completion Dr. 

 Eicketts was stricken with typhus, and the 

 unfinished investigations of such fundamental 

 importance must be taken up by others. Thus 

 a young and noble career of great achievement 

 and of large service to humanity came to a 

 sudden and heroic end, and a new name was 

 placed on the martyr roll of science. 



Those near to him know that he fully under- 

 stood the dangers to which he would be ex- 

 posed and the risks he would run. He de- 

 ■cided he would take those risks, meet the 

 dangers with all possible means of prevention, 

 and do the work that would come to his hands. 

 Ajid so he made the great sacrifice and gave 

 all that a man can give for his fellow-men. 



THE ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE FOR 

 MEDICAL RESEARCH 



The hospital of the Rockefeller Institute 

 for Medical Research was opened on October 

 17. There were no special ceremonies, but a 

 number of guests were present to inspect the 

 hospital. At the same time it was announced 

 that Mr. Rockefeller had given securities 

 valued at $3,820,000 for the endowment of the 

 institute, and that its organization had'beeu 

 ■completed. 



The following announcement has been 

 made: 



The board of trustees is initially constituted as 

 follows: John D. Kockefeller, Jr., Frederick T. 

 Gates, William H. Welch, Starr J. ilurphy and 

 Simon Flexner. 



The function of the board of trustees is to hold 



and care for the property of the institute, in- 

 cluding the investment of the endowment funds, 

 and to hold the entire income at the disposal and 

 under the full control of the board of scientific 

 directors, which is constituted as follows: 



Dr. William H. Welch, of Baltimore, president; 

 Dr. T. Mitchell Prudden, of New York; Dr. L. 

 Emmett Holt, of New York, secretary and treas- 

 urer; Dr. Christian A. Herter, of New York; 

 Dr. Simon Flexner, of New York, director of 

 laboratories; Dr. Herman M. Biggs, of New York, 

 and Dr. Theobald Smith, of Boston. 



The final establishment of the Rockefeller Insti- 

 tute for Medical Research, with its present gener- 

 ous endowment, is the culmination of a series of 

 carefully considered gifts, each one based on a 

 thorough demonstration of existing needs and on 

 evidence of competent stewardship of funds pre- 

 viously intrusted. 



The initial gift was made in 1901, when $200,- 

 000 was given, to be used in a limited number of 

 years in the form of grants to support research in 

 different localities. In 1902 a gift of $1,000,000 

 was received to cover the erection of a laboratory 

 building and the cost of running expenses for a 

 few years. When the plans for the future organ- 

 ization of the institute were being prepared the 

 necessity for having a hospital under the control 

 of the institute was clearly felt. 



Mr. Rockefeller became so clearly convinced of 

 this need that the erection of a hospital was 

 determined upon. For this purpose $220,000 re- 

 maining from the previous gift of $1,000,000 and 

 an additional gift of $020,000 were used. Mean- 

 while, in 1907, while the first plans for the hos- 

 pital were being prepared, Mr. Rockefeller gave 

 $2,600,000, the first fund to be used solely for the 

 endowment of the institution. With their first 

 legal meeting, which took place this afternoon at 

 the institute, the board of trustees assumed pos- 

 session of Mr. Rockefeller's latest gift of $3.- 

 820,000. 



The hospital, which will profit largely by the 

 new income, is not to be regarded as a separate 

 institution; it is merely a part of the working 

 equipment for medical research controlled by the 

 one board of directors. Being now intrusted with 

 by far the largest sum of money available for 

 medical research, and with a wonderfully gener- 

 ous and perfect equipment at their command, the 

 directors have a high sense of their responsibility 

 to the public for the careful discharge of their 

 great trust. 



