294 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVIII. No. 453. 



learning all that could be learned about 

 yellow fever, including its etiology, and to 

 bring to this work the aid of all reputable 

 physicians who might desire to take part 

 therein, its membership including, besides 

 the officers of the Marine-Hospital Service, 

 special investigators both in this and for- 

 eign countries. It is divided into four 

 sections, the chairman of each section being 

 one of the division officers of the bureau 

 to which, under bureau organization, mat- 

 ters of a kindred nature would naturally 

 come. These, together with the chairman 

 and secretary of the institute, form an ex- 

 ecutive board to consider, especially with 

 regard to publication, the contributions 

 received from the members. Twelve bul- 

 letins have been issued. A thirteenth, and 

 the most important of all, relating to the 

 cause of the disease, is now being printed 

 and will be ready for distribution within 

 a few weeks. This bulletin contains the 

 report of a working party sent to Vera 

 Cruz last summer to investigate and at- 

 tempt to find the causative agent of the 

 disease. Their work was continued dur- 

 ing the winter with the material obtained 

 in Vera Cruz, and gives evidence that prog- 

 ress has been made toward a final result. 

 A second working party of three, two of 

 whom were in the first party, are now in 

 Vera Cruz and vicinity pursuing a con- 

 tinued investigation, and it is the purpose 

 of the institute to continue in the prosecu- 

 tion of this work until successful. This 

 institute embraces new features in the in- 

 vestigation of the cause of a specific dis- 

 ease, and if it proves successful with re- 

 gard to yellow fever it may be that the new 

 features of organized effort which it em- 

 braces will be applied to the investigation 

 of other diseases. 



Other important matters engaging the 

 attention of the service are the proposed 

 legislation for the establishment of a na- 



tional leprosarium in which may be re- 

 ceived the occasional cases of leprosy 

 found in the states, which give the local 

 and state authorities so much trouble ; also 

 the enforcement of the new regulations re- 

 lating to the examination and licensing of 

 establishments for the production of vac- 

 cine, serums and antitoxin, under the law 

 passed by the last Congress. These regula- 

 tions go into effect next August. 



Mention should also be made of the con- 

 nection of the service with the Interna- 

 tional Sanitary Bureau of American Re- 

 publics, established in accordance with 

 resolutions of the Conference of American 

 States held in the city of Mexico winter 

 before last. 



THE MEDICAL CORPS. 



Finally, with reference to the service 

 work, I wish to say a few words with re- 

 gard to the medical corps, consisting of 

 109 commissioned medical officers received 

 into the corps only after a thorough ex- 

 amination as prescribed by law, appointed 

 first to the lowest grade, and promoted to 

 the higher grades only after further suc- 

 cessful examination. The discipline of the 

 corps is military in character, the regula- 

 tions for its uniforms and government are 

 prescribed by the President, its officers, by 

 reason of unusual responsibilities, con- 

 tinuous medical and surgical care of the 

 large clientele, and by special scientific in- 

 struction in its hygienic laboratory, are 

 kept in the van of professional excellence. 

 There are, however, neai-ly two hundred 

 acting assistant surgeons, some of whose 

 appointments are temporary in character, 

 but a number of whom have been long in 

 service by reason of special adaptability or 

 because the arrangement made with them 

 is necessary in the interest of economy. 

 These officers of the medical corps are sta- 

 tioned in all parts of the United States 



