Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-31
PICTURES HORROR
OF WVISECTI0N
CARETAKER RESIGNS, TELLS
OF CONDITIONS
Rockefeller Institute Is Filled with
Dogs and Other Domestic
Animals to Be Used for
Experiments

NEW YORK, Jan. 30.-William
Blakeney, another animal earetaker
has left the Rockefeller institute.
I've knocked about the world a good
bit" he said, but luck doesn't seem to
come my way. l really believe It's
punishment because I've worked IN
such places"
Mr. Blakeney. described the top floor
of the institute. where more than d
hundred infected dogs are kept, as a
chamber of horrors. He told of the
escape from a cage and the fight with
keepers of the big blue-nosed baboon,
which refused to be infected, and the
frights caused by the long black snakes
of DR.. Naguchi, the japanese
Rolling up the sleeve Of his LETT arm
Mr.. Blakeney showed 1t covered win
sears from the bites of dogs and mon
keys. There are at present in the insti-
tute, according to him, at least one
hundred and twenty-five live monkeys
destined for experimentation. Three
times a week. he said, the wagon of the
department of health calls at the lnsti-
tute. Mondays. Wednesdays and Fri
days. and each trip the vehicle is load
ed full with the bodies of monkeys,
dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits and other
creatures.
stories, however. were his description
of the experinces of the keepers with
the animals that have been inoculated
with diseases. The men, he said, were
at times bitten or scratched by the
maddened beasts and thus infected
with the diseases from which the crea-
lures were suffering.
Bitten by a Gagged Dog
ATy. Ia
..bv a Gagged dog had to feed. He hao
been fnoculated with horrible disease
which he communicated to all the dogs
that were introduced into h45 cage. He
snapped at me one day, and the wound
was at once cauterized. The next time
one of the monkeys bit me. Ihal
wound was also treated at once.
'gThen three weeks ago when l went
up to the third floor to feed the ami
mails that were being experimental on
by DR.. Loomis l was seized with bad
pain in the head and fell on the ce-
ment floor. l lay there for two hours,
from four to six o'clock, before some
of the other men found me. The sur
geons were pretty badly scared, be-
cause when | was picked up my neck
had suddenly swollen up. They sent
for DIR. Burroughs, and while he was
treating me ambulance calls were sent
to the Presbyterian and Fowler hospl-
tails. l got a good dose of treatment
before I was brought around all right
another animal man was scratched
bv one of the cats. He swelled uT
and got a lump on his hip as big as q
melon. That had to be lanced. Most
Of the monkeys are fairly small. They
are used mostly for the spinal menin-
gifts experiments But in the anima
rooms adjoining DR.. Loomis' labora-
tory on the third floor, big blue nosed
babboon is kept in a cage. He is g
powerful brute They have tried three
times to inoculate him, but it doesn't
seem to work.
In feeding him one has to open the
door of his cage, and the other day
he got out. There We're liVly times il
the institute then. The babboon fought
with two of the men, grabbed one by
the leg and bit him clean through his
outer and under clothing.
In Johns Hopkins
Il used to work at the Johns Hop
kins university in Baltimore, having
charge of the animals there. [ was al
Johns Hopkins for the last two OF
three years, and | can tell you they
use up hundreds of animals there. One
day | was sent out to buy revolver
When | brought it back five dogs were
placed on the operating table in sue
cession. Each one was shot and the
students We're told to probe for tht
bullets A few of the dogs lived.
Il went to the Rockefeller institute
from Johns Hopkins three months age
with recommendations At the insti-
tute | had charge of the animals used
by DIR. Loomis. The monkeys in stock
We're kept in the animal house. That is
the little brick building jus to the north
of the institute. Then ] had to attend
the animals on the third floor
1T isn't pleasant work All these
creatures live and suffer like human
beings, and to see them in agony and
wasting away plakes man feel that
! he doesn't care what becomes of him.
In treating the monkeys in the menin-
gifts experiments hole is bored into
their skulls and the poison is injected
The little creatures waste away before
ones eyes and crawl around in life
less fashion The chickens lie there all
day pecking at the air
II saw the big dog Mrs. Kennedy
spoke of that was brought back from
the Jersey farm-the one that had the
transplanted kidneys. 1t was brought
in a box filled with straw. 1t was q
big animal, but had grown nearly as
thin as your hand. We had to prs
open its jaws and pour some hot milk
down its throat. 1t died that night.
The serum horses are kept in the
animal house and it is quite true that
they always begin to shake and trem-
BILE whenever the surgeons go neal
them. Not long ago they bought 9
race horse from its owner. They al
ways like to get a fine full -blooded ami.
NAL This horse was inoculated. but il
died very soon"