Evening star., 1919-02-23
BY EDWARD MARSHALL.
rorrespondence OF The Star.

nj EnW Ann N AnSh Alb.
Special Correspondence OF The Star.
NEW YORK. February 22.--Human-
ity has been killing men and starry
ing, to say nothing of torpedoing,
women and children by wholesale, and
now Of grim necessity it's time very
largely Is absorbed by political re-
adjustments. Destruction may have
ceased, but reconstruction has not yet
begun. 1t is fitting that in the United
States more than one detail of the
impulse in that direction should have
originated without too much loss OF
time.
Perhaps the most important of these
details is that which very recently
has been brought to the attention OF
the public by DR. Charles II. Herty,
among the most eminent chemists OF
America, and therefore Of the world.
IL is his belief that before American
chemistry now lies an opportunity TO
save countless lives, ease untold hu-
man suffering, put American scIence
upon that basis of real merit WHlch
German science so cleveriy counter
feited In the days before the war, and
to which II is now plain that II again
Intends to lay its claim as soon as
the war clouds have been cleared
away and the worlds short memory
has lost its first sharp recollections
of four years of frightfulness ana the
generations of fakery and false pre-
tense that preceded them.
X =
Last evening / went over with DR..
Herty his whole great plan,
The idea is the establishment of
great institution for the promotion Of
Chemical discovery, This. he believes
would accomplish truly wonderful
things
4, The thought, he told me- crystallized
kfter conversation with friend
curing the course of which the ques-
ton arose,
i Suppose that during your chemi-
Gal researches you discovered some
hew compound which you believed
you'd prove more eilicacious against
certain diseases than any existing
prepara tion. Where would you go in
brder to get it thoroughly. tested?"
To this query the reply was: Il
don't know"
las matter of fact" DR.. Herty
said to me. there is. today, no me-
qium. no machine, through which hui
fnanity can assure itself of getting
out of science. surely out of chem
tstry, the. ultimate value of these
things which are Immediately at
hand. Organized research on large
scale is non existent anywhere. In
America there is nothing of the sort.
Vhts ts particularly true of chemical
research associated with medicine.
This is tragically unfortunate.
Experimental work for the discov-
cry of the possible usefulness of chem-
zeal compounds to medicine at present.
3s impossible In most directions. The
universities are financially crippled
Which their work could be co -ordinat-
"a, even IL II were being systematic
lily performed: in only a few com.
percial establishments Is provision
4made for animal experimentation. and
me facilities even Of those where
Inadequate. The governmental lab
eratories make some provisions for
Such work. but they are restricted
ma hampered by insufficient appro-
priations and by that red tape which
ever binds all governmental effort,
! The result Is what might be ex-
$ected. Tens of thousands suffer who
ni8ht be eased; those who are given
Sase obtain It through discoveries
fhadc in other lands; American genius
1eh genius. French genius--indeed, all
Eenius except German, and In Ger
many genius has been prostituted by
base commercial exploitation.
4 The only facilities existing for the
Fight sort of cooperation between
american chemists and biologists are,
like the Rockefeller Institute. intense
" willing in spirit and Immensely
fseful up to the limit of their ability
Hnd facilities. but. after all the ulti-
mate cannot be expected reasonably
Aven from the Rockefeller Institute.
X
" *
Var be 1t from me, however. to un
eerrate the value of such work. al
fhough l hold it to be merely an en-
Phasis of the necessity for greater
Hnort. What better evidence could
fhere be Of the imminent need of a
feally comprehensive plan than the
Sact that in the Rockefeller Institute
recently new drug has been discoy-
Hred whlch promises to surpass in val
ue famous German preparation. I'M
ger the proper and adequate stimulus
Nf the right kind of impulse and ex-
penditure such things might occur
frequently In this land Of energy and
genius If means were but at hand for
continual effort in the necessary di-
tections.
(, The remedy is now under test in
the Rockefeller Institute and prom
ises great things. But there is only
one such institution.
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