The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-17
ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
Annual Report of Wonderful
Fight Against Disease-Malaria
War Interesting.

just issued a report OF its activities
for the year 1920. The Foundation,
founded and financed by John D.
Rockefeller, has for its object the pre-
vention of disease. Its activities are
worldwide, there being nineteen ma
jor projects under way.
The policy of the Foundation is to
do the experimenting and demonstrate
ing and preliminary organizing, and
then leave the actual working of a
suggested program to the community
interested. Paternalism is avoided as
much as possible.
The Foundation has an endowment
of 100000 from which the in
come in 1920 was $13,000,000. Seven
million dollars was spent during the
year. The Foundation owns and sup
ports medical college in China for
the training of natives as DOCTORS In
Canada 100000 was On a d
toward the recognizing of medical
colleges and a like amount for the
same purpose in England. In North
America the chief projects are anti
malaria and anti-hookworm cam
paigns, and training of experts in dis
ease prevention. In Central and South
America, the fight is against malaria
and hookworm and yellow fever. In
Central Europe, typhus and cholera
and plague and famine are being COM
bated For three years the Founda-
ton has been organizing anti-tuber-
culosis work in France. The French
government is now taking over the
work and the Foundation is with
drawing. In Asia, Africa and Aus
tralia, similar preventive and educa-
tional works are under way.
According to the report a part of
the most interesting and practical
work in the United States has been
experiments to devise means to COM
bat malaria at a cost which is not
prohibitive to poor community.
People living in the north have little
idea of the raVages of malaria in parts
of the south. Entire populations are
afflicted with the disease IN a chronic
form. The physical, moral and eco
nomic stamina of the people is de-
stroyed.
1t is literal fact that chiIls and
fever saps the very life blood of its
victims. The malaria germs destroy
the red blood corpuscles and cause
malignant anaemia and degeneration
of all the vital organs. AS is well
known. malaria is spread by the ano-
pholes mosquito, whose habits are
known. OF these the most important
is the depositing of eggs in water.
1t follows that If the MOSQUITO can
access to individuals the disease can
be eradicated- In keeping down the
breeding of the mosquito the draining
of stagnant water is of first import
onCS. LII UOQ1GS VI water LOO large 10
be drained the top minnow has proved
an efficient ally. Minnows thrive on
a diet of mosquito eggs and the young
mosquito.
The report describes an anti-malaria
experiment in the bayou region of
Louisiana which is quite novel. A
bayou is a sluggish stream carrying
quite a large amount of vegetation
and affording a favorable breeding
place for mosquitoes. This bayou
could not be drained so 1t was damned
and a lake formed and the vegetation
removed and the top n1innows put to
work. They eat the mosquito eggs as
fast as laid. But one obstacle was in
the way-If vegetation is permitted to
grow on the bank it formed a pro-
tective zone in which eggs could be
deposited beyond the reach of the
minnows. In some way the grass on
the banks had to be cleared. So strips
along the bayou were turned into
pasture land. The cattle cropped the
grass up to the waters edge and the
mosquito eggs were easy prey to the
minnows Thus the natural appe-
tites of the cow and the minnow work
ed together for the protection OF man
and the dairy and beef industry Is
fostered in a region which needs d.
versification OF agriculture.
AS a result of these experiments It
was found that by an expenditure of
"a cents per capita-a very moderate
cost-the incidence Of malaria can be
reduced 10 per cent