Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-12-27
RESIGNS AS CITY
ENGINEER FOR
fine ISLAND POST
To Do Malarial Control Research
Work To Pave Wav For
Cleanup


Walter D. Tiedeman, for nearly
two years city engineer and super
intendent of city water work. has
handed his resignation to Mayae
E. Sheppard, effective January /.
and has accepted place with the
Rockefeller Foundation, of Rev
York, for service in antiimalarial
research work in the Philippine Is
lands. He and his family will leave
Americus about January i, he enterz
ing Johns Hopkins at Baltimore for
a special training course of three
weeks, and some time in March they
will sail from San Francisco for Ma
Mia. His present arrangement calls
for one or two years of work there.
but as it is only preliminary research
work, it is not improbable it may de-
velop into much longer residence
there.
1t was only last week that Mr..
Tiedeman, unsuspecting any changes
in his connection here. received an
urgent telegram from the Interna-
tional Health Board, which is
branch of the Rockefeller Founda-
tion, offering him the post in the
Philippines and calling him to New
York for personal conference. He
spent last weekend in New York
reached and agreement under which
he accepted and returned here Sum
day to hand in his resignation and
wind up the affairs of his office.
To Do independent Work
Mr.. Tiedeman will be the first en-
gineer ever employed on the staff Of
the Rockefeller Foundation in health
research work, and the offer to him
is understood to have come
as result of the splendid work he
did around Americus in anti-malarial
work during the establishment of
Souther Field, when he was an engi-
neer in the u. s. Public Health SER
vice. He will be sent to the Philip
pines to carry on an independent in
vestigation of malarial conditions on
the islands, where the dread disease
claims an averge of rs 900 lives an
nually, it is said. He is designated as.
special staff member and will not
be connected with any but the gem
eral offices of the Foundation.
His task will be to study the ma
larial problems and conduct expert
ments on the applicability Of the con-
troll methods used in this country.
The Foundation is understood to ba
ready to spend large sums of money
in the control work, if the experI-
merits prove effective
The connection offers Mr.. Tiede-
man a splendid future because Of
the Importance of the Foundation, the
resources behind it, and the great
extent of its work. He is paid a sal-
ary of $4,000 per year to start, with
an agreement for an increase the sec
ond year, and in addition is given
transportation to the islands and re-
turn for himself and family. Living
conditions are said to be easy in the
islands which have tropical eli
mate.
Did Drainage Work
Mr.. Tiedeman came to Americus IN
April 1919, as assistant sanitary en-
gineer in the public health service
and continued in that capacity until
Feb. 1, 1920, completing the Mucka-
lee and Town creek drainage projects
Of n1alarial control. On Feb. 1 !.
1920, the government having com
pleted its activities here, he left
the Public Health service and sue
ceeded John B. Ansley as city engi-
neer and has filled that position ever
since. Previously he spent year III
1914 connected with the water de-
partment of the city of Schnectady
N. Y, his native city, spent 1915 and
1916 in Cincinnati in Ohio river in
vestigation work, and from 1915 TO
1917 in Cleveland in charge of the
sewage disposal test station under
the city sanitary engineer.
Since residing in Americas, Mr..
and Mrs. Tiedeman have become
closely and popularly identified with
the various civic and church activi-'
ties, and they will be generally MISS
ed,
The city administration has made
no selection Of successor for Mr..
Tiedeman as yet.