Evening star., 1922-04-06
ESTABLISHMENT of federal
X institution in the National
Capital wherein the problems

X institution in the National
Capital wherein the problems
of disease and health may be
attacked comparatively along general
chemical. physical. biological. phar-
Theological and other necessary lines
with the purpose of mastering these
problems for the common good of hu-
manity is proposed in bill which
Representative Roy O. Woodruff Of
Michigan is drafting.
He is himself a doctor, and SO ap-,
preciates the Importance of such
study. and emphasizes that the amaz-
ing results achieved at the American
University experiment station in
are practical evidence of the tre-
mendous valuef of such a federal in
stitution under the permanent sup
port of the government.
his proposal has the strong approval
of the following recognized author
tiles: John ]. Abel, professor of
pharmacology. John Hopkins Medical
School, Baltimore; Carl L. Alsberg,
director of the food research institute.
Stanford University. Calf. former
chief of the bureau of chemistry,
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. and a member of the council of
pharmacy and chemistry, American
Medical Association; Raymond F. Ba-
con. director of the Mellon Institute
for Industrial Research, Pittsburgh
Pa; Reid Hunt, professor of pharma-
cology, Harvard Medical School, for
merly of the United States public
health service and president of the
United States pharmacopoeia conven-
ton; Treat B. Johnson, professor of
Julius steiglitz. chairman Of the de-
Of Chicago, past president Of the
American Chemical Society and
chairman of the subcommittee on
synthetic drugs Of the National Re-
editor of the Journal of Industrial
and Engineering Chemistry and past
president OF the American Chemical
Society.
In emphasizing that research for
the late war blazed the trail for such
resentative Woodruff points out that
when it became clear that poisonous
gas was to constitute an important
munition our country called to its
service a great group of its ablest
research chemists to provide efficient
means of defense and to solve those
problems of production which would
provide our field forces with an am
pie supply of this new weapon.
**
Not to the professional inventor
nor to the accident of haphazard dis
covery was this grave responsibility
assigned, but to the trained workers
in systematic research. Nor were
these men asked to undertake this
vital work in the seclusion and iso-
lation of their respective laboratories.
but they were assembled at the
American University experiment sta
tion, on the outskirts of the national
capital, under one roof, as it were,
where by daily or hourly conferences
utmost speed could be obtained in
the solution of those problems on
which the question of life and death
SO closely hung.
But these chemists found that they
alone were inadequate for the task.
To supplement their special skill
and knowledge there were added TO
the staff pharmacologists and experi-
combined efforts of these groups,
working in closest association and
provided with ample facilities for re-
search, results were accomplished
with speed and certainty which
amazed all. The paths to agencies
for both defense and offense were
clearly pointed out, and large scale
production quickly followed.
X +
The battle against disease must be
pushed along the same lines, Repre-
sentative Woodruff argues. He fig
ures that the annual drug bill of this
nation is s500.0Oo.000, of which
amount s3oo.000.oo0 is spent for So
called patent medicines. The num-
Der of medicaments is increasing at
a tremendous rate. he says, beyond
all proportion to the amount of sys-
tematic research being devoted to
this subject. Where thirty years ago
2.699 drug items were reported to be
on the market, today more than $4,000
are said to be in use. The frailities
and sufferings of humanity are being
grossly exploited.
Next, Representative Woodruff calls
attention to the fact that the money
spent annually on chemical work by
the United States government runs