Evening star., 1927-05-29
.HE presence in Washington re-
Gently of 10000 physicians


and surgeons, from every
State in the Union. leaders in
their Observation-Disclosures the
conferences of the American Society
of International Law and the Ameri-
ca Law Institute-again emphasizes
that Washington is incompatible as
convention city.
The medical convention also threw
into bold relief that here we have the
greatest medical center In the world,
with which the entire medical profes-
sion of the country is cooperating for
most humane treatment of suffering
humanity.
Here we have the great Army med
ical center, including the world
famous Walter Reed General Hospital.
where 400 to 500 disabled veterans of
the World War are receiving treat
ment as beneficiarieS of the Veterans
Bureau.
Here, Uncle Sam has collected from
all over the world and assembled in
an unmatched medical museum and
library a priceless treasury of medi-
cal books, periodicals, original pa
pers by pioneers in medicine and
surgery, and LESSONS or material IL
lustrating disease, readily available
for study to all the doctors of the
country.
Army Museum Specimens.
In the Army Medical Museum, start.
ed 90 years ago, an effort has been
made to collect all the pathological
specimens available for the benett OF
the medical profession. This 1nstl-
tuition is cooperating with every ply
sician in the country in an intensive
drive such as never before was known
in the history of the medical pro-
fession to focus the entire medical
experience of the country to over
come the ravages of certain diseases.
The library of the surgeon general
of the Army has no rival in all the
world, the nearest approach in wealth
of material being the medical library
of the University of Paris.
Then there is the anthropological
collection in the National Museum of
the Smithsonian group, where there
are thousands of skulls, originally col
lected for the Army Medical Museum
by military officers of the Govern
ment scattered all over the world.
Such collections are pictured as the
lighthouse which indicates the course
the few have followed to success, as
it does also the rocks upon which
the many have gone to their literary
oblivion.
Those in charge of these collections
confirm the statement that Washing
ton is unquestionably the greatest
storehouse in the world of medical lit
erature, of modern medical books and
periodicals. with more than 1900, 900
cards of books and titles of articles
in medicine and allied subjects, con-
venient1y arranged for ready refer
ence and research by students.
In the libraries of the various Gov.
ernment establishments in Washing
ton there is wonderful collection of
all sorts of scientific literature-in
medicine, botany. animal industry,
chemistry, entomology, mechanics
and almost every conceivable human
interest. Each one of these has its
own card-index of professional books
and periodical articles, so that in this
great national center of the Govern
ment almost any book or article in
the scientific periodical literature of
the entire world may be consulted
speedily from the shelves of some one
of these scientific libraries in the va
rious executive departments. Their
value in our everyday national life is
beyond measure.
The Library of Congress Is a great
general library which receives every
sort of literary material, and in which
all copyrighted matter Is filed. Here
it is that all copyrighted medical ma
terial is on file. including both books
and periodicals.
In the manuscript division Of the
Library of Congress there is a large
number of the original papers relat-
ing to the medical men and matters
of colonial days. Of the Revolutionary
period, and to those of earlier days
of the United States. Many of these
papers have been indexed and con-
veniently arranged for the use of
students of the history of medicine.
Specialized Scientific Work.
The Department of Agriculture has
very important collection of books
and periodicals devoted to it's spe-
cialized scientific work in the fields
of botany, chemistry, entomology, ami
NAL industry and food hygiene. This
library has more than 100000 index
cards, which are increasing at the
rate of 10000 a year. 1t receives
some 5000 periodicals. of which a
large number are medical.
In the Department of Commerce
the Bureau of Standards has large
scientific and technical library on
optics, X-ray. electricity. radium and
scores of other subjects of great in
terest to the medical professions; and
the Bureau of Fisheries has a large
library on fish diseases. fish foods and
the method of preparation and prever-
vation.
The Bureau of the Census has an