davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30
Gorgas Memorial Laboratory Presented by Panama

man, I'VE found the worst obstacles he
had to encounter-how to destroy and
control the rank plant life that springs
up in night, forming cuplike recep-
taclcs that are filled with rain water
and make breeding places for mos
quitOcs.
The Panama sanitary staff invented
simple petroleum spray which gener-
ated a tremendous heat and not only
destroyed thick, succulent stems but
also damaged roots and prevented
growth.
In certain localities small crabs
form holes in water-soaked soil and
along the sea beach when the tide is
out. These holes, notwithstanding the
tradition that mosquitoes will not breed
in salt water. became prolific breeding
places,
Nothing was forgotten, nothing
overlooked. This was a petty war; but
q mighty one. Gen. Gorgas had such
complete control that he was carrying
on operations at an expense of / cent
a day per man. At that time $4,000
men were employed in the Canal Zone
and malaria had become practically
non-cXistent. A finer piece of economic
health control would seem impossible.
inspectors searched every nook and
corner of trains crossing the Isthmus.
There were enough native mosquitoes
and Gorgas outlawed importations.
The only place comparable to
Panama as receiving and dis
tributing point for mosquitoes is Singa-
pore.
I'm 1920, at the request of the
British government. Gen. GorgaS was
on his way to study the yellow fever
problem in British territory. This
proved to be the last mission under
taken in his great and useful life, dedi-
Gated to medical science end good of
humanity. Soon after his arrival in
London he was stricken with illness.
king George had long been familiar
with the great life work of Gen.
Gorgas and through Sir John Good
win. director general of the British
Army Medical Service, asked the visitor
TO be received at Buckingham Palace.
But on being told that Gen. Gorgas
was sick and unable to appear, the
King said: If Gen. Gorgas Is too Ill
to come to the palace, shall go to
The hospital to see him.
THE King extended sympathies of
the nation. and thanked him for the
help he had given, as surgeon general
OF the United States Army. by sending
officers and nurses to serve with British
forces in the World War"
The British monarch pinned the
croSS Of thc companion OF st. Mlchael
and st. George upon the. breast OF
Gorgas and he sped to his reward.
And the press cu'ogizcd:
1T seems good that death should
End him here, for so there came our
opportunity to do great man honor.
He passed through the door through
which the sun streams into the nave
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

of ST. Paul's. and there he lay with
Nelson and Wellington and all that
mighty host who came this way and
passed into the universe.
They will take him to his own land
but in truth he belongs to us all. HI
was one of lifes great helpers. for he
cleaned up foul places and made them
sweet
His was one of the greatest and most
| impressive funerals that ever wound
| its way among sinuous streets of Ole
London The royal family, cabinet
ministers. officers of the Army, Navy
and diplomatic corps were on hand tC
see last rites over an American. Hun
and saw the funeral cortege rumble
over those historic streets toward St
Paul's, where the mighty man was laid
among mighty host.
X "
LIE came of American blue blood, the
u son of Gen Josiah Gorgas, chief
of ordnance of the Southern Confeder-
acy during the Civil War and later
president of the University of the
South. at Sewanee, Tenn. His mother.
Amelia .Gorgas, was the daughter OF
Gov. Gayle of Alabama.
The sanitarian was graduated from
the University of the South, with an
A. g, in 1875. Four years later, ne
received an M. d. from Bellevue Hos
pital Medical College, in New York
He early enjoyed laundering for the
Army and in 1880, joined the Army
Medical Corps as first lieutenant.
Later he saw active service in
Florida, in the Dakotas and old Indian
Territory He accompanied the mill
tary expedition to Santiago in 1898. In
1900 he was in close contact with the
Walter Reed Boards investigation OF
yellow fever in Havana.
He was prince with the simplicity
of child" and to write of him, one
Congressman said, lis to write OF the
infinite"
Former President Porras of Panama
once said of Gorgas that, las In the
case of Aesculapius, it was necessary
to enlist the services of an oracle to
determine which of the cities of ancient
Greece was his birthplace. and as in
the case of Columbus, who has been
declared an italian, Spaniard and a
Jew, the birthplace Of Gorgas Is dis
puted, both Alabama and Georgia
claiming the honor.
However" continued the President
of Panama "Gorgas does not belong
exclusively to the United States. Cuba
and Serbia, Bulgaria and Ecuador,
Panama and South Africa claim parts
of him for having lived and worked
among them"
In 1896 Gorgas was appointed chief
sanitary officer of Havana. Two years
| later the famous Reed board. consist
Ing of Walter Reed, James Carroll, Jesse
w. Lazear and Aristides Agramonte.
came to the island metropolis, charged
by the American Government with the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

duty of finding the cause of yellow
fever. One. Lazear, laid down his life
for the issue. The others came through
triumphant, presenting to an incredu-
lous world proof that a mosquito, a
common lowly mosquito, was broad
casting death. Sir Ronald Ross had
demonstrated that Mrs. Anopheles
Mosquito was the agent of destruction
in the instance of malaria; and now
the Reed board saddled the blame for
yellow fever transmission on another
flying lady. Mrs. Stegomyia Mosquito.
Even in mosquitodom, the gentle sex
is more dangerous than the male.
All during this investigation Gorgas
quito" he ruminated, well get rid of
him
Even the great Walter Reed smiled
at this luminous thought. Think OF 1t,
mere man going forth with artificial
weapons to do battle with the mighty
tribes of singing. biting, hated mos
quitoeS. Ha! Gorgas would be Don
GuiXote, twirling a lance at enemies
whose war cry was hum. whose blow
sting. whose numbers were infinite,
whose substance was mushy and whose
life ephemeral What battle! What
a man of armor was Gorgas!
The American man OF war, VINO
threw down his glove at the feet OF a
mosquito army, now came out Oh MS
sanctum for the memorable joust. He
had IN one hand general orders, Clean
Havana: in the other hand, the dictum
of the Reed board, brilliant academic
performance" one commentator says.
The mosquito army lay intrenched be-
hind ash cans, in houses, streets, alleys,
Kitchens, barber shops, restaurants
WE'LL there was substantial reward to
any one who could find a spot sans
mosquitoes.
THE Reed discovery came like death
sentence Havana always had yellow
fever, and now it seemed certain ia
vana t'ways would have it. To run
around this tceming city and try to Kali
off gnats-what occupation could be
more futile or useless? What Reed had
accomplished was to add new horror to
daily tXistence,' is the way history re-
cords the news.
II x
.CORGAS, it seemed, was alone. Even
scientists, his colleagues, those who
should have borne with him in this hour,
united bonds to this man, forgot that
they had once sounded belief in his pro-
fessional virtue Only his wife, she
whom he saved from death-she be-
lieved.
Then Havana, the white city. was
swept as by a hurricane. The governor
general of the island. Gen. Wood, gave
the sanitarian carte blanche to wear the
robes = medical dictator. Riding on
spectral horse Gorgas bore down on the
metropolis. shielded from his enemies
with spo,ited tin cans of kerosene and
petroleum.
To say these things Is like singing dit
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

Her condition was so grave that all
hope for recovery was abandoned, her
grave was dug and Gorgas agreed to
read the burial service. But, unf r his
effective ministrations, she reco ed,
Thercupon, he (Gorgas) was str.
with the same disease, but survived"
Their common affiiction was ground
for more than common attachment.
The medical cavalier cour.ed the
woman whose life he saved. Friend
ship ripened into romance and mar
riage. Two fine spirits united in a
crusade thenceforth against yellow
fever and all malignant ailments that
undermine mortal health. At least,
they were immune to yellow fever and
could penetrate any district where yell
low fever took toll
Henry S. Welcome, citizen of Great
search institutions for the study Of
tropical diseases, also testified before
the legislative committee. He said in
part
Modern scientific methods of re-
claiming fertile regions must incite the
interest of all who note the results
already obtained.
I'VE recall how Stanley sought, found
and relieved Livingstone in The center
of tropical Africa and how he relieved
the latter in the work of solving
geographical problems, of opening the
way for Christian civilization and of
improving the lots of millions living in
the most revolving conditions of saw
agery.
After years of travail in the vast
unknown of Africa, Stanley came to
believe, after suffering Inconsistencies
and lingering near death from tropical
diseases, that the white man could not
cope with malaria and other scourges.
Stanley held to this view until other
scientists showed what actually could
be accomplished in the way of fight
ing death and pestiience in tropical
| jungles.
MY own experiences during Journeys
in Mexico, South and Central America
convince me that eli things are possible
In rendering these countries habitable
by peoples of all races. They must be
dealt with as Gorgas dealt with the
Isthmus and changed it to one of the
healthieSt places on earth"
! Sir Patrick Manson, who fathered the
| idea that the mosquito is the host and
carrier of malarial infection, consid-
cred Panama to be one of the salient
dis"ose centers of the world Sir Pat
! rick pointed out that ships passing
~ ~ the canal must necessarily be
'~"7 to any infection originating or
o. there, the sluiceWay of inter-
:nmcrce. And Gorgas held the
view.
X y
1R. WELCOME went on to tell
80 how, when he visited Panama
turing construction of the canal. Gorgas
took him on long cruises In a canoe.
n the swamps." said the English
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

| tics and dithyrambs about the most
banal, routine performances of ordinary
| life. But the picture of GorgaS. squirt.
| ing the essence of hydrocarbons into
| garbage cans and refuse heaps. has al
ready inspired poetical prosateurs tt
| sing in this wise: He drove through the
city, cleaning and purifying it like the
River Alpheus through the Augear
stables. Stegomyia persisted under hi:
blade IKE withered leaves before an Au-
/ tumn gale"
In seven and one-half months che
great Gorgas delivered the white city
from the hands of the enemy; he lifted
the pail of death. the crepe that huns
| over its harbor gate for lao years: never
day in that time when yellow fever die
| not perl the people.
Gorgas was in his element. disease
prevention. His first huge triumph wa;
history Havana. the city of bubbline
song aid Latin abandon, lay at his feet
his adlnirer
After the French Panama Canal Co
threw up the project of digging a ditch
across the neck of two continents, our
Government in 1904 essayed to COM
plete the work. Yellow fever and ma
laria had exacted toll of about SO per
cent from the French construction
forces. The Americans meant to curb
the mosquito attacks. They were silent
witnesses to facts incident to the fall
ure of Gallo ambition. The Gauls sure
ly had the proper technical leadership
in De LeSSepS. who ripped a desert and
allowed the Suez Canal to bear COM
merce from the Mediterranean to the
Indian Ocean. And the French had
skill and money. and they were doughty
band of valiantS. What they lacked was
a Gorgas-simply one man. Need the
world doubt French intrepidity after
reading what J. Anthony Froude wrote
about Panama in 1885?
There is not perhaps now concen-
trated in any single spot so much viii
lainy and SWindling, SO much foul dis
case. such hideous dungheap of ply
steal and moral abomination. The
Isthmus is damp. tropical jungle, in
tensely hot. swarming with alligators.
scorpions and centipedes; the home of
yellow fever. typhus and dysentery."
France picked the flower of its young
engineering talent, 500 technical school
graduates, sent them to the Isthmus.
and not one survived or breathed long
enough to collect his first months pay
check. No necromancer. conjurer or
prophet would venture the belief that
the Canal Zone would ever be made
habitable.
Gorgas was the man for this job,
every one agreed, and he was made
chief sanitary officer. Mosquito control
was slow work now. Gorgas was SUBJ
ordinate to an executive board and his
ideas on health. sanitation and mos
uuitoes were censored. as was deemed
proper by gentlemen vested with au-
thOritv.
During the Winter Of 1904 and Spring
Of 1905, yellow fever ragged with practi-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

come the property of mankind, an effec-
tive weapon to battle insect hordes. On
this common knowledge there will be
neither patents nor copyrights
It is planned also to make the Gorgas
laboratory stronghold of research, to
which students from all nations might
come for advice and counsel. Our Army
and Navy will train medical STATS in the
treatment of tropical ailments and thus
insure the health of national defenders
Civil physicians too, will have access to
the flow Of medical intelligence expected
from this memorial laboratory.
Panama City, where the permanent
laboratory is to b. erected, is near the
Canal Zone, owned by our country. The
site Is unique in that it not only in
cludes the spot where Gorgas jousted
with re squitoes. but also marks the
geographical capital of tropical disease
dom. The experts will not fight malaria
from behind frozen protection in the
North; they will penetrate the salient
line Of offensc. trade serumS for bites
and anti-toxins for toxins.
This IVES as Gorgas The mar would
have It. During the Great War, while
surgaon general. he confided to Dr. Mar
tin. "Oh. wish the war were done!
"Why?" queried DR.. M1rtin.
"Bscarsa." said Americas ambcssa-
dor of mercy then I could finish my
work You know. malaria st'll ia RIM
pant. Yellow fever aff1icts the peoples
Of Africa. Then there's pneumonia.
wsnt complete the job"
| HEARINGS before the House com
mittee on foreign affairs, one Of
which was attended by Mrs. Gorgas
widow OF the medico, brought to light q
historical: gold mine of information con.
corning Gorgas the men. Tho commit.
| tee. during early months of 1923, heart
expert testimony by mn from tn
Americas and abroad. Some members
had little acquaintance with the career
| and work of Gorgas. But when thcst
hearings we're over and questioning
minds were eased, the legislators effer.
vesccd with such enthusiasm that theil
| arguments in the House and Senate
| brought unanimous votes. Yes, Con
| cresSmen from the Brightness of NORTH
Dakota and Montana saw justification
| in expanding the Nations money for &
tropical laboratory in a forei9n country
But listen to what was said at these
| hearings:
Representative Lister Hill. Alabama
! told now G0fgaS met MS VIE, then MISS
Marie C. Doughty Of Cincinnati.
! las a girl" said the Representative
I Miss Doughty was visiting friends q
Brownsville, Tex. Gorgas. a young on
Ger in the Army Medical Corps or
stationed several hundred miles NJ
of Brownsville, VOLUNTEERED to g. t
that place when it was learned IL"
yellow fever had suddenly gripp"i III
town. Miss Doughty was among ''''9
stricken and she was attended b,
ye"rg C'oEeaS
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30
Curious Use for Garlic.

"A NEW raw material for the maru>
= facture OF a strong adhesive has
been found abroad in the form of garlic
According to patent recently granted.
garlic yields a glutinous substance Of
high adhesive power. The bulbs are
crushed and pressed and the juice thus
obtained is boiled down at tempera-
ture Of so degrees centigrade. The
residue from the pressing process is then
boiled in water for an hour and again
subjected to pressure. and the juice
obtained Is in its turn boiled down and
added to the extract first secured The
final product can be treated in this way
with the same result.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

THE first major problem to be at
tackled by the new laboratory will
be malaria, a disease that still afflicts
people of this country. as well as oil
nations to the south. But other prob
lens will be touched upon and in
Vestigated. as far as resources permit.
While methods for control of malaria
are known, the cost of carrying them
out on any extensive scale is prohibit
tive The methods call for popular CO.
operation, which it is not always pos
sible to get, when dealing with native
tropical races. New ways Of treating
this scourge offer very promising
field for investigation.
Anemia Is another disease rampant
in the tropics, and in temperate chimes
as we'll. The cases are frequently as
ISOLATED with the spleen, about which
little is known.
Many diseases caused by animal
parasites make their headquarters in
warm, humid countries A physician
brings to mind breakbone fever. hook
worm disease, pellagra, dengue and q
long list of others.
While these ailments are known gen.
orally as tropical diseases, their trans
mission to our North American en-
Vironment is not a vague speculation
Human beings themselves may become
transmitters Flies and mosquitoes are
of course, the recognized conveyors Of
pestilence and the ubiquity of these
pests makes health inspections and
port guarantees very poor insurance.
One find. one accident, one theory
fertiliZed and cultivated in thu Gorga'
laboratory might result in such divi
bends that in a relatively short TIM
cur Government would be repaid man.
fold for its major interest and leader.
ship in this project. Than conaid"r the
what Is found will autnr'~ '~~'y he
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

1R. WELCOME went on to tell
80 how, when he visited Panama
turing construction of the canal, Gorgas
took him on long cruises In canoe.
n the swannps." said the English
Evening star., 1928-10-22
EXPERTSATTACK
DOUBLE TAXATION
Payments by Persons Domi-
CiIed Abroad Target of
Session at Geneva.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
GENEVA, October Gam interna-
tional conference met today in an effort
to deliver an effective blow at double
taxation by which a person domiciled
abroad must pay taxes both in his homo
country and in his place Of residence.
The conference was composed Of gov
ernmental delegates, the United States
being represented by Prof. T. S. Adams
Of Yale University, Ellsworth c. Alvord
of the Treasury Department and
Mitchell B. Carroll Of the Department OF.
Commerce.
Frame Four Conventions.
For years taxation experts, on invita-.
ton from the League of Nations, have
been devising means of meeting the
complicated problem of double taxa
tion. Finally, with the assistance of
American economists, they framed four
model conventions. two on double taxa
tion and two an tax evasion. The first
Of the conventions on double taxation
has to do with direct, real or personal
taxes and the second is concerned with
death duties which, under the existing
system, two or more countries often
seek to collect.
Such vast sums Of money are affected
that governments have been careful to
tell the league in advance that their
presence at the conference cannot off,
ciaily engage their future policy. The
great aim of the conference was to
weave general underlying principles out
of the existing chaos and approve
treaties which will serve as models and
be observed as far as possible when ma
tionS negotiate direct bilateral treaties
on double taxation and tax evasion.
No hope was held of agreeing upon
general multilateral treaty, because tax
system offer in practically all countries.
Hence a treaty good for given two
countries would not be adapted to three
or four.
Oppose Two Payments.
The controlling principle Of the main
model convention before the conference
was that people living abroad will pay
taxes to the country whence comes their
revenue. There would henceforth be no
double imposition of taxes, or if there
was a double levy it would be divided
so that the taxpayer would not have
to ''pay-up" twice.
Prof Adams held the conference was
of real Importance to the people Of the
United States. Pointing out that several
countries have already negotiated con-
ventions reducing or eliminating double
taxation, he wrote that unless the
United States participates effectively in
this movement, American business con-
Germs might find themselves competing
with foreign rivals who are relieved
from the burden of double taxation
Evening star., 1928-10-22
Convention Program
THIS AFTERNOON.

2:30 pm-Meetings of House OF
Bishops and House of Deputies resumed
2:30 p.m.-Woman's Auxiliary. Find
ings on VIII and TX. Unfinished busi-
ness
4 pm.-Demonstration school. church
school service program. Girls IL to Is,
mission study. Visitors welcomed. St
Margaret's Church, Connecticut avenue
and Bancroft place northwest.
4 to p.m.-Woman's Auxiliary. Tea.
Bishops garden, Mount Saint Aiban.
p.m.-Dinner to the House of
Bishops by the bishop, dean and chan
ter of the Washington Cathedral at the
Chevy Chase Club.
8 pm.-Meetings of the American
Bible Society. Place to be announced
later.
TOMORROW.
9:15 am.-Devotional service ST
Johns Church. Sixteenth and Fl streets
northwest. Right Rev. Frank A. Nc
Elwain, D. D.
10 a.m.-House of Bishops. Business
session.
10 a.m.-House of Deputies. Business
session.
1920 a.m.-Woman's Auxiliary. Clos
ing service. Address by the Right Rey.
Philip Cook, d. D., Bishop of Delaware.
Trinity Church, Third and c streets
northwest.
p,m.-House of Bishops and House
of Deputies. Adjournment for lunch.
$50 pm.-Meetings of the House of
Bishops and House of Deputies re-
sumed.
8 p.m.-Night session of the two
houses will be held if found necessary
Evening star., 1928-10-22
JOHN F. KELLY DIES.

John F. Kelly, 81 years old, brother
Of the Lieut.. Edward J. Kelly Of the
homicide squad of the Washington Po-
lice Department, died at his residence,
406 K street southeast Saturday.
Mr.. Kelly, bricklayer, was the son
of the late Lieut.. John F. Kelly of the
Sixth precinct. He was lifelong resi-
dent of this district and member of
the Holy Name Society of st. Peters
Catholic Church.
Funeral services will be conducted
in st. Peters Catholic Church tomor-
row morning at 9 o'clock. Interment
will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Mr.. Kelly is survived by his widow,
Mrs. Mamie Kelly; three sons, William,
John and Frank Kelly; two daughters,
Mrs. Kay OfTenbacher and Mrs. Annie
Feaster; his brother, Lieut.. Kelly, and
six sisters, Mrs. John Brennan, Mrs.
Daniel Myers, Mrs. William Barrett,
Mrs. Harry Reed, Miss Elizabeth Kelly
and Miss Alice Kelly, all of this city.
Evening star., 1928-10-22
Neglect Blamed in Elevator Death
Continued From First Page)

Continued From First Page,)
Government service since 1911. AS
special assistant to the Attorney Gen.
eral he had appeared for the Govern
ment in many notable rate cases before
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Esterline was born August S, 1877,
in Clark County, Ohio. After studying
at a private school in Springfield. Ohio,
he came to Washington, where he OBJ
tanned his law degree from the National
University Law School in 1902. Subse-
ouently he pursued special studies in
international and constitutional law at
George Washington University. For
some years prior to his appointment to
the Department of Justice he was asso-
ciated in law practice with Frederick
S. Winston and Judge Barton Payne in
Chicago
Was in Office All Day.
Esterline left his residence in the
Benedict Apartment 1908 street, yes
terday morning. Presumably he went
direct to his office, for he was seen
there nearly all day working on several
cases In which he was to represent the
Government.
Oficials of the Department Of Justice
we're today attempting to communicate
with Esterline's relatives, none OF whom
live In the city. 4