Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-09
DR.. Welch's Birthday,

imperceptible
The current of human progress flows
far beneath newspaper headlines, brass
bands and cheering crowds. Gro
teSquely false values are attached to
men and events. The world acclaims
the picturesque and the simple. 1t
neglects the drab and complex. 1t ex-
ats the temporal and is blind to the
eternal. It evaluates the phenomena of
life as drama, not as reality.
Thus the athlete, the entertainer, the
martial or political hero is set upon the
throne. The man who bears the brunt
of the eternal struggle of the race striv-
ing to adjust to its environment, which
underlies all other struggles, lives I'M
noticed. Only the completed task rises
to the surface. Usually it is little
thing. The way to glory is not to tie
ones wagon to star, unless it be a
very near star. In the words of
Browning:
This small man with little thing to do
Sees 1t and does it;
This great man with a great thing to
pursue
Dies ere he knows 1t.
Such is the lesson which comes home
to us daily in the newspapers, the news
pictures, in all the popular enthusiasts.
A few years ago it so happened that
two men died on the same night
Rudolph Valentino, the moving picture
actor, and former President Eliot of
Harvard University. The contrast in
the popular response to the two events
was so marked that it has become a
classic example, cited everywhere that
this strange enigma of fame and its
values is discussed. One man had
furnished the world with few hours
of superficial entertainment. The other
had changed the face of higher educa-
ton everywhere. Millions mourned the
! passing of the one and paid no atten-
ton to the passing of the other.
Here is fruitful source of cynicism.
But there are rare and moving events
which seem to indicate that man may,
after all, have true sense of values
which he rarely displays. Such an
event took place yesterday in Washing
ton, which was the focus of world
wide ceremony in honor of DR.. William
H. WEIGH of Johns Hopkins University
on his eightieth birthday.
DR.. Welch's essential contribution was
the introduction and application in the
United States of scientific medicine. He
brought back from Europe the methods
Of Koch and Pasteur. Through teach
ing, research and example he changed
the whole procedure of medical prac-
tice-replacing glorified wizardry with
science. He focused the attention Of
the profession on preventive techniques.
He is responsible for saving untold lives
and preventing untold suffering. He put
American medicine on the high road to-
ward healthier and happier world,
physically and mentally. He is respon-
Sible for one of mankinds great victories
over its ancient enemieS-pain, fear and
death.
Perhaps this is a little thing COM
pared with knocking a home run or
knocking out an opponent in the ring.
Perhaps it is a little thing compared
with developing an appealing mastery of
the Saxophone.
Perhaps it is a little thing compared
with winning battle or an election.
Who can find the solution of this
strange enigma of human values?
Perhaps the forces which DR.. WEIGH
has done something toward overcoming
are so real and overwhelming that we
are afraid to look at them. They are
the fundamental realities of creation
and everything else is but froth on the
surface of life and time.