Evening star., 1938-07-01
Letters to The Star
DR.. Finlay Of Cuba
Discovered Yellow Fever Carrier,

LII. r Inl3y OF OuO8
Discovered Yellow Fever Carrier.
To the Editor Of The Star:
MAY ! refer to the surprising article
on DR.. Reed by Verna Phillips pub
lished in The Sunday Star Of June 1s7
Having always admired your policy
Of accuracy and invariable fair treat
ment Of all questions, the extraordinary
publication Of Miss Phillips article
shocked me beyond words. profoundly
wish to believe that it is the product
Of Miss Phillips scant and misinformed
knowledge Of her subject.
The eminent Cuban scientist, DR..
Carlos J. Finlay, discovered that the
mosquito is the carrier Of yellow fever,
mosquito that Is the vector, long before
brilliantly headed by Maj. Walter s.
Reed, went to Cuba.
To honor Dr. Finlay, whose glorious
discovery, one Of the greatest contribu-
tions a man Of science has ever made
to humanity-which perhaps opened to
civilization more territories than the
discoveries Of Christopher Columbus
the fourth Pan-American Medical Con-
gress in Dallas, in 1882, declared his
birthday the day Of American medicine.
But Miss Phillips states that "Dr.
Reeds theory proved to be exact rather
than Wild" completely ignoring the
man who made 1t possible to vanquish
the terrible scourge of yellow fever, and
ultimately to build the Panama Canal
and attributing his achievement to
Maj. Reed.
It gives me great pleasure to allow
DR.. Reed, who in his greatness always
gave full credit where credit was due,
to correct the above error: ITO DR..
Carlos j. Finlay Of Havana must be
given, however, full credit for the the
ory of the propagation Of yellow fever
by means Of the mosquito, which he
proposed in q paper read before the
Royal Academy in that city at its ses-
sion on the 14th day of August, 1881.
From that date to the present time
Finlay has made . number Of valuable
contributions to the origin and mode
of transmission and the prevention Of
yellow fever" said DIR. Reed in q speech
in 1901.
Furthermore, DR.. Gorgas, who was in
charge Of the sanitary department Of
Cuba during the American Intervention,
reported to Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood
on the 29th Of March, 1902: 1.-THE Army
Board of which Maj. Reed was presi-
dent, having demonstrated in 1900 the
mosquito theory of DR.. Fnlay ~;
and again on the 18th Of July, 1902,
"They took up the theory advanced by
DR.. Carlos Finlay Of Havana in the
year 1880 (sic) that the Stegomyia mos
quito was the sole means Of the trans
mission of yellow fever. DR.. Finlay
had maintained this theory for some
20 years, and had done considerable
experimental work in this direction"
And in 1915 DR.. Gorgas asserted that
mo country owes 4 greater debt Of
gratitude to DR.. Finlay than does the
United States. DR.. Finlay was the 1lrst
explorer in the field Of research relat-
ing to the transmission Of yellow fever"
Maj. Reed and DR.. Finlay were friends.
After carrying out unsuccessfully diverse
experiments Maj. Reed reached the con-
clusion that DR.. Finlay's old theory,
which reputed men Of science refused
to take into consideration, must be right.
Henceforth Maj. Reed and DR.. Finlay
collaborated closely on lofty plain Of
ethical respect and mutual admiration.
Being civilian. with his life dedicated
to private scientific research In the in
terest of the human race, DR.. Finiay,
whose discovery stunned the medical
world into reactionary unbelief, was not
allowed tfo 0oeo00a1y Iab1oe human life