REPORT ON THE FRIEDMANN CURE FOR TUBERCULOSIS AMERICAN CONSULATE GENERAL, Berlin, Germany, December 31, 1912. The Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.: SIR: On November 6th last Dr. Friedrich Franz Friedmann, of Berlin, in a lecture delivered before the Berlin Medical Society (Berliner medizinische Gesellschaft) announced that he has discovered a remedy for tuberculosis. The treatment consists in the injection of a solution prepared by the doctor himself, which he claims contains living nonvirulent bacilli taken from cold-blooded animals in contradistinction to the virulent organisms contained in Koch's Tuberkulin and other tuberculosis remedies. Up to November 18th last Dr. Friedmann claims to have treated 1,182 cases, mostly children, and that the inoculation has proved a success. In the discussions which followed the lecture some of the most prominent Berlin physicians expressed their surprise at the favorable results obtained by Dr. Friedmann in his treatment of their tuberculosis patients. Other doctors claimed that equally favorable results have been obtained by the Koch and other tuberculosis cures. It is the consensus of opinion of the Berlin medical profession that the results of the new treatment can not be definitely acknowledged till facilities have been offered to the various physicians to observe the effects of the preparation under their own administrations and then only after sufficient time has elapsed to determine whether or not the cures or the instances of amelioration of the condition of the patient are permanent. Owing to the comparatively short period which has elapsed since the new treatment has been tried fears have been expressed lest the nonvirulent organisms when injected into the human system may become virulent and cause an outbreak of the disease. Dr. Friedmann has stated that at present the new preparation can not be given to the medical profession at large, as he has not the proper facilities for the manufacture of the remedy, but as soon as possible the solution will be furnished to medical experts to enable them to administer the cure to their own patients. In answer to a request for information made recently by this consulate general, Dr. Friedmann replied as follows: My remedy for the time being has not yet been given out to any one. For the present, patients will be treated only under my personal direction in my Institute for Tuberculosis and Scrofulosis at 49 Lutzowstrasse. Berlin. I am unable to say just yet how soon my remedy will be available in America. My institute is not a hospital, but room and board may be had elsewhere in Berlin at usual prices by those who come for treatment. It is impossible to give an estimate of length of time necessary for treatment without Where cases are not too far advanced treatment usually covers a period of several weeks. examination. The following is an opinion of the new remedy given by one of the local physicians: In November of this year Dr. Friedmann delivered a lecture to the Berlin Medical Association in which he announced that he had discovered a new preparation for the treatment of tuberculosis. In his lecture he stated that the new remedy would not only cure cases of tuberculosis which were already well defined, but also that he could prevent the disease by inoculation, especially in small children. There already exists up to the present time various preparations which we call sera," by the injection of which tuberculosis has been fought. The first serum was made by the celebrated Robert Koch and 66 consisted of dead tuberculosis bacilli. The other preparations which have appeared since were also obtained by the emulsion of dead tuberculosis bacilli. The preparation of Dr. Friedmann consists of living nonvirulent bacilli taken from cold-blooded animals, such as turtles; that is to say, of living tuberculosis bacilli which have lost their virulence or poisonous quality if injected into the human body. Friedmann claimed that he has treated many hundred cases by himself and with the assistance of several Berlin physicians and has had a great success. The cases which he presented to the Berlin Medical Association showed, indeed, a great improvement, but that the cures are permanent can only be determined in the future. It is certain that similar success has been obtained with other preparations, therefore it is very difficult to give a definite opinion as to the new discovery; first, because Dr. Friedmann does not specify the method by which his preparation is made, and, secondly, because he has not given his material to other doctors to enable them to prove his statements. In all events, the medical profession is very skeptical in regard to this cure, as Friedmann uses living or even weakened tuberculosis bacilli, and nobody can state with certainty at this time that these bacilli, if injected into the human body, do not become virulent. My opinion is as follows: It is very possible that successful results have actually been obtained by the use of the Friedmann preparation, but, before the results can be accepted as definite by the medical profession at large, it will be necessary to have an experience with the preparation for several years by other doctors besides Dr. Friedmann. Under the present conditions I, as well as many other doctors, would abstain from treatment with the new preparation. Copies of the Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift are forwarded as annexes to this report. In No. 47, of Nov. 18, 1912, on pages 2214 to 2217, the lectures of Dr. Friedmann are given in the original text, and on pages 2241 to 2246 the discussion which followed the lecture. In No. 49, of Dec. 2, 1912, on pages 2329 to 2335, the discussion is concluded. A. M. THACKARA, American Consul General. SPECIAL MESSAGE. [Transmitting the Sixty-third Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Panama Railroad for fiscal year ending June 30, 1912.] THE WHITE HOUSE, January 22, 1913. To the Senate and House of Representatives: I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, the Sixtythird Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Panama Railroad Co. for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912. WM. H. TAFT. SIXTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD Co., JUNE 30, 1912. PANAMA RAILROAD Co., New York, N. Y., November 1, 1912. To the stockholders of the Panama Railroad Co.: I respectfully submit for your consideration a report of the company's financial condition and operations for the 12 months from July 1, 1911, to June 30, 1912. The sums heretofore advanced by the United States Government, amounting to $4,185,047.03, were not decreased by payments during the fiscal period ending June 30, 1912; the total payments previously made on account amounted to $937,714.92, leaving a total balance due of $3,247,332.11. Congressional enactment (sec. 2 of the sundry civil service act, approved March 4, 1911), by which this company was released from further payments on account of principal or interest upon its indebtedness to the United States Government until further action by Congress, is still in effect. The company's operations for the period covered by this report, after meeting the total cost of operation, together with fixed charges aggregating $39,954.12, and charges for depreciation of rolling stock, floating and plant equipment, amounting to $232,489.20, resulted in net income of $1,762,049.22. Of net income, as above stated, $1,385,568.25 was applied to additions and betterments of plant and equipment. GEO. W. GOETHALS, President. BOARD OF DIRECTORS-George W. Goethals, F. C. Boggs, C. A. Devol, E. A. Drake, Clarence R. Edwards, Oswald H. Ernst, Mordecai T. Endicott, D. DuB. Gaillard, H. F. Hodges, H. H. Rousseau, Richard Reid Rogers, W. L. Sibert, E. T. Wilson. OFFICERS George W. Goethals, president; E. A. Drake, vice president; H. F. Hodges, second vice president; J. A. Smith, general superintendent; Sylvester Deming, treasurer; T. H. Rossbottom, assistant to vice president, and secretary; V. M. Newton, auditor; R. W. Hart, local auditor, F. C. Boggs, general purchasing officer, Eugene T. Wilson, commissary; Wendell L. Simpson, commissary purchasing agent; Roland Allwork, superintending engineer; F. Mears, chief engineer; H. I. Bawden, terminal superintendent; Richard Reid Rogers, general counsel. General offices.-No. 24 State Street, New York. SPECIAL MESSAGE. [Recommending Appropriation for the Fourth International Congress of School Hygiene to be held in Buffalo, N. Y., August 25 to 30, 1913.] THE WHITE HOUSE, January 22, 1913. To the Senate and House of Representatives: On the 19th of August last Congress passed the following resolution: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is hereby requested to direct the Secretary of State to issue invitations to foreign governments to participate in the Fourth International Congress on School Hygiene, to be held in Buffalo, New York, August twenty-fifth to thirtieth, nineteen hundred and thirteen: Provided, That no appropriation shall be granted at any time hereafter in connection with said congress. At the time the resolution was passed there were three gentlemen in Buffalo whose means and whose interest in the congress were such that the people of Buffalo had every reason to believe that the expense of the congress would be contributed by these, their citizens. Since that time the three citizens have died, and there is no written obligation on the part of their estates to meet the necessary expenses. I recommend the appropriation of $30,000 (to which the citizens of Buffalo will have to add a substantial sum) as a contribution of the Government to the fund necessary to make the reception of the congress accord with what we regard as American hospitality. Personally I am very much opposed to any invitation of this sort at the instance of the Government in which the Government does not assume all the expenses of entertainment. Other countries much less able than the United States never extend an invitation of this sort without having proper preparation for the reception of the guests of the nation. In the peculiar circumstances of the present resolution I urgently recommend the appropriation of the sum mentioned to enable the obligation of the invitation to be properly met. The proviso in the resolution was an unfortunate one, in my judgment, but whether it was so or not, under the circumstances it offers no reason for Congress not to take the proper course. WM. H. TAFT. SPECIAL MESSAGE. [Transmitting report on the Transportation Question in the Territory of Alaska, etc.] THE WHITE HOUSE, February 6, 1913. To the Senate and House of Representatives: In accordance with the provisions of section 18 of an act of Con gress approved August 24, 1912, I appointed a commission to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the Territory of Alaska; to examine railroad routes from the seaboard to the coal fields and to the interior and navigable waterways; to secure surveys and other information with respect to railroads, including cost of construction and operation; to obtain information in respect to the coal fields and their proximity to railroad routes; and to make report of the facts to Congress on or before the first day of December, nineteen hundred and twelve, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, together with their conclusions and recommendations in respect to the best and most available routes for railroads in Alaska which will develop the country and the resources thereof for the use of the people of the United States. Under the requirements of the act, this commission consisted ofan officer of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army, a geologist in charge of Alaska surveys, an officer in the Engineer Corps of the United States Navy, and a civil engineer who has had practical experience in railroad construction and has not been connected with any railroad enterprise in said Territory. The date when the act was passed was late in the summer season, thus allowing a very limited time for the preparation of a report for presentation at the present session of Congress. Nevertheless, within a week after the act was approved the commission had been appointed, as follows: Maj. Jay J. Morrow, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, chairman; Alfred H. Brooks, geologist in charge of Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources, Geological Survey, vice chairman; Civil Engineer Leonard M. Cox, United States Navy. Colin M. Ingersoll, consulting railroad engineer, New York City. This commission has transmitted to me a report, which is herewith submitted to Congress in accordance with the provisions of the act. An examination of this report discloses that the following are among the more important of the findings of the commission: The Territory of Alaska contains large undeveloped mineral resources, extensive tracts of agricultural and grazing lands, and the climate of a large part of the Territory is favorable to permanent settlement and industrial development. The report contains much specific information and many interesting details with regard to these resources. It finds that they can be developed and utilized only by the construction of railways which shall connect tidewater on the Pacific Ocean with the two great inland waterways, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim Rivers. The resources of the inland region and especially of these great river basins are almost undeveloped because of lack of transportation facilities. The Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers system include some 5,000 miles of navigable water, but these are open to commerce only about three months in the year. Moreover, the mouths of these two rivers on Bering Sea lie some 2,500 miles from Puget Sound, thus involving a long and circuitous route from the Pacific Coast States. The transportation of freight to the mouths of these rivers and thence upstream will always be so expensive and confined to so limited a season as to forbid any large industrial advancement for the great inland region now entirely dependent on these circuitous avenues of approach. From these considerations the commission finds that railway connections with open ports on the Pacific are not only justified, but imperative if the fertile regions of inland Alaska and its mineral resources are to be utilized; but that with such railway connections a large region will be opened up to the homesteader, the prospector, and the miner. So far as the limited time available has permitted the commission has investigated, and in its report describes all of the railway routes which have been suggested for reaching the interior, including the ocean terminals of these routes. The relative advantages and disadvantages of these routes are compared. The principal result of this comparison may be stated to be that railroad development in Alaska should proceed first by means of two independent railroad systems, hereafter to be B |