Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 117, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1909 — John D. Gives a Million To Fight Disease In South. [ARTICLE]

John D. Gives a Million To Fight Disease In South.

The prejudice that has been growing for some years against every rich person that has made his money by the sale of a commodity to the people has been especially severe against John D. Rockefeller. He has been cussed by the public and defended by very few people. Sometimes prejudice is so strong that nothing a man can do will be regarded as defensible. But John D. Rockefeller, who sells us coal oil and gasoline and who charges us a lot less now than others did when he engaged in the business, has been engaged in some really worthy charities that the public have known about and a 16t of others probably that the public did not know about because much of his charity is of a silent kind. Some years ago when a doctor discovered a new treatment for spinal meningitis he went to John D. Rockefeller for financial aid and Mr. Rockefeller arranged to have a representative in every state'in the union authorized to administer the anti-toxin while it was in its experimental stage. He paid all the expense of perfecting the treatment and of administering it and many lives have been saved and the experiments are stilly going on with John D. as the backer. For some time a disease has been common in the south alid especially among the poor people of that section, known as “hook worm.” Mr. Rockefeller learned of the ravages of the parasite, for the cause of the disease seems to be a little hair-like" worm, and he decided to do something to overcome it. He had his agents call a dozen of the leading educators, scientists and medical men from the south to New r York for a conference and then announced that he would give a million dollars toward breaking up the disease. John D. Rockefeller is not the dangerous man so many have pictured him. He gives as he sees best to give and that, is the way we smaller givers do. Probably John D. has a better chance of a heavenly reward than some of his critics think he has.