State

Works of the Rockefellers As 21 result of their generosity, North Caro- linsi has benei'iled lo (lie extent off many millions of dollars, spent for health work, education, parks and other purposes. IT is well known that John D. Rockefeller. Sr., was the fore¬ most philanthropist in world history; that he gave away during his lifetime approximately three- quarters of a billion to the cause of world-wide charity and benevo¬ lence, dying comparatively a poor man; but it is not so generally known that our own people re¬ ceived the benefit of many of his millions. There was a time when the very name Rockefeller was a hissing and a by-word throughout the entire South, as it was synonymous with the hated “Wall Street,” about which our people had read with eagerness the lurid pages of Thomas W. Lawson’s ‘‘Frenzied Finance”; and had swallowed hook, line and sinker, every word of the reams written by that peeress among muckrakers. Ida M. Tarbell. Rocke¬ feller was denounced from press and pulpit as a Shylock, as a wolf masquerading in sheep’s clothing; that in his pretended religious life he was merely a Pharisee of the Pharisees; and Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick was considered as but his hired mouthpiece. There Were Others I found myself unable to share these views, for as I saw it Rocke¬ feller was but the product of the business ethics accepted by the gen¬ eration in which he lived; and he differed from his rivals only in that he did successfully what they sought to do without success. When he first rose to wealth, power and wprld fame, big business was en¬ tirely unregulated by law; the In¬ terstate Commerce Commission had not been dreamed of. and even the famous Sherman “Anti-Trust Law" had not been enacted by the Congress. Each shipper made his own bargain with the carriers con¬ cerning 'freight rates; each magnate charged what he pleased for his product; and combinations in re¬ straint of trade were everywhere prevalent. Later, when the Sher¬ man Anti-Trust Act was placed upon the statute books, and the Standard Oil Company was “dis¬ solved," the only effect was that By R. C. LAURENCE whereas prior to the dissolution there had been but one Standard Oil Company, thereafter there were a dozen. Despite the statute the Rockefeller business continued to flourish as the green bay tree and to grow as did the gourd of Jonah. Promoting Better Health When the elder Rockefeller de¬ termined to devote more than a hundred millions of his vast wealth to the cause of the public health work upon a world-wide scale, the first fruitful scene of his activities was the South, and the special un¬ dertaking involved was the eradi¬ cation of the "hookworm disease" then prevalent throughout the South, especially among the tex¬ tile workers of the Carolines, where it was epidemic and had incapaci¬ tated a large percentage of the workers. Placed in charge of this great work was the brilliant physi¬ cian, Dr. John A. Ferrell, himself a native Carolinian, and the only Tar Heel who won for himself an international reputation on the field of public health work. In the world-wide work conducted under the auspices of the Rockefeller In¬ stitute, the name of Dr. Ferrell stands second only to the world- famous Dr. Simon Flexner and Dr. Alexis Carrell. so distinguished for humanitarian service during the First World War. When Dr. Ferrell first came South to undertake his great task, he met a chilly and at times an even hostile reception. There was an in¬ dignant disposition to deny that there was any such thing as the “hookworm disease." Moreover, even if there was, it was argued that local physicians were quite competent to deal with the infec¬ tion; and as for a Representative of the Rockefellers — well, he was just not wanted for any purpose! One distinguished editor, whose name I will not mention, but who served as Secretary of the Navy and as Ambassador to Mexico, be¬ came especially caustive and se¬ vere in his criticism of the Rocke¬ feller representatives for the fail¬ ure to accomplish effective results. But Dr. Ferrell was a man of great tact and diplomacy, and moreover he was well acquainted with the innate sense of fairness possessed by the editor, and he felt with assurance that he could rely upon ultimate justice at his hands. So he sought out the eminent edi¬ tor and laid his case before him: "You know John Jones; you know he has been unable to work for many years. I am now treating him for the hookworm, and within sixty days I will have him on his feet, able to hold a position and earn a livelihood. If I do this, will you support our program?" To this the editor readily agreed, and the Doc¬ tor soon had brother Jones upon his feet and in the full possession of his health. Thereafter Josephus Daniels gave to Dr. Ferrell and his great work his cordial and whole¬ hearted support. Gradually the re¬ sults attained demonstrated the value of the work in the public mind; the local physicians and the local press became gradually con¬ verts to the cause; public opinion underwent a slow but sure change; and the name of Rockefeller began to have a new meaning in the land of the long-leaf pine. His specialists banished the hookworm disease from our state, and this fact alone went far to earn for him the abid¬ ing gratitude of our people. The next intimate connection of the Rockefeller interests with our state was through the great Gen¬ eral Education Board, which the largess of Rockefeller had endowed with some hundred and fifty mil¬ lion dollars. The Director of this Board was Dr. Frederick T. Gates, who evinced such a partiality for our state that he personally pur¬ chased a large tract of land in Rich¬ mond County and developed it into the largest peach orchard in the state, and continued to operate it during his connection with the Board. There are few educational institutions in our state, from the University down, which have not received one or more grants-in-aid ( Continued on page 14) 5