Jacksonville, Fla.
Aug 13, 1924

My Dear Ina,

Yours came this morning and it did me a world of good all day. I am by myself for a few days, as Dr. K.S. went to Tenn. for a little visit with the family. The dope I have been getting during the past two days tends to increase the possibilities in this investigation, and you can imagine what the effect is. Just about the time it looked as though I had the dope on the origin of cases, I get records of cases occurring away from where any one lives. It makes one feel that he don’t know so much about it after all. This usually happens on a problem study, and it takes a nice letter from a little girl just like you to make everything seem rosy. I always enjoy your letters so much, and it seems that I’ve known you always.

August 13, 1924

I, too, wish that I could have been with you at the “shut in.” I’ve got something to tell you when I see you.

I often look at the Kodak pictures and I would like very much to borrow your negatives for two of them. One of yourself sitting on the ground and the other a standing profile with your left hand near your waist line, palm out. Can you figure out which two? If not, send as many as you like and I’ll pick out the two I would like to borrow. These two would enlarge to a 5×7 inch size very nicely and as the photo man here is unusually good I’d like to have him make them for me. Will have him make an extra for yourself and your mother. I hope you can find them for I really want them and will be looking for them in your next letter. Please.

It was too bad about your friend’s accident, and I am sorry for him. It might have been his fiance.

I am certainly in hopes that I can see you next month and it is possible that I’ll be there. I’ll know when Mr. Bishopp comes down. There has been no allotment or appropriation for this work and it is possible that he will not care to divert other money for this purpose. We had in mind to determine the scope of the field of work and having found that it came within the domain of our Bureau, to ask for special funds next year. We do not yet know whether the project should be ours or not, but we hope to know before long. On the face of it, it would naturally seem to be our field, but we may find that it logically falls under some other Bureau’s work. It may be a co-operative project with some other Bureau, but I hope not for that simply means dividing the credit for the work with some one else. Dr. K.S. says he “don’t give a damn” if some other Bureau is supposed to do it, he wants me here, and if necessary will go thru his senator to have me attached to the Bureau under whose domain the work naturally falls. He says we can work it out and that we won’t need any other assistance.

It is really an important problem and every one who knows the disease is anxious to help in any way possible. Lots of them have spent more than a hundred dollars for treatments which were only partly satisfactory. Several months have been required in some cases. The thing is absolutely new in literature as there has been nothing published to give the least idea of the cause.

I do not work with a fear of getting the creeping eruption, for our treatment is so effective and simple that I can use it as a preventive. In fact the treatment is too simple to be profitable to the medical profession.

I hope to have a nice long letter from you soon, Dear, if I may call you this.

Kind regards to all, I am,

Sincerely
Walter.