 From its inception, Welch edited the journal by himself—even editing manuscripts while attending baseball games.By March 1902, the editorial burden became too great for Welch, who stopped publishing papers and began stockpiling manuscripts and unanswered correspondence in his office, explaining the conspicuous absence of published papers from 1902 to 1904.In October 1902, Welch appealed to the board of the Rockefeller Institute to take over the journal.