SIMPLON 436 SIMS George IV., however, legalizes engage- ments for the resignation of ecclesiastical preferments in favor of one of two per- sons specially named, being by blood or marriage an uncle, son, grandson, brother, nephew, or grand-nephew of the patron. The bond must be entered into before the presentation, and entered in the registry of the diocese. The resignation in terms of the bond will be void unless one of the presentees named in it is presented within six months after notice of resig- nation has been given to the patron. SIMPLON, a mountain of the Alps, in the S. of Switzerland, separating the can- ton of Valais from the Piedmontese terri- tory. The old road across it being im- practicable for heavy carriages, a new one, called the Route of the Simplon, was formed by order of Napoleon I. at the joint expense of France and the kingdom of Italy. Though the ascent is every- where gradual, the highest point of the road is nearly 6,600 feet above the level of the sea. The length is 38 miles, and the width between 25 and 30 feet. It is carried through several tunnels, over up- ward of 600 bridges, and has 20 station houses for travelers. The road of the Simplon, long regarded as one of the greatest feats accomplished by modern engineering, has become of less impor- tance since the formation of a railroad. The Simplon tunnel, completed in Febru- ary, 1905, is larger than either that of St. Gothard or Mt. Cenis. It is 12 Y 2 miles long as against 8 miles for the Mt. Cenis and 9.3 miles for the St. Gothard. SIMPLON TUNNEL, a tunnel through the Alps, designed to give France and Switzerland direct communication by rail with Milan, the greatest distributing point in Italian trade. Work was begun on the tunnel in 1898, and it was com- pleted Feb. 24, 1905. The Simplon tunnel begins in Switzer- land near the little town of Brig, in the valley of the Rhone, Canton Wallis, and ends in the valley of the Diveria, on the Italian side near Isella. It is perfectly straight, except for a small curve at the ingress and egress. The tunnel was opened for traffic on Jan. 25, 1906, when the first passenger train passed through. SIMPSON COLLEGE, a coeducational institution in Indianola, la.; founded in 1867 under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church; reported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 28; students, 528; president, J. W. Campbell, Ph.D. SIMS, JAMES MARION, an Ameri- can surgeon; born in Lancaster, S. C, Jan. 25, 1813; studied medicine at Charleston and Philadelphia, and having begun practice had his attention specially drawn to some of the special diseases of women, for which he gained a distin- guished name, introducing new instru- ments and operations. He was instru- mental in getting a woman's hospital established in New York; subsequently practiced for some years in Europe; and had charge of a large hospital at Sedan after the disaster to the French there in 1870. He died in New York City, Nov. 13, 1883. SIMS, WILLIAM SOWDEN, an Am- erican naval officer; born at Port Hope, Canada, in 1858. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Pennsylvania. Graduated in 1880, he ADMIRAL WILLIAM S. SIMS was promoted through the various grades to the rank of commander in 1907, of captain in 1911, of rear-admiral in Jan- uary, 1917, and of vice-admiral in May, 1917. His various assignments included service with the North Atlantic Station (1880-1882 and 1885-1887) ; on the "Colo- rado" (1882) ; at the New York Navy Yard (1883-1885) ; on the nautical school- ship "Saratoga" (1889-1893); on the "Philadelphia," Pacific Station (1893- 1894); on the "Charleston," China Sta- tion (1894-1896) ; naval attache of Amer- ican embassies at Paris and Petrograd (1897-1900) ; various assignments with
