Focal infection theory's elegance suggested simple application, but the applications brought meager "cure" rate, occasional disease worsening, and inconsistent experimental results, although the lack of controlled clinical trials, among present criticism, was standard at the time—except in New York City. Around 1920, at Henry Cotton's claims of up to 85% success treating schizophrenia and manic depression, Cotton's major critic was George Kirby, director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute on Ward's Island. Two researchers, bacteriologist Nicolas Kopeloff and psychiatrist Clarence Cheney, ventured from the New York State Psychiatric Institute to Trenton, New Jersey, to investigate Cotton's practice.