20 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS 



nearly all of the halls that academic peace and quiet which usually 

 surrounds gatherings of a scientific nature. This, however, was to be 

 expected in an exposition atmosphere, and was readily acquiesced 

 in by the speakers themselves, and very little objection was heard to 

 the halls as assigned. Every one seemed to recognize the fact that the 

 immediate value of the meeting lay in the commingling and fellowship, 

 and that the addresses, of which one could hear at most only one in six- 

 teen, could not be judged in the proper light until their publication. 



SUPPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC 



A strong effort was made by the Organizing Committee to secure 

 the attendance of an audience which should not only in its proportions 

 be complimentary to the eminence of the speakers, but also be thor- 

 oughly appreciative of the addresses and conversant with the topic 

 under discussion. Letters were therefore sent to all of the prominent 

 scientific societies in the United States, asking that wherever possible 

 the meetings of the society be set for the Congress week in St. Louis, 

 and wherever this was not possible that the societies send special 

 delegates to attend the Congress, and urge their membership to make 

 an effort to be present. Personal letters were also sent to the leading 

 members of the different professions and sciences, to the faculties of 

 universities and colleges, urging them to attend, and pointing out the 

 necessity of the support of the American scientific public. 



Special invitations were also sent in the name of the Organizing 

 Committee to the leading authorities of the various subjects under 

 discussion in the Congress, asking them to contribute a ten-minute 

 paper to any section in which they were particularly interested. The 

 result of this careful campaign, in addition to the general exploita- 

 tion which the Congress received, was such a flattering attendance of 

 American scientists, as to be both a compliment to the European 

 speakers and a benefit to scientific thought. Many societies, such as 

 the American Neurological Association, American Philological Asso- 

 ciation, American Mathematical Society, Physical and Chemical 

 Societies of America, American Astronomical Society, Germanic Con- 

 gress, American Electro-Therapeutic Association, held their annual 

 meetings during the week of the Congress, although the date rendered 

 it impossible for the majority of the associations to meet at that time. 

 The eighth International Geographic Congress adjourned from Wash- 

 ington to St. Louis to meet with the Congress of Arts and Science. In 

 response to the special invitations, two hundred forty-seven ten- 

 minute addresses were promised and one hundred two actually read. 



RECEPTION OF FOREIGN GUESTS 



Every effort was made by the Department of Congresses to assist 

 the foreign speakers in their traveling arrangements and to make 



