16 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS 



second, the support of the scientific public. At a meeting of the Board 

 held in New York City April 11, 1903, these points were given full 

 consideration. It was determined that the list of speakers both for- 

 eign and domestic should be made up on the advice of men of letters 

 and of scientific thought in this country, and accordingly there was 

 sent to the officers of the various scientific societies in the United 

 States, to heads of university departments and to every prominent 

 exponent of science and art in this country, a printed announcement 

 and tentative programme of the Congress, and a letter asking advice 

 as to the scientists best fitted in view of the object of the Congress 

 to prepare an address. From the hundreds of replies received in 

 response to this appeal were made up the original lists of invited 

 speakers, and only those were placed thereon who were the choice of 

 a fair majority of the representatives of the particular science under 

 selection. The Administrative Board reserved to itself the full right 

 to reject any of these names or to change them so as to promote the 

 best interests of the Congress, but in nearly every instance it would 

 be safe to say that the person selected was highly satisfactory to the 

 great majority of his fellow scientists in this country. Many changes 

 were unavoidably made at the last moment to meet the situation 

 caused by withdrawals and declinations, but the list of second choices 

 was so complete, and in many cases there was such a delicate balance 

 between the first and second choice, that there was no difficulty 

 in keeping the standard of the programme to its original high 

 plane. 



It was early determined that the seven Division speakers and the 

 forty-eight Department speakers, which occupied the first two days 

 of the programme, should be Americans, and that these Division and 

 Department addresses should be a contribution of American scholar- 

 ship to the general scientific thought of the world. This decision 

 commended itself to the scientific public both at home and abroad, 

 and it was so carried out. It was further determined that the Division 

 and Department speakers and the foreign speakers should be selected 

 during the summer of 1903, and that the American participation in 

 the Section addresses should be determined after it was definitely 

 known what the foreign participation would be. In view of the 

 importance of the Congress, it was deemed inadvisable to attempt 

 to interest foreign scientific circles by correspondence, and it was 

 further decided to pay a special compliment to each invited speaker 

 by sending an invitation at the hands of special delegates. Arrange- 

 ments were therefore made for Dr. Newcomb and Professors Miinster- 

 berg and Small to proceed to Europe during the summer of 1903, and 

 to present in person to the scientific circles of Europe and to the 

 scientists specially desired to deliver addresses the complete plan 

 and scope of the Congress and an invitation to participate. 



