i88 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



has now taken its place among the 

 sciences. To this result perhaps no 

 one in this country has contributed so 

 much as Dr. W. H. Welch, of the 

 Johns Hopkins University, who pre- 

 sided over the New York meeting. He 

 is succeeded in the presidency by Dr. 

 E. L. Nichols, of Cornell University, 

 who is eminent for his contributions 

 to experimental physics and has at the 

 same time exerted a great influence on 

 educational development and scien- 

 tific organization. The standard set 

 by the presidency of the association 

 is well maintained by the vice-presi- 

 dents for the sections, who are as fol- 

 lows : Mathematics and Astronomy. 

 Professor E. 0. Lovett, Princeton Uni- 

 versity; Physics, Professor Dayton C. 

 Miller, Case School of Applied Science; 

 Chemistry, Professor H. P. Talbot, 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 

 Mechanical Science and Engineering, 

 Professor Olin H. Landreth, Union Col- 

 lege; Geology and Geography, Pro- 

 fessor J. P. Iddings, University of 

 Chicago; Zoology, Professor E. B. Wil- 

 son, Columbia University; Botany, 

 Professor C. E. Bessey, University of 

 Nebraska ; Anthropology, Professor 

 Franz Boas, Columbia University; Eco- 

 nomics and Social Science, Dr. John 

 Franklin Crowell, New York City; 

 Physiology and Experimental Medi- 

 cine, Dr. Ludvig Hektoen, University 

 of Chicago; Education, Dr. Elmer E. 

 Brown, U. S. Commissioner of Edu- 

 cation. The meeting next year will be 

 held at Chicago, where, as through- 

 out Illinois and the adjacent states, 

 science has in recent years begun to 

 rival the earlier development on the 

 Atlantic seaboard. 



THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION FOR 

 THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

 TEACHING 

 The first report of the president to 

 the trustees of the Carnegie Founda- 

 tion gives Mr. Carnegie's original 

 letter, the certificate of incorporation 

 in New York, the act of incorporation 

 by the congress, the by-laws of the 



corporation, the report of the treas- 

 urer, and the rules for granting re- 

 tiring allowances, as well as an ac- 

 count of what has been accomplished 

 and a discussion of policy by Presi- 

 dent Pritchett. As has already been 

 announced, the pensions are of two 

 kinds, one given at or after the age 

 of sixty-five to men who have been 

 professors for fifteen years, and one 

 given after twenty-five years of serv- 

 ice. The pensions are relatively larger 

 for those having small salaries, be- 

 ing arranged on a sliding scale of 

 from nine tenths to one half the salary. 

 The foundation may give a pension to 

 the widow of a professor entitled to 

 a retiring allowance, and has given 

 pensions to disabled professors, though 

 there is no clear provision covering 

 the latter case. 



There are certain accepted institu- 

 tions, at present fifty-two in number, 

 whose professors receive the pensions 

 automatically on application from the 

 institution, and the foundation may 

 award pensions to professors of other 

 institutions. On October 1, there had 

 been awarded forty-five allowances to 

 professors in accepted institutions, 

 thirty-five allowances to individual 

 professors and eight allowances to 

 widows. The average allowance to the 

 first class is $1,552; to the second 

 $1,302, and to the third $833. De- 

 nominational institutions are excluded 

 by the act of incorporation; the in- 

 clusion of institutions supported by 

 the state is under advisement. 



The report gives the accompanying 

 summary of the salaries of the pro- 

 fessors in American colleges. There 

 is also included a history of the 

 pensions of professors and a dis- 

 cussion of standards of admission to 

 universities and colleges. 



Mr. Carnegie's great benefaction 

 will aid our universities, colleges and 

 technical schools, and will thus of 

 course be welcomed by their professors. 

 Whether it will, as President Butler 

 of Columbia University says in his 

 annual report, ' lift one of the heaviest 



