92 JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOL. 11, NO. 4 



grant the same privileges to those who are mainly consumers might, 

 as I have indicated before, swamp the whole process of production. 



Scientific and technical periodicals. — Concerning much that is 

 published in our voluminous scientific and technical literature we 

 might reasonably ask, as the Mock Turtle did of Alice, "What is the 

 use of repeating all that stuff?" If we had an all-wise censor to 

 judge it, we might well dispense with the greater part of it. But 

 in that "if" is contained the whole argument against any kind of 

 suppression. 



There is instruction, and perhaps encouragement, in comparing 

 the evolution of scientific periodicals with that of newspapers and 

 popular magazines. The newspapers began with small local cir- 

 culations at a few places. They increased in numbers, and a few 

 papers forged to the front and became leaders, widely read or quoted 

 from. The multiplication of local papers, however, did not cease, 

 but increased, until now every hamlet has one; their diversification, 

 to represent many groups of people with related interests, went on 

 simultaneously. Of recent years, a strongly marked tendency toward 

 financial and operational centralization has appeared. 



Other types of periodical printed matter have gone through a 

 similar evolution, and scientific periodicals are following along in 

 their turn. We have had (1) the period of early growth, and small 

 circulation, but large influence, and (2) the period of greatly increased 

 circulation of recognized leaders, with precarious existence for the 

 smaller members; and we are just entering (3) the period of rapid 

 multiplication of local scientific periodicals together with minute 

 diversification according to specialties. The period of centralization 

 is still below the horizon. 



It may be urged that science is universal, and a local scientific 

 publication is an anomaly; then so is a specialized journal, for knowl- 

 edge is no more to be divided into Compartments according to the 

 temporary interests of human beings than according to their geo- 

 graphical residence. Nevertheless local and specialized newspapers, 

 magazines, and scientific journals multiply in spite of logic. Every 

 group of a few hundred or a few thousand persons with aUied interests, 

 whether allied by profession or by geographical location, seems to 

 need its printed organ, and the feelings of librarians are given no 

 consideration whatever. The Washington Academy of Sciences, 

 for example, representing in its own membership and in its affiliated 

 societies nearly 3000 scientific and technical men and women, with 



