RECORDS OF MEETINGS. 383 



ship of women in the Academy. We behave that not less than a three- 

 quarters vote of the FeUows present at such a meeting should be 

 required as a necessary indication to the Council that the Academy is 

 ready to elect women. 



Associated with this question is the matter of how many negative 

 votes in the Council should be sufficient to prevent the election of any 

 nominee, whether man or woman. Your Committee believes that 

 this matter can safely be left to the Council to determine. It would 

 seem that a two-thirds vote of those members of the Council present 

 and voting should be sufficient. In case of real doubt as to pro- 

 fessional qualifications the dissenters could easily muster one-third; 

 whereas in the very few cases in which opposition to an election might 

 seem to two-thirds of the Council as emanating from undue prejudice, 

 the dissenters should themselves feel willing to abide by a decision 

 based on a two-thirds vote. 



Probably most Fellows of the Academy and members of its Council 

 realize fully that the matter of election to the Academy is a matter of 

 excellence in Arts and Sciences and is not to be determined in any way 

 by personal preference or personal prejudice, as would be entirely justi- 

 fiable in the case of a social club. 



Respectfully submitted, 



E. B. Wilson, 

 C. H. Warren, 

 January 12, 1921. F. N. Robinson, 



The Rumford Medals were presented by the President of the 

 Academy to Dr. Irving Langmuir of Schenectady, N. Y.,. for his 

 researches in thermionic and allied phenomena, after Professor 

 Cross, Chairman of the Rumford Committee, had stated the 

 grounds on which the award was made. 



The following Communication was presented: 



Dr. Irving Langmuir. " Phenomena connected with the Pas- 

 sage of Electricity through High Vacua." 



The following paper was presented by title : — 



"Arctic Copepoda in Passamaquoddy Bay," by A. W^illey. 

 Presented by Samuel Henshaw. 



The Meeting was then dissolved. 



