382 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



less than for election of non-resident Fellows. We believe this, 

 because it is the duty of the Academy, and its privilege, to encourage 

 work in the Arts and Sciences and to be, through its meetings, a center 

 for getting together once a month a large number of persons interested 

 in learning here in Boston. Reasonably prompt election of young men 

 in this vicinity will aid in the accomplishment of both these purposes. 

 We believe, however, that no one should be elected to the Academy 

 who has not in his own name, and by his own determination, already 

 given good evidence, through his publications, of accomplishment, 

 and further evidence of the promise of accomplishment in the future. 

 Mere promise for the future, unsupported by past accomplishment, 

 should not entitle a young man to election. We believe that this 

 has been the attitude in the recent past, and is sound for the present. 



In this connection we desire to call your attention to the class of 

 Resident Associates. We firmly believe that the Academy will raise 

 its own standard for full membership and at the same time will encour- 

 age promising young men and aid in gathering together once a month 

 an interested group of persons if the Academy will elect as Resident 

 Associates those promising young persons whose present accomplish- 

 ments would certainly not admit them to full Fellowship in the 

 Academy, and if the Council is willing to take this point of view we 

 recommend that the Nominating Committee be charged with the 

 duty of furnishing a list of nominees for Resident Associateship in all 

 Sections. 



III. Your Committee was, perhaps, appointed primarily to report 

 upon the admission of women. And it may be that you will regard us 

 as recreant to our duty if we do not make a definite recommendation 

 advising you to elect or to refuse to elect women. Nevertheless, your 

 Committee, realizing that an innovation ^ is here involved and that 

 there are a great many Fellows of the Academy who are \'iolently 

 opposed to the admission of women, while others are insistent on such 

 elections, are unwilling to recommend to the Council any other action 

 in this matter than to put upon the call of some Stated meeting, as 

 regular business to be discussed, the question of the possible Fellow- 



1 It should be observed that Maria Mitchell, of Nantucket, was elected 

 an Honorary Member in 1848, and that a few years later, when the members 

 of the Academy were divided into Fellows, Associate Fellows, and Foreign 

 Honorary Members, Miss Mitchell's name was placed with the Fellows. 



