Rewards and Satisfactions 147 



intervals to give advice on the distribution of government 

 money for the support of research both in the government's 

 own laboratories and in civihan estabhshments as well. So 

 extensive has this activity become that at least one com- 

 mentator has wryly observed that the government has de- 

 cided that the national welfare and security now require 

 that an air cover of scientists be maintained over the coun- 

 try at all times. This remark neatly summarizes the rueful 

 regret at leaving their laboratories combined with pride at 

 being recognized as indispensable which characterizes the 

 attitude of many scientists towards their federal obhgations. 



An even more common and usually more rewarding 

 motivation for scientific travel lies in the need we have 

 noted before for frequent communication of scientific re- 

 sults. Literally hundreds of scientific meetings are held for 

 such purposes each year. These range from groups of 

 twenty to thirty people dedicated to a single topic, such 

 as the structure of a single protein molecule, to huge inter- 

 national congresses deahng with a broad field like bio- 

 chemistry. The large meetings must of necessity be held in 

 large cities or resort towns with ample hotel accommoda- 

 tions. European capitals are a favorite site for the inter- 

 national congresses, but occasional visits are made to North 

 and South America and increasingly to the Far East, espe- 

 cially Japan. The smaller conferences frequently select re- 

 sort hotels either in the mountains or by the sea, often in 

 the off season in order to take advantage of the lower rates. 

 I know of at least one such group, however, which has met 

 for over twenty years in the Laurentian hills during the 

 height of the skiing season. 



The tone of these meetings is a good deal more serious 

 than that encountered in the national conventions of many 

 businesses or of social and fraternal organizations which 

 are such a common feature of American life. Most of the 



