THE STORY OF AN ENTOMOLOGIST 



attended was in St. Louis in 1904. The managers of the World 

 Exposition held that year in that city had arranged for an 

 international congress of arts and sciences, and had not only 

 sent certain distinguished men to Europe to carry personal invi- 

 tations to well-known men over there to come to the congress 

 and read papers, but reinforced the invitation by the information 

 that all their travelling expenses would be paid. It was a big 

 gathering. Many of the world leaders in things intellectual 

 were there, and there was a notable series of addresses. There 

 were also many important receptions, dinners, and affairs of 

 that kind. 



The organization of the congress into sections had already 

 been arranged, and the programs had been practically made 

 out, when some one suggested that it might be desirable to have 

 an executive secretary to attend to such matters as the arrange- 

 ment and assignment of meeting halls, registration and all 

 other deails. I was appointed to this post only thirty days before 

 the opening of the congress, and reached St. Louis ten days 

 before the meeting began. I had great difficulty in finding the 

 requisite number of meeting halls, and many other details 

 were very puzzling; but as I had for some years been perma- 

 nent secretary of the American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, the experience was there, and things probably went 

 better than they would have if a person unaccustomed to such 

 affairs had had charge. 



Professor Simon Newcomb was the president, and, naturally, 

 the majority of the speakers were drawn from the faculties 

 of the leading American universities. 



There was a bit of quiet rivalry among some of these institu- 

 tions, notably between Columbia and Harvard, concerning the 

 number of men selected from each institution. St. Louis was 

 crowded at that time, the Exposition was in full swing, and 



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