EDITOR'S TABLE. 



847 



the evidences — largely of his own dis- 

 covery — of the extreme antiquity of man 

 in America. Prof. Smiley, in economical 

 science, sharply criticised many modern 

 ideas and practices in benevolence, wliich 

 he described as too indiscriminate and 

 contrary to nature. The papers in the 

 several sections mostly illustrated the 

 personal researches of their authors or 

 bore upon matters of daily interest, and 

 seem to have been peculiarly acceptable 

 to the audiences who thronged the meet- 

 ings. The Association is always happy, 

 when it meets in the basin of the Great 

 Lakes, in being upon a ground which is 

 fruitful in lessons in geology, botany, 

 and climatology, and which could of it- 

 self supply subjects for papers enough 

 to engage the whole attention of the 

 meeting. These. subjects were well rep- 

 resented. Industrial or manual train- 

 ing WiTS not forgotten in the Economic 

 Section ; in which also Prof. Atwater 

 essayed to show that the increase of 

 the human race is never destined to 

 outrun the possibility of food-supply ; 

 and the impracticability of the Panama 

 Canal was demonstrated for the xih. 

 time. In anthropology, attention was 

 called to several antique American 

 works the preservation of which has 

 been secured, and to many others 

 which ought to be taken care of; the 

 affinities of the Aryan and other races 

 were considered; and interest was ex- 

 pressed in the institution of an interna- 

 tional language, for the purposes of 

 which Volapiik was regarded as inade- 

 quate. A report was presented by Prof. 

 Mendenhall, from the committee on that 

 subject, on the teaching of physics. 



"While the work of the meeting was 

 nearly all of a high scientific charac- 

 ter, it was also of such a nature or so 

 performed as to be what the people 

 wanted. All the vice-presidents, says 

 one of the city papers, "were wise in 

 placing, as far as possible, their views 

 and theories on a plane not too scien- 

 tifically lofty for the appreciative obser- 

 vation of those less learned than them- 



selves." Another newspaper expres- 

 sion is to the eflFect that- 

 One great fact has stood out prominent- 

 ly in all the work of the Association in this 

 city, and that is the practical value of science. 

 No matter what the subject discussed or how 

 technical the treatment, the connection be- 

 tween theoretical science and applied science 

 was plainly discernible, and should need no 

 argument to convince an intelligent resident 

 of Cleveland of the value of applied science, 

 or its intimate connection with everybody's 

 business or the general welfare. 



Another lesson, which has also an 

 important social bearing, may be drawn 

 from the experience of the city papers. 

 They were not afraid to give full reports 

 of the papers read, covering from one 

 to two pages of their daily issues, so 

 that members of the Association said 

 the papers of no other city had served 

 it so well, except, jperliaps^ those of Bos- 

 ton. Of the results upon themselves 

 of making the large sacrifices of space 

 usually devoted to more sensational 

 matter which this required, the "Plain- 

 dealer " says : 



Those who have read the reports from 

 day to day will admit that the space was well 

 filled, and that the influence on our city can 

 not but be good. Science has been brought 

 to the doors of our people and carried by the 

 papers into their homes, and those who hith- 

 erto paid it no attention have been compelled 

 to take some interest in it. To the surprise 

 of some of the — at first unwilling — readers, the 

 topics discussed were found to concern them- 

 selves, and to be treated in an entertaining 

 manner. Instead of skipping the proceedings 

 in tbe next day's issue, they read them with 

 increasing interest, and on the third day 

 turned to them with as much eagerness as if 

 the columns contained a bit of political news, 

 a murder — or a base-ball game. The appetite 

 grew by what it fed on, and each new paper 

 was read with keener interest and better un- 

 derstanding. The effect on such readers — 

 and they can be numbered by thousands — 

 will be lasting. They will hereafter pay more 

 attention to matters of scientific character, and 

 will have a greater regard for scientists. 



Are the people, are the newspapers, 

 of Cleveland, wiser or more intelligent 

 than those of any other city, except per- 

 haps Boston ? Or is the fact beginning 



