REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, 1915. 5 



different and less disastrous results in neutral countries. A fact 

 of great importance to any adequate interpretation of the evolu- 

 tion of civilization, illustrated by the history of nearly every 

 nation, is that the general advance in knowledge and in social 

 melioration of our race is not inconsistent with occasional, and 

 at times considerable, steps backwards. In the light of this fact 

 it is not inconceivable that the principles and the methods funda- 

 mental and indispensable to research organizations may undergo 

 temporary ecUpse as a result of the pending conflict, as they have 

 often undergone eclipse in the past. It is a duty, therefore, to 

 be aware of the possibility of such a calamity, although the 

 probability of its occurrence is happily small. 



An interesting and instructive event of the year is the partici- 

 pation of the Institution in the Panama-Pacific International 



Panama-Pacific Exposition, for the reason that preparation there- 

 Exposition. for required a narrowl}^ limited choice of illustra- 

 tions of methods and results of research designed to appeal to a 

 wide range of popular interests, and for the reason that an unusual 

 opportunity was thus afforded for getting an objective estimate 

 of the Institution's functions in contemporary society. An 

 attempt was made to convey information quickly to the average 

 visitor by means of photographs and models; by free distribution 

 of a special edition of the pamphlet explaining the plan, scope, 

 and development of the Institution; by similar distribution of 

 a classified list of the publications of the Institution, and by 

 exhibition of a uniformly bound set of these publications them- 

 selves. 



That estimates of a research organization made by miscel- 

 laneous observers of such an exhibit must vary widely should go 

 without sajdng, since there is still more or less of conflict of 

 opinion among experts as to what research is and how it may be 

 advantageously pursued. It is in evidence, indeed, that while 

 certain principles fundamental to investigation and to extension 

 of learning thereby are, hke Newton's laws of motion, well 

 established, they are b}- no means commonly understood and 

 appreciated. Progress is, in general, slowly achieved and more 

 slowly assimilated. The philosophy and the science of our 

 ancestors, long antecedent to the present epoch, are still domi- 



