PROCEEDINGS. 



The Convention was called to order by Henry Clay Weeks, 

 acting chairman, who spoke as follows : 



Ladies and Gentlemen : This gathering to-day is the re- 

 sult of a demand that the standing of the movement looking to 

 the extermination of the Mosquito shall be known to the coun- 

 try so that all may be encouraged to take a part in it when they 

 shall realize who and what are behind it. The movement has 

 now long passed beyond the humorous stage, through which all 

 radical measures have to pass, though a few belated writers 

 are still trying to keep it there. Its practicability is now gen- 

 erally undisputed and though to some uninformed minds this 

 exceptional year of heavy, continuous rains seemed to discour- 

 age the idea, yet, to those who best understand its plan and 

 scope, even this season's experience simply showed the neces- 

 sity of more urgent action in getting rid of the places where 

 water has the chance to accumulate and become stagnant, as 

 was so generally the case. They had the true ring of a re- 

 former — those words from a well known New Jersey worker, 

 who said in the midst of the summer trouble, 'T have been 

 pleased to see mosquitoes so plentiful because they have done 

 more in a week to arouse sentiment against themselves than I 

 could do in a year." Some people of the other kind said and 

 even printed their sayings, that the prevalence of mosquitoes 

 showed the error of the idea of extermination — and even men- 

 tioned the fact that so many gallons of oil had been scattered 

 abroad, not knowing that relatively but a drop had been 

 used, even if the idea had been to rely entirely on oil for ex- 

 termination — apparently ignorant of the fact that the plan 

 involved the destruction of breeding places and not the tem- 

 porary work of killing them after they had reached the larval 

 and pupal stage by sprinkling oil on the water. 



The need in all reforms is a campaign of education, and 

 this convention is a start in this direction — to let people know 

 what is being done, and by whom and the how and why of it. 

 A few of the workers and those who understand the value and 

 success of their work have been asked to participate to-day as 

 officers or speakers, and the surprising heartiness with which 

 all whose names are in print responded, is an indication of the 

 force of their purpose. A few only of those who were asked 



