INTEENATIONAL SCIENCE. 507 



lion, which was luiin'oidably discontinued during the late war, may 

 now be reestablished. 



The course of international organizations does not always run 

 smoothly. The eft'orts made toward cooperation in earthquake 

 records have unfortunately led to differences of opinion, which have 

 hitherto prevented a truly international system being formed; and if 

 I give a short historical account of the circumstances which have led 

 lip to these differences, it is only in the hope that this may help to 

 remove them. The scientific investigation of earthquakes may be 

 said to have begun when British professors of physics, engineering, 

 and geology were appointed at the Imperial College of Engineering 

 in Tokyo. Some of them on returning home succeeded in interesting 

 the British Association in the subject. Ever since 1880 that associa- 

 tion has been an active supporter of seismic investigations. The much 

 disturbed region of the Japanese islands was naturally the first to be 

 studied, but in 1895 Professor Milne, as one of the secretaries of the 

 committee, issued a circular calling attention to the desirability of 

 observing waves which have traveled great distances, and some 

 months later Dr. E. v. Rebeur-Paschwitz, of Strasburg, drew up sug- 

 gestions for the establishment of an international system of earth- 

 quake stations. To this scheme Professor Milne and other members 

 of the British Association committee gave their approval. The co- 

 operation which thus seemed so happily inaugurated was broken by 

 the unfortunate death of its originator. Circumstances then arose 

 Avhich compelled the British Association committee to go its own way. 

 Under its direction a system was established which now includes about 

 forty stations distributed all over the world. But the needs of dif- 

 ferent countries are not, and were not, meant to be satisfied by this 

 organization. 



There is always a certain number of earthquakes having i^urely 

 local importance and requiring discussion from a purely local point 

 of view. For the purpose of such discussion relating to the disturb- 

 ances which chiefly affect central Europe, the union (so-called kartell) 

 of the academies of Vienna, Munich. Leipzig, and G('»ttingen formed 

 a committee and did excellent work. In the meantime Professor Ger- 

 land, who had succeeded Doctor Rebeur-Paschw^itz at Strasburg, 

 had personally invited a number of friends interested in the subject 

 to a conference at Strasburg, with the object of forming an inter- 

 national association. This was followed in 1903 by a formal con- 

 ference called by the German Government, at which Great Britain 

 was represented by Sir George Darwin and Professor Milne. This 

 conference drew up a scheme for an international association, and a 

 large number of countries, including Russia and Japan, joined. 

 Strasburg was selected as the seat of the central bureau. The mat- 

 ter came up for discussion at the meeting of the International Asso- 



