390 



Bryant W. Rossiter -3- Prog. Coord. Conf. 



let me provide some general reasons for the ACS to participate actively 

 in international meetings. Some of the reasons are ones you have heard 

 before, but they may well be reasons that many of us may overlook, at 

 least occasionally. 



Organizing an international meeting calls for one to invest a large 

 block of time and often much money and to suffer many frustrations. The 

 return on the investment can be equally large, however, and many of the 

 frustrations--in retrospect, at least--may not have been all that great. 

 Nonetheless, when ACS participation in international meetings is pro- 

 posed, we must be aware that some members have mixed feelings about them. 

 Some see them as simply more meetings to attend. Others believe that ef- 

 forts should be confined to ACS needs within the U.S., reasoning that 

 costs are increasing, everyone's time is largely committed, and resources 

 are too limited to be used on international meetings. 



These are legitimate concerns, and they must be addressed success- 

 fully if ACS members are to be persuaded to support vigorous interna- 

 tional efforts. 



Perhaps the simplest response is that the ACS already is an inter- 

 national organization. Nearly 40% of the Society's general revenues 

 come from outside the U.S. from sales by Chemical Abstracts Service, the 

 Books and Journals Division, and the Education Division and from the 

 dues that some 10,500 foreign members pay. The ACS has a responsibility 

 to serve everyone and every organization that contributes, including 

 those outside the U.S., be they members or customers or both. 



Reports on research and development results and informal exchanges 

 during international meetings also benefit ACS members professionally. 

 About 75% of the abstracts and about 90% of the citations of basic pa- 

 tents in Chemical Abstracts are based on work done in other countries. 

 As Americans we benefit enormously from information generated elsewhere, 

 and it is vital that we learn as much about it as possible quickly and 

 thoroughly. 



We must also remember that the chemical and allied products indus- 

 try enjoys a very favorable balance of trade. Whatever we as chemists 

 and chemical engineers do to improve the use of chemistry in the U.S. 

 based on findings elsewhere contributes to the financial well being of 

 the industry that employs most of us. 



Need for International Understanding 



But it is not only for our professional and scientific benefit that 

 we must foster international exchanges. The late W. Albert Noyes, Jr., 

 may have expressed another reason best some years ago when he said: 



The more we can provide a common basis for cul- 

 ture throughout the world, the better chance we 



