FINAL ACT OF SECOND PAN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS. 153 



and during its continuance to supersede the local Executive Committee, 

 which, however, as has already been stated in the introduction of this 

 Report, resumes its functions after the adjournment of the Congress until 

 the duties incumbent upon it have been performed. 



ARTICLE 49. Finally, the Second Pan American Scientific Congress 



requests 



The Government of the United States to transmit the foregoing 

 resolutions and recommendations contained in the Final Act 

 to the Governments of the American Republics participating 

 in the Congress, and suggests that any Government thereof 

 specially interested in one or other of the resolutions or 

 recommendations take the initiative to carry the same into 

 effect. 



It is a familiar adage that everybody's business is nobody's business, 

 and the most elementary principle of administration is that the perform- 

 ance of a duty shall be vested in some determinate person or body. It 

 is necessary that the proceedings of the Congress, if they are to be carried 

 into effect, should officially be called to the attention of the participating 

 Governments. This should be made a duty and the Government of the 

 country in which the Congress has met should be charged with its per- 

 formance. In the particular instance, the Government of the United 

 States should be and was requested by the Congress to transmit the 

 resolutions and recommendations contained in the Final Act to the 

 Governments of the American Republics, and the recommendation is to 

 be understood in the enlarged sense that the Government of the United 

 States is not merely to transmit the resolutions and recommendations of 

 the Final Act, but also all information, all documents of what kind soever, 

 concerning the Congress which may be of service to the participating 

 Governments. For example, the Government of the United States 

 should prepare, publish, and transmit the proceedings of the Congress to 

 each Government represented and taking part in the proceedings. 



It will no doubt be the case that, while the Governments take a general 

 interest in all of the resolutions or recommendations of the Final Act, the 

 resolutions and recommendations will not make an equal appeal, for 

 their value and importance depend, in part at least, upon national and 

 in some instances upon local conditions. The Congress therefore recog- 

 nized this probability, and suggested, as stated in the Article, that a 

 Government specially interested in one or more of the resolutions or 

 recommendations should itself take the initiative to carry the same into 



