THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY Z"J 



tion falls partly under that sub-committee of the Directors of 

 Meteorological Observations and also under the International 

 Solar Union, a union which has been founded by your Foreign 

 Secretary, Professor Hale. 



The present international organizations differ considerably 

 in the manner in which their expenditure is provided for. The 

 International Geodetic Association — the Association of Seismol- 

 ogy — and the International Bureau of Standards, are directly 

 supported by the governments, the contributions depending upon 

 the population of each country and amounting, for the larger 

 ones to — I need not give you the figures now. They are of no 

 particular interest. 



The International Catalogue of Scientific Literature is a very 

 costly undertaking, and that is provided for by each country 

 guaranteeing the sale of a certain number of copies; a capital 

 fund having been paid to start the organization by the Royal 

 Society of London. 



In the case of the Great Star Catalogue, each observatory is 

 responsible for its own expenditure. The four French observ- 

 atories have received government contributions amounting 

 together to over $500,000. In England a much smaller sum has 

 been given, and in other countries the work has languished a 

 good deal because sufficient funds were not available. 



The Solar Union has no funds whatsoever and is even unable 

 to pay for its own publications. Sufficient has been said to show 

 how wide a range is already covered by international research. 

 Further extensions of the work are constantly being called for, 

 and we are brought face to face with the problem that separate 

 associations can not be multiplied indefinitely without introdu- 

 cing difficulties which, as their number increases, endanger the 

 objects which they are intended to serve. Apart from the over- 

 lapping of interests and questions of finance, the time spent in 

 correspondence and administration is already serious. The 

 nature of the problems suitable to be dealt with by international 

 efforts is such that the same persons are generally interested in 

 several of them, and the meetings succeed each other so rapidly 



