— 17 — COUNCIL — MARS 1920 



The President also supported Mr. Maurice, only he asked for some explana- 

 tion as to how this control of the work should be exercised. It seemed to be a matter 

 of Bureau control. Was it intended that the person chosen should be outside the 

 Bureau ? 



Mr. Maurice explained that he was not proposing to usurp the functions 

 of the Bureau, but he did not think in the past that it had been the practice of 

 the General Secretary to call for a report of progress at regular intervals. He was 

 anxious that the Bureau — if it was thought well that it should be the Bureau 

 — should be empowered at any time to find out what had been done as regarded the 

 programmes by the various countries. He did not attach importance to the appoint- 

 ment of anybody specially for the purpose, provided that the reports were secured. 



Dr. Hjort thanked Mr. Maurice for his proposal and for the able way 

 in which he had put forward his suggestions. He thought at the same time that 

 they must take into consideration some great difficulties of the past which might 

 excuse apparent shortcomings. For instance, the work had to be started with 

 incomplete equipment and arrangements. The workers had to 'feel their way very 

 vaguely and develop the methods of work as they went on. There was also the 

 difficulty that when at the meeting proposals were made and programmes drawn 

 up, plans were discussed and made, and then afterwards in the different countries 

 money had to be found for carrying out these plans and administrative difficulties 

 had to be faced. Delegates did not come to the meetings with so much money 

 in their pockets to spend on this work, but they had to raise it afterwards. It was 

 therefore difficult to know beforehand exactly how much could be undertaken. 

 This was, to some extent, an excuse for incomplete work, but of course it would 

 be better to have it otherwise. He also thought the ideas Mr. Maurice had laid 

 before them were not so easy to discuss generally at the meeting. He thought it 

 would be better not to take any particular standpoint at this meeting of the Council, 

 but to talk the matter over in the different committees and be guided by the result 

 of these discussions during the next few days. When the programmes were decided 

 upon it might be the right moment to consider how Mr. Maurice's ideas could 

 be carried out in definite proposals. 



Mr^ Maurice concurred in Dr. Hjort's proposal. He had not meant to 

 ask for a formal resolution, but merely wanted the sections to take these points 

 into consideration, which was the reason he had raised them at the first meeting. 

 It also was not his wish to ask Dr. Hjort or anyone else to appear in a white sheet 

 before the Council and apologise for deficiencies in the past. He was conscious 

 himself, as one of the British delegates, of having lent himself to programmes 

 that could not be carried out. All were in the same boat. 



The President said he knew from experience that it was necessary to bear 

 in mind the principle underlying point 9, and thought it would be quite possible 



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