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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 768 



his direction and guidance, in determining 

 the fundamental constants of astronomy, 

 together with the elements of the planetary- 

 orbits, and in building upon these tables 

 of the motions of the planets and the 

 positions of the fixed stars that are now in 

 daily use by the astronomers of the world. 

 Recognition and honors came to him in 

 most unusual degree and from the most 

 diverse sources, but his medals and di- 

 plomas, although obviously prized, were 

 rarely exhibited. The ornaments of his 

 home were his three daughters and his 

 wife, Mary Hassler, to whom he was mar- 

 ried in 1863. All of these survive him. 

 Although socially inclined and fond of 

 the amenities of life, Newcomb's leonine 

 appearance and conscious dignity of bear- 

 ing were not infrequently a source of awe 

 to younger men who found it difficult to 

 cross the supposed barrier between them. 

 To the dullard or impostor the barrier was 

 sometimes made real by a word of cutting 

 sarcasm, but toward what he conceived to 

 be real merit Newcomb was always singu- 

 larly appreciative, seeking to bring out 

 the man of promise and to secure for him 

 recognition through every legitimate means. 

 By none save his own kin will his depar- 

 ture be more sincerely mourned than by 

 his juniors in astronomy whose careers 

 have been furthered by his kindly aid. 



G. C. C. 



THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED 

 STATES COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION 



FOR 1908 

 A FEW years since on the editorial page of 

 the most dignified of our semi-popular maga- 

 zines it was remarked with facetious serious- 

 ness that the annual report of the United 

 States Bureau of Education was without ex- 

 ception " the dullest book in the world." 

 Deserving or not of this charge, it will be 

 generally admitted that the two fat, black- 

 garbed volumes, the issuance of which had 

 become an annual habit of the bureau, did 



possess, for both the initiated and the disin- 

 terested, a forbidding outwardness, which was 

 not much altered by a survey of the twenty- 

 five hundred odd pages of contents. Whatever 

 their value to the cause of American educa- 

 tion, very great in the credited judgment of 

 many, these reports were not for those who 

 would read as they ran. However this may 

 have been in the past, within the brief three 

 years of his commissionership. Dr. Elmer Ells- 

 worth Brown has wrought reforms in the pub- 

 lications of the bureau which are certain to 

 develop a more wide-spread recognition of the 

 genuine service which it is possible for the 

 federal government to render to American 

 schools and American education. The annual 

 report of the bureau for 1908 well illustrates 

 the more important of these reforms; attract- 

 iveness in make-up, promptness of publication, 

 condensation of contents, timeliness of topics, 

 simplification and interpretation of the de- 

 tailed array of statistics, and a cautious edi- 

 torial supervision. 



For the first time since the establishment 

 of the bureau the funereal black binding of the 

 report has been discontinued and the volumes 

 appear in an artistic soft toned olive. This is 

 a reform certainly meriting commendation. 

 Why should not the publications of the Bureau 

 of Education have advantage of an inviting 

 exterior? Perhaps, too, the influence of the 

 example may be felt with the official publica- 

 tions of other governmental departments and 

 bureaus. 



The prompt appearance of the report — the 

 first volume being distributed before the close 

 of 1908 and the second early in 1909 — greatly 

 enhanced its value. Formerly the annual re- 

 ports of the bureau were one or two years 

 behind. There were undoubted obstacles in 

 the way of prompter publication which were 

 not easily overcome. That they could be over- 

 come has been effectively demonstrated, much 

 to the relief of those who believe that the 

 Bureau of Education should furnish authentic 

 data and information concerning education at 

 a time and in a form to be of largest service. 



By reducing the size of the report from 

 twenty-five hundred pages to somewhat more 



