454 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. L. No. 1298 



traux," so that "nous devons abandonner les 

 anoiennes associations internationales, et en crfier 

 de nouvelles entre allies aveo le conoours eveutuel 

 des neutres. ' ' 



Whence this painful contrast? We should 

 rather have expected the opposite, even without in- 

 dulging illusions with regard to the progress of 

 mankind during a hundred years. For there seems 

 to 'be more room for generosity when the war's 

 misery is past than when it is still raging; more 

 too towards a defeated enemy than towards one 

 who is still to be feared. 



Summing up what precedes we ask you earnestly 

 and urgently: Recover your former selves. Re- 

 cover the high scientific point of view which, on 

 his deathbed, made Anipfere say to a fellow worker : 

 ' ' il ne doit etre question entre nous que de ce qui 

 est eternel I ' ' Once more : we understand how your 

 attention of late has been monopolized by what is 

 temporal and transitory. But now, you more than 

 all the others, are called upon to find again the 

 way to what is eternal. You possess the inclina- 

 tion for objective thought, the wide range of vis- 

 ion, the discretion, the habit of self-criticism. Of 

 you we had expected the first step for the restora- 

 tion of lacerated Europe. We call on you for co- 

 operation in order to prevent science from becom- 

 ing divided, for the first time and for an indefinite 

 period, into hostile political camps. 



THE LEAGUE OF RED CROSS SOCIETIES 



We learn from The British Medical Jourt^al 

 that tlie headquarters of the League of Red 

 Cross Societies, which was formed in Paris, 

 on May 5, 1919, are at 9, Cour de St. Pierre, 

 Geneva, and the work of organization is pro- 

 ceeding as rapidly as possible. The founder 

 members of the League were the American, 

 British, French, Italian and Japanese national 

 Red Cross societies. The following national 

 societies have since become members, Argen- 

 tina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, 

 China,, Cuba, Denmark, Greece Holland, 

 India, I^ew Zealand, IN'orway, Peru, Portugal, 

 Rumania, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, 

 Sweden and Venezuela. 



The third number of the Bulletin of the 

 League gives a list of the officers and heads of 

 departments who have already been appointed 

 and have taken up their duties at head 

 quarters. The director-general is Lieutenant- 



General Sir David Henderson; the secretary- 

 general is Professor William E. Rappard; the 

 treasurer-general is M. Andre Pallain; the 

 general medical director is Colonel Richard 

 P. Strong, with Dr. Leonard Findley as 

 director of the department of child welfare; 

 the counsellor in international public health 

 is Professor Rocco Santoliquido. In the de- 

 partments of public health and hygiene bu- 

 reaus will be organized to deal with the sub- 

 jects of child welfare, tuberculosis, malaria, 

 preventive medicine, venereal diseases and 

 nursing. 



An Inter-Allied Medical Commission was 

 recently sent by the League at the request of 

 the Polish government to investigate the pan- 

 demic of typhus fever in Poland. One of the 

 gravest consequences of the devastation of 

 Poland during the war has been the great 

 decline in the sanitary condition of the Polish 

 population, with a concurrent rise in the gen- 

 eral mortality. The Inter-Allied Commission 

 will report on the sanitary conditions in 

 Poland, and will make recommendations as to 

 the advisability of establishing sanitary cor- 

 dons to suppress the spread of typhus into 

 adjacent territories. When the commission 

 has issued its report the League will be in a 

 position to devise relief and preventive meas- 

 ures in the countries concerned, to propose 

 to the Red Cross societies interested in the 

 work an active sanitary campaign, and to 

 urge the necessary measures that should be 

 undertaken by the governments themselves. 

 It is believed that the Polish pandemic of 

 typhus originated in Russia and Ukrania. 



The reports of the various sections of the 

 medical conference held at Cannes in April 

 last have now been published. They are 

 printed in English, French, Italian and Span- 

 ish, and may be had on application to the 

 Department of Information and Publication 

 of the League. 



THE TARIFF ON SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS 



The Journal of the Washington Academy 

 of Sciences states that the finance committee 

 of the Senate, which has had before it the 

 bill for a tariff on scientific supplies (H. R. 

 7Y85), decided on October 3 to postpone all 



