January 9, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



39 



strike originated because the municipal au- 

 thorities, disregarding all statutory provisions 

 and trusting to political influence, failed to 

 keep their pledges, and the salaries due the 

 employees finally amounted to 1,000,000 pese- 

 tas (about $200,000). When the physicians be- 

 came tired of seeing that, in this period of 

 better compensation for labor, they were the 

 only ones who could bring home the wages 

 they had earned, they unanimously decided to 

 go out on strike. The mayor and the members 

 of the town council were very indignant at 

 this action, their arguments running somewhat 

 as follows : " It is very strange that the physi- 

 cians should be so rebellious, and especially 

 now, when the town council has just spent sev- 

 eral thousand dollars for celebrations and bull 

 fights, thus showing our desire to please the 

 people and attract foreigners. The physicians 

 do not bear in mind the fact that we can not 

 pay their salaries, since to do so would be to 

 show partiality in their favor; in a place where 

 no one is paid, it is an imposition to ask for 

 money. If we have spent so much for festivals 

 it has been only because the buU fighters and 

 actors would not have come otherwise; but 

 every one understands that if we could have got 

 out of paying them, we would not have paid 

 them either." These reasons did not influence 

 the physicians, who suspended all official rela- 

 tions with the municipal authorities, and who, 

 while continuing their care of the poor, refused 

 to submit any reports, would not sign any offi- 

 cial certificates, or attend the municipal dis- 

 pensaries, and let public opinion and the gov- 

 ernment decide the matter. At first the local 

 authorities threatened the physicians, at whose 

 head was Dr. Aranda, one of the most promi- 

 nent surgeons of Andalusia. The physicians 

 proved adamant against all kinds of pressure 

 that was brought to bear on them for over a 

 month. At last the government decided to en- 

 force the law ; it dismissed the municipal coun- 

 cil and appointed new counselors so as to help 

 solve the situation. The result has been that 

 the physicians will immediately receive one 

 half of the amount due them, and the balance 

 very shortly. This is the first medical strike 

 that ever took place in Spain. It has received 



support not only in the country in general, but 

 also at the hands of the government. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The attention of the Anthropological So- 

 ciety of Washington having been called to an 

 open letter published in The Nation of De- 

 cember 20 by Dr. Franz Boas under the title 

 " Scientists as Spies," and after said article 

 was read and duly considered, the following 

 resolution was adopted and ordered to be sub- 

 mitted to the American Anthropological As- 

 sociation at its meeting in Boston; to Section 

 H of the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science meeting in St. Louis; 

 and to the Archeological Institute of America 

 at its meeting in Pittsburgh, with a request 

 that suitable action be taken by these associa- 

 tions. Also, that a copy of this resolution be 

 sent to The Nation and Science, with a re- 

 quest for its publication. 



Resolved: That the article in question unjustly 

 criticizes the President of the United States and 

 attacks the fundamental principles of American 

 democracy; 



That the reflections contained in the article fall 

 on all American anthropologists who have been 

 anywhere outside the limits of the United States 

 during the last five years; 



That the information thus given is liable to have 

 future serious effects on the work of all anthropol- 

 ogists outside the boundaries of the United States; 

 and 



That the accusation, given such prominent pub- 

 licity and issuing from such a source, will doubtless 

 receive wide attention and is liable to prejudice 

 foreign governments against all scientific men com- 

 ing from this country to their respective territories, 

 particularly if under government auspices; there- 

 fore 



Be it resolved, that in the opinion of the council 

 of the Anthropological Society of Washington, the 

 publication of the article in question was unwar- 

 ranted and will prove decidedly injurious to the 

 interests of American scientists in general; that 

 the author has shown himself inconsiderate to the 

 best interests of his American colleagues who may 

 be obliged to carry on research in foreign coun- 

 tries; and that his action, therefore, deserves our 

 emphatic disapproval. 



