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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 748 



be made to so far conform to the trend of 

 scientific thought and to actual progress, 

 as to secure to the public at large correct 

 conceptions, and to the future student of 

 science a proper basis on which to found 

 more advanced studies. It is, therefore, in 

 no way surprising to find that some of the 

 very first discussions of the newly formed 

 society were directed toward a careful con- 

 sideration of "methods of teaching" and 

 "the employment of specialists by the edu- 

 cational institutions of the country." 



It is not our present purpose to analyze 

 fully the important influences which have 

 extended from these discussions broadcast 

 over the land, carrying with them the full 

 weight of the highest authorities of the day, 

 as it would take us altogether too far from 

 the immediate purposes of this address ; but 

 it is, nevertheless, worth our while to point 

 out that the spirit of cooperation in scien- 

 tific endeavor, the high purpose to infiuence 

 and improve the standard of scientific 

 thought and effort, and the intention to so 

 dignify and enrich scientific achievements 

 that the society might stand as an exponent 

 of the highest and best scientific thought, 

 and as an inspiration to the rising genera- 

 tion, were ideals which constituted the 

 fundamental concept and have been ad- 

 hered to during the quarter of a century 

 of usefulness which has marked the career 

 of this institution. It was in this spirit 

 that the society set before itself lofty ideals 

 of usefulness, and in the period that has 

 since elapsed I fail to discover that there 

 has been any retrograde step or any serious 

 lapse from the first declaration of policy. 

 The only opportunity for criticism would 

 appear to lie in the possibility that this 

 policy, while fully maintained, has not 

 proved sufiiciently elastic to permit of 

 ready adjustment to altered conditions im- 

 posed by the lapse of time and the progress 

 of scientific thought; but I am not pre- 



pared at this time to admit that such is, 

 in reality, the case. 



This society numbers, to-day, 376 mem- 

 bers, among whom we proudly reckon the 

 majority of the leading scientific men of 

 the country, while ia its organization it 

 represents a powerful, coordinating and 

 centralizing body for various groups of 

 specialists joined for their particular pur- 

 poses into small societies devoted to re- 

 stricted lines of research. Few will ven- 

 ture to deny the preeminent position the 

 society occupies, the great influence it has 

 exercised or the eminent character of its 

 work. Nevertheless, we are suddenly faced 

 with a grave problem which threatens noth- 

 ing short of the very existence of the organ- 

 ization. 



Within the last two years we have heard 

 much to the effect that the society is in a 

 moribund condition, that its usefulness is 

 a thing of the past, and the faint-hearted 

 even insist that it is time for it to grace- 

 fully die. These statements have been re- 

 peated with such insistence and frequency, 

 in spite of the firm belief of many that the 

 society has a very definite and important 

 function to perform, and that never in its 

 history or in the history of science, was 

 there a time when its efforts and influence 

 were more needed than now— that the more 

 progressive, and, I am also bound to say, 

 the more thoughtful among us are led to 

 consider the situation as one which requires 

 to be dealt with firmly but without further 

 delay, to the effect that the usefulness of 

 the society and its functions must be rede- 

 fined in the light of present-day needs and 

 present-day conditions, and that it shall be 

 rehabilitated. Or, failing this, that it 

 shall be promptly and finally relegated to 

 the things that have served their purpose 

 and no longer meet a want in the economy 

 of scientific thought and development— that 

 its career must be terminated. This is the 

 direct issue with which every member of 



