582 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1224 



nomena lias thus far depended, first, upon ade- 

 quate state or municipal legislation, and, sec- 

 ond, upon the adequate enforcement of that 

 legislation. As a result, some states and mu- 

 nicipalities maintain eiScient registration sys- 

 tems while others do not. Until the matter is 

 placed under federal control or supervision it 

 is not likely that reliable birth and death 

 records, approximating completeness, will come 

 into existence throughout the entire United 

 States. Since the military registi-ation of 

 June 5, 1917, the desirability of maintaining 

 such records has become apparent to all. 



THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIEN- 

 TIFIC LITERATURE 



Sir Henry E. Armstrong, chairman of the 

 executive committee of the International Coun- 

 cil of the Central Bureau of the International 

 Catalogue, writes in Nature: 



The Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies, 

 some time last year, aippointed — by what man- 

 date is not clear — an International Catalogue 

 Subcommittee " to obtain information regard- 

 ing the extent of the use made by scientific 

 men of the present International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature, and to obtain recommen- 

 dations for possible improvement." The sub- 

 committee consisted of Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, 

 Mr. G. V. Boys and Mr. E. B. Knobel, in addi- 

 tion to the of&cial members. The subcom- 

 mittee appears to have gone outside the terms 

 of reference and to have reported " that it was 

 advisable to consider suggestions for an alter- 

 native scheme." . . . 



The history of the International Catalogue 

 is briefiy as follows. In 1893 the Royal So- 

 ciety wa.s memorialized to take into considera- 

 tion the preparation of complete author and 

 subject catalogues, by international coopera- 

 tion, in continuation of the society's Catalogue 

 of Scientific Papers, which the society did not 

 propose to continue beyond the century. The 

 proposal being viewed with favor, the Royal 

 Society solicited the opinion of scientific work- 

 ers all over the world. There was practically 

 but one reply — that such catalogues were es- 

 sential, and almost universal agreement that 

 the only way of carrying the work into execu- 

 tion was by international cooperation. Repre- 



sentative committees were appointed, and 

 after two years of very hard work a scheme 

 was prepared which was forwarded abroad, to- 

 gether with the invitation to attend the first 

 international conference on the subject. This 

 was held in July, 1896. Two subsequent inter- 

 national conferences were held in London in 

 October, 1898, and June, 1900. All three were 

 highly representative. Ultimately it was de- 

 cided, at the third conference, to establish the 

 catalogue as an international enterprise. 

 Work was begun in 1901, and has been con- 

 tinued up to the present time. The organiza- 

 tion has grown steadily in weight and effi- 

 ciency, and at the beginning of the war there 

 were thirty-four regional bureaus in operation. 

 The harmony which has prevailed throughout 

 among the nations is one of the most remark- 

 able features of the enterprise; notwithstand- 

 ing the complexity of the work, there has not 

 been the slightest friction. I believe no other 

 international enterprise of like magnitude has 

 been called into existence or worked more 

 smoothly. . . . 



As war went on, it became necessary for the 

 society to evaluate its responsibilities towards 

 the catalogue. It was decided that the society 

 could not guarantee the pilblication of the 

 catalogue beyond the fourteenth issue. An 

 issue consists of seventeen volumes, each deal- 

 ing with a separate science. The fourteenth 

 issue is now being published, and it is note- 

 worthy that special contributions in aid of 

 publication have been made by the Carnegie 

 Foundation of New York, by the Department 

 of Scientific and Industrial Research, and by 

 certain private donors. 



The Royal Society has also undertaken the 

 direct control of the enterprise during the 

 period of the war. Early last year it was inti- 

 mated to workers abroad that the future of 

 the catalogue must be left for the decision of 

 an international council to be called as soon as 

 possible after the conclusion of peace. 



Why the Conjoint Board has intervened is 

 not clear. It certainly has no right to give the 

 catalogue its quietus. That it should have 

 taken the action it has without ever consulting 

 the international organization passes belief. 



