482 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1136 



a more systematic showing of the impor- 

 tance of chemistry to the wise use of nat- 

 ural resources; and its purposes have 

 gained a far wider and more appreciative 

 understanding by our people as a whole. 



Again we find evidence in the recent is- 

 suance of a special chemistry edition by a 

 prominent trade journal, The Manufac- 

 turers Record. The purpose of that un- 

 usual issue was not merely to emphasize 

 the advantages of a great section of the 

 country for the upbuilding of chemical in- 

 dustries, but of far greater importance it 

 sought to vitalize the thought of the peo- 

 ple of that section as to the fundamental 

 character of chemistry among the factors 

 of industrial development. 



Furthermore, it must be noticeable to 

 all that slowly but surely an educational 

 campaign is getting under way in the daily 

 press and in periodical literature which 

 will eventually result in the arousal of our 

 people to a full comprehension of the value 

 of chemistry as a national asset. 



These are simply signs of the times. We 

 can not, however, feel that the national 

 thought has as yet grasped in its entirety 

 the all pervading influence of chemistry so 

 long as Cornell University, with its strong 

 chemistry staff, must delay the replace- 

 ment of its burned laboratory through 

 lack of funds; so long as Johns Hopkins 

 Universit3 r , the cradle of American chem- 

 ical research, must undergo such struggle 

 for the means to erect a new laboratory on 

 the beautiful new site of that institution; 

 so long as members of congress view chem- 

 ists and chemical manufacturers as fit sub- 

 jects for hard bargaining; so long as rail- 

 way presidents feel that chemistry has no 

 part in the development of the natural re- 

 sources of the sections traversed by their 

 lines ; and so long as waste in any form is 

 allowed to continue unheeded. 



Further expansion of the relations of 



chemistry to the national thought in- 

 volves — 



First. Continued educational effort 

 through the press. Plans for such are be- 

 ing evolved, and these plans are meeting 

 the quickened sympathy of the leaders of 

 the press. Each of us must cooperate in 

 this work. As a class we are not qualified 

 to write in popular style, and in the past 

 we have not troubled ourselves very much 

 about such matters; but we can furnish 

 facts and sound opinion to those who have 

 the work and responsibility of popular 

 presentation, and we should stand ready, 

 each in his own community, to share in 

 such cooperative effort. 



Second. An awakening of the financial 

 interests of the country to the fact that the 

 ways of chemistry are not mysterious but 

 applied common sense which constitutes a 

 sure guide. 



Third. Continued worthiness of our 

 own efforts. This is our direct responsi- 

 bility. Thoroughness of training, untiring 

 zeal in work, aggressive conservatism in 

 counsel, courage in new undertakings, in- 

 dependence in thought, generous coopera- 

 tion, constant search for truth — these must 

 surely lead us to that vantage ground 

 where we can best serve this our country. 

 Chas. H. Herty 



ON THE ANALYSIS OF LIVING MATTER 



THROUGH ITS REACTIONS 



TO POISONS 1 



I am told that the chair of Section I has 

 not been held by a pharmacologist for many 

 years, and I wish to express the pleasure I 

 feel in the honor that has been done me 

 personally, and even more in the recogni- 

 tion vouchsafed to one of the youngest 

 handmaidens of medicine. Pharmacology 



i Address before the Physiological Section of 

 the British Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, Neweastle-on-Tyne, 1916. 



