808 
at the same time men who formerly did 
distinguished scientific work—form part 
of the minority. Indeed, a large percent- 
age of this minority consists of presidents, 
directors, deans and other university 
officials.1° Whether this should be inter- 
preted as that much in favor of the pres- 
ent system, or that much more against it, 
may be left an open question. 
A considerable number of professors at 
Harvard favor the existing system, but 
their preference applies to their own situa- 
tion, where the administrative autocracy 
is tempered. Of 19 replies from Wiscon- 
sin and Illinois, eight favor a limited au- 
tocracy, but they have in mind their system, 
which is not the same as that of the private 
universities. Probably they would in any 
case prefer the methods of President Van 
Hise and President James to those of Pres- 
ident Draper. Those who want a strong 
executive responsible to the people of the 
state have been classed in the group favor- 
ing a limited autocracy. Thus the two re- 
plies from Columbia which are placed in 
this group are from men who do not trust 
faculty control, though, as I happen to 
know, they are by no means satisfied with 
the existing situation. If these two cases 
are omitted, we find that of 70 replies from 
Columbia, Pennsylvania, Cornell, Johns 
Hopkins and Chicago—these are the insti- 
tutions which I had especially in mind in 
my proposals—only one (an executive 
officer) favors the existing system, eleven 
favor greater faculty control, and 58 a 
*Highteen of the replies are from men who 
formerly held academic positions but are now con- 
nected with research institutions, the government 
service, etc., or who while holding professorships 
are principally engaged in other work. These re- 
plies show about the same distribution as the 
others, three in the first group, four in the second 
and eleven in the third. They are classed under 
the institutions with which the men are or were 
connected. Two replies from those previously con- 
nected with universities as teachers, but somewhat 
incidentally, have been omitted. They both belong 
to the third group. 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 908 
complete change which would make the ad- 
ministration responsible to the faculties. 
This is surely a condition which foretells 
reform or bankruptcy. 
J. McK&en CAttTEeLL 
(To be continued) 
ABBOTT LAWRENCE ROTCH? 
Appott LAWRENCE Rotcu was born in Bos- 
ton, January 6, 1861, the son of Benjamin 
Smith and Anna Bigelow (Lawrence) Rotch. 
He was graduated from the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology (S.B.) in 1884. In 
1891 Harvard recognized the importance of 
the work which he had already accomplished 
by bestowing upon him the honorary degree 
of A.M. From 1888 to 1891, and again from 
1902 to 1906, he held the appointment of as- 
sistant in meteorology at Harvard, a position 
which involved no teaching and in which no 
salary was paid. In 1906 he was appointed 
professor of meteorology, an honor which he 
prized very highly, and which gave him the 
position on the teaching staff of the university 
to which he was in every way fully entitled. 
He was the first professor of meteorology who 
has occupied that position at Harvard, and 
he served in this professorship without pay. 
In the year 1908-09, at the request of the de- 
partment of geology and geography, he gen- 
erously put the splendid instrumental equip- 
ment and library of Blue Hill Observatory at 
the service of the university, by offering a re- 
search course (“Geology 20f”) to students 
who were competent to carry on investigations 
in advanced meteorology. This action on the 
part of Professor Rotch gave Harvard a posi- 
tion wholly unique among the universities of 
the United States. It brought about a close 
affiliation, for purposes of instruction and of 
research, between the university and one of 
the best-equipped meteorological observatories 
in the world. To his work as instructor Pro- 
fessor Rotch gladly gave of his time and of 
his means. He fully realized the unusual ad- 
1An appreciation of Professor A. Lawrence 
Rotch, based on the same material, appears also 
in the Harvard Graduates’ Magazine.—R. DeC. W. 
