464 
Director of the United States Geological 
Survey. 
THE SELECTION OF PRESIDENTS OF THE 
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 
Tue following report of the committee on 
election of President, and changes in the con- 
stitution, were unanimously adopted at the re- 
cent meeting of the American Chemical So- 
ciety: 
The committee appointed to consider a pos- 
sible revision of the current procedure of the 
election of a president of the society begs 
leave to make the following report: 
Your committee is of the opinion: 
(a) That there is need for an increased in- 
terest on the part of the membership at large 
in the selection of presidents of the society, 
and (6) that there should be some procedure 
adopted which will ensure the presentation of 
four nominees to the electing body as pro- 
vided for in the constitution. 
After correspondence, consultation and dis- 
cussion, the majority of your committee makes 
the following recommendations which they be- 
lieve will greatly improve the situation, and 
which, they also believe, can be given a trial 
without involving changes in the constitution, 
which are undesirable in these times of stress, 
notably because of the clerical labor which 
they require. 
These recommendations are: 
(1) That the secretary be empowered to re- 
quest each local section of the society to sub- 
mit to him, not later than October 15, the 
name of some person from the membership at 
large of the society whom they consider suit- 
able for nomination for the office of presi- 
dent of the society. It should be made clear 
that the selection is to be made from the en- 
tire society, and not necessarily from the 
membership of the Section making the sug- 
gestion. 
(2) That the Secretary be empowered to 
send out, with the nominating ballots sent to 
the members of the society on November 1, as 
required by the constitution, the names thus 
suggested by the local sections, the list to be 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIII. No. 1245 
alphabetical and without indication of the 
section or sections from which any name may 
have been submitted. This list should be ac- 
companied by a statement indicating that 
other nominations by individual members are 
in order, and that the list is suggestive only. 
(3) That the secretary be requested to as- 
certain by telegraph from each member whose 
name is thus suggested by the local sections, 
and before the list is sent out, whether, in the 
event of nomination by the members at large, 
he will allow his name to be presented to the 
council as a nominee for the office of presi- 
dent. 
(4) That the subsequent procedure be the 
same as at present. 
Two members of your committee (Major 
Frankforter and Dr. Richardson) dissent from 
the foregoing recommendations. They favor 
a return to a procedure abandoned some years 
ago, under which nominations would be made 
by the council and submitted to the entire 
membership of the society for election. The 
majority of your committee has carefully con- 
sidered this proposal, but is of the opinion 
that it is not advisable to revert to the older 
custom. They favor a trial of the procedure 
as outlined above before making changes in 
the constitution. They are of the opinion 
that this procedure will serve to increase the 
interest of members in the election of a presi- 
dent, and that it will prove satisfactory. It 
can be put into immediate operation and avoid 
constitutional changes at a time when they 
present unusual difficulties. 
Your committee has reviewed the constitu- 
tion and, while there are some clauses which 
might be modified in wording to some ad- 
vantage, there appear to the majority of your 
committee to be no matters of serious import 
at this time. They recommend that no alter- 
ations be made at present. 
Respectfully submitted, 
H. P. Taxsor, 
M. T. Bocerrt, 
by PT 
B. F. Lovetaces, 
by H. P. T. 
