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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1409. 



States in the war with Spain, and the response 

 of millions of the American youth to the call 

 from the other side during the terrible years so 

 recently passed, thousands upon thousands of 

 them not waiting for the direct call of their 

 seemingly slow government. 



In thinking of those days I love to remember 

 the eloquent words of an Oxford contributor to 

 the London Times of April 13, 1917, just before 

 the cream of our youth in rapidly increasing 

 numbers had gone over, thousands to serve 

 with your Canadian troops, and thousands 

 more to help the cause of right in other service. 



It is difficult to judge a whole nation. What is 

 the criterion of judgment, and who are they that 

 are judged? Some of us, and some of our own citi- 

 zens, have judged America and found her wanting 

 in open-eyed recognition of the issues of this strug- 

 gle and unflinching determination to face the issues 

 boldly. But if we are to "be judged by our states- 

 men, might we not too deserve the same judgment? 

 The issues were coming, coming, coming for years 

 before this war began. Yet it is not easy to say 

 that our recognition of these issues was open-eyed, 

 and our determination to meet them unflinching. 

 We do not dwell on these things in our past, and 

 why should we dwell on these things and things like 

 these in the history of another nation? If a nation 

 is to be judged, let it be judged by the answer that 

 its spirit makes, in the hour of need, through its 

 purest and most chosen voices—the voice of the 

 young, who are the first to hear and the quickest to 

 obey, the call of Duty and Honor. If that be our 

 criterion, and these are they that are judged, then 

 America may be proud, and may stand secure in 

 the day of judgment. For her young men answered, 

 ajid answered early, and their answer was " We 

 come. ' ' 



While there have been two addresses relating 

 to the great war, the one by Sir James Thorpe 

 delivered at Edinburgh last su mm er, and that 

 read by Van Hise at the Pittsburgh meeting of 

 1917 entitled " Some Economic Aspects of the 

 World War," the subject of human warfare 

 does not seem to have been mentioned in any 

 of the presidential addresses of earlier years, 

 with one exception: Asaph Hall, the astron- 

 omer, in his Washington address in 1903, the 

 title of which was " The Science of Astronomy ; 

 Historical Sketch, its Future Development, the 



Influences of the Sciences on Civilization," 

 used the following words which to-day are of 

 extraordinary significance in view of recent 

 events : 



Men do not change much from generation to gen- 

 eration. Nations that have spent centuries in rob- 

 bery and pillage retain their disposition and make 

 it necessary for other nations to stand armed. No 

 one knows when a specious plea for extending the 

 area of civilization may be put forth, or when some 

 fanatic may see the hand of God beckoning him to 

 seize a country. The progress of science and inven- 

 tion win render it more difficult for such people to 

 execute their designs. A century hence it may be 

 impossible for brutal power, however rich and great, 

 to destroy a resolute people. It is in this direction 

 that we may look for international harmony and 

 peace, simply because science will make war too 

 dangerous and too costly. 



Quite as striking as this, but in another 

 way, was Sir Norman Lockyer's address at 

 Southport in 1903, in which he discussed 

 " The Influence of Brain Power on History." 

 This was mainly a plea for more universities 

 and more research and the need of a scien- 

 tific national council. Had this strong plea 

 been heeded and acted upon, England would 

 have found herself in much better condition 

 to confront Germany in 1914. 



In general these addresses have been ex- 

 tremely serious. Nearly all of the men de- 

 livering them have felt that they had an 

 important message to give. All have felt the 

 importance of the occasion and have tried to 

 rise to it. As a result, traces of true humor 

 have been scarce, and it is with a surprised 

 joy that one greets the following paragraph 

 in Farlow's address at New Orleans in 1906. 

 His subject was " The Popular Conception 

 of the Scientific Man at the Present Day," 

 and his address was largely devoted to a dis- 

 cussion of government and university scien- 

 tific positions. In his introduction he said: 



We are so accustomed to hear reports on the 

 progress of science that we have almost ceased to 

 ask ourselves what we mean by progress. What is 

 or is not progress depends of course upon the point 

 of view. Some are so far ahead of the majority 

 that they can not see how much progress is made 

 by those behind them, others are so far in the rear 



