January 3, 1919J 



SCIENCE 



11 



if the wide bearing and extraordinary useful- 

 ness of his experiments could have been fore- 

 seen by him, they were certainly hidden from 

 the world at large. 



The laws of nature can not be intelligently 

 applied until they are understood, and in order 

 to understand them, many experiments bear- 

 ing upon the fundamental nature of things 

 must be made, in order that all may be com- 

 bined in a far-reaching generalization impos- 

 sible without the detailed knowledge upon 

 which it rests. When mankind discovers the 

 fundamental la-ws underlying any set of phe- 

 nomena.these phenomena come in much larger 

 measure than before his control, and are ap- 

 plicable for his service. Until we understand 

 the laws, all depends upon chance. Hence, 

 merely from the practical point of view, con- 

 cerning the material progress of humanity, the 

 exact understanding of the laws of nature is 

 one of the most imix>rtant of all the problems 

 presented to man; and the unknown laws 

 underlying the nature of the elements are ob- 

 viously among the most fundamental of these 

 laws of nature. 



Such gain in knowledge brings with it aug- 

 mented responsibilities. Science gives himian 

 beings vastly increased power. This ix>wer has 

 immeasurably beneficent possibilities, but it 

 may be used for ill as well as for good. Sci- 

 ence has recently been blamed by superficial 

 critics, but she is not at fault if her great po- 

 tentialities are sometimes perverted to serve 

 malignant ends. Is not such atrocious perver- 

 sion due rather to the fact that the ethical en- 

 lightenment of a part of the human race has 

 not kept pace with the progress of science? 

 May mankind be generous and high-minded 

 enough to use the bountiful resources of na- 

 ture, not for evil, but for good, in the days to 

 come! Theodore "W. Eichards 



Habvakd TJnivebsitt 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE BALTIMORE 

 MEETING OF THE AMERICAN AS- 

 SOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF 

 SCIENCE 



The seventy-first meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of 



Science was held at Baltimore from De- 

 cember 23 to 28, and in view of the unusual 

 conditions it has been a decided success. 

 It will be remembered that the meeting 

 place was changed from Boston to Balti- 

 more, partly because war conditions had 

 brought together at "Washington scientific 

 men from all over the country, and it was 

 planned to have a brief compact program 

 devoted to war issues and topics more inti- 

 mately pertinent to the immediate welfare 

 of the country. "While it was not feasible 

 to have the meetings in "Washington, it was 

 thought that members in "VVashingtoa 

 might be able to attend meetings at Balti- 

 more, but a short distance away. 



"With the sudden termination of ho.stili- 

 ties the problems confronting the scientific 

 workers have to a large extent either sud- 

 denly changed their nature altogether or 

 have been considerably modified and, 

 although but a short time has intervened 

 since the signing of the armistice, the nature 

 of the contributions and discussions in the 

 various meetings shows a quick recognition 

 and adjustment to these changed condi- 

 tions. 



The rapid release of men bj- demobiliza- 

 tion and the prevalent less congested condi- 

 tions as to university buildings and hotel 

 accommodations have apparently been 

 partly responsible for the surprisingly 

 large enrollment. The opening meeting 

 at McCoy Hall on the evening of Decem- 

 ber 26 had an attendance of about four 

 hundred people, and the total registration 

 for the week was seven hundred and 

 twenty-eight, which did not include some 

 of the members of the various affiliated 

 societies. At the opening meeting Dr. Ed- 

 ward L. Nichols announced that the ad- 

 dress of the retiring president of the 

 association, Dr. Theodore "W. Richards, on 

 "The Problems of Radioactive Lead" 

 would not be given, Dr. Richards being 



