jANDiUlT 5, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



23 



York, at the Cornell and other medical schools of 

 the city, at the Engineers' Club and in a number 

 of other places. 



The formal opening of the meetings of the as- 

 sociation took place on Tuesday evening, De- 

 cember 26, in the Auditorium of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History. The association was 

 welcomed to the city by JPire Commissioner Robert 

 Adamson, representing Mayor Mitchel. President 

 Van Hise responded to this welcome on behalf of 

 the association, and then introduced the retir- 

 ing president. Dr. W. W. Campbell, who de- 

 livered an address upon the theme ' ' The Nebulae. ' ' 

 The address was profusely illustrated by a mag- 

 nificent series of lantern slides. Following the 

 address, a reception was tendered to the members 

 of the association by the honorary reception com- 

 mittee of the City of New York in the newly 

 opened Hall of the Age of Man. 



During the meetings the two addresses were 

 given to which the citizens of New York were espe- 

 cially invited, and which occasioned especial in- 

 terest. These were as follows : ' ' Infantile Paraly- 

 sis and the Public Health, ' ' by Dr. Simon Plexner, 

 director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical 

 Research. ' ' Nitrogen and Preparedness, ' ' by Dr. 

 Arthur A. Noyes, director of physical chemical 

 research at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology. 



There were a large number of addresses by re- 

 tiring officers delivered before the various sections 

 and societies and many of these attracted especial 

 attention, since they touched in various ways upon 

 the great question of national economy and con- 

 servation of national resources. A list of the ad- 

 dresses of retiring vice-presidents follows: 

 Section A. Armin O. Leusehner: "Derivation of 



Orbits — Theory and Practise. ' ' 

 Section B. E. Percival Lewis : ' ' Recent Progress 



in Spectrography. " 

 Section C. William McPherson: "Asymmetric 



Syntheses and their Bearing upon the Doctrine 



of Vitalism." 

 Section D. Bion J. Arnold: "The Interrelation- 

 ship of Engineering and Pure Science. ' ' 

 Section G. W. A. Setchell: "Geographical Distri- 

 bution of the Marine Algfe. ' ' 

 Section H. Lillien J. Martin: "Personality as 



revealed by the Content of Images. ' ' 

 Section I. George F. Kunz : ' ' Scientific Efiieiency 



and Industrial Museums our Safeguard in Peace 



and War. ' ' 

 Section L. Ellwood P. Cubberley: "Some Ob- 

 ,stacles to Educational Progress." 



Professor Vernon L. Kellogg, vice-president of 



Section P, sent a cablegram from England that 

 imperative engagements in connection with his Red 

 Cross work would prevent his attendance and the 

 delivery of his address. 



There was held at Columbia University a scien- 

 tific exhibit aJid conversazione arranged by com- 

 mittees in each of seventeen sciences. There was 

 also held at the American Museum a chemical ex- 

 hibit and a Pasteur exhibit. 



At the meetings of the council action was taken 

 upon a number of matters of general interest to 

 the members of the association. The two amend' 

 ments to the constitution and by-laws proposed at 

 the Columbus meeting were passed. The one of 

 these designates section C as " chemistry. ' ' 

 The other, amending Article 9, makes the secre- 

 taries of the sections eligible for reelection. 



Two amendments were proposed which will be 

 acted upon at the next meeting. Pirst. Amend 

 Article 9 as follows : Insert after the words ' ' Per- 

 manent Secretary" in lines 5, 8 and 9, the words 

 "General Secretary" (to make the term of ofdce 

 of the general secretary five years). 



Second. In Article 35 for the words ' ' three ' ' 

 substitute the word "four" so as to read "The 

 annual dues for members and fellows shall be four 

 dollars. ' ' 



On recommendation of the committee on policy 

 action was taken in the following matters: 



1. A committee of seven on grants for research 

 was constituted to apply the research income of 

 the association, the committee to be appointed by 

 the president. 



2. It was decided that in the case of members of 

 afiiliated societies, elected to membership in the 

 American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science within one year of the election to member- 

 ship in an afiiliated society, the entrance fee shall 

 be remitted. 



3. The council authorized the appointment of a 

 committee of twelve fellows resident in Washing- 

 ton and representing each section of the associa- 

 tion to scrutinize the list of members and to nomi- 

 nate fellows to the council. 



4. The council endorses the following resolu- 

 tion: "Resolved that the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science advocates the greater 

 use of the metric units of weight and measure in 

 the United States so as to increase the usefulness 

 of our publications and to aid our foreign relations 

 with the many countries where these units are offi- 

 cial and in use." 



5. The council approved the selection of Dr. 

 Henry M. Howe as vice-president of Section D to 

 succeed the late Dr. E. L. Corthell, and of Dr. C. 



