June 22, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



627 



we have lived, exist and are in process of 

 creation, that the futility of attempts to 

 force our views upon you must be appar- 

 ent. As I see the great struggle now it is 

 not only between democracy and imperial- 

 ism, but underlying this a still greater 

 struggle between socialism and individual- 

 ism. This is apparent in medicine as it is 

 in every other domain of life and what will 

 be the outcome no man can say. The cur- 

 rents in the sea are so vast in extent and 

 power, the winds so variable, that there is 

 the temptation to merely stand aloof and be 

 swept along. I think I can advise you, re- 

 luctant as I am to attempt advice, to resist 

 this ; plunge in and struggle for what seems 

 to you the right, remembering that general 

 conditions of social environment depend 

 upon the actions of individuals and it is 

 you who are the creative force — on you 

 rests the responsibility. 



With this as a preamble it would give me 

 great pleasure to pursue the subject 

 further, for I really like to talk, and as I 

 look around and see you I recall many 

 happy hours which are associated with you 

 and I am grateful to you for having given 

 me this happiness. But fortunately for us 

 all time passes, changes, it is now gone, and 

 I have been spared the chance of giving you 

 opinions which are probably erroneous and 

 possibly productive of injury. 



I think, however, it is only right that I 

 should tell you that addresses may have a 

 great importance and even determine fu- 

 ture events, as the following example shows. 

 Some time ago I happened to be in the cap- 

 ital of a Brazilian state just after a guber- 

 natorial election. There had been the 

 usual phenomena which such an event in a 

 Brazilian city produces. Some fifty peo- 

 ple killed, three times as many wounded, a 

 newspaper office blown up and on numer- 

 ous houses the peculiar pits made by the 

 modern jacketed bullet. At the time I 



reached there, two weeks after the inaugu- 

 ration, everything was going on as usual. 

 It seems that full arrangements were made 

 to blow up the governor on his way home 

 after the inaugural address. But the im- 

 portance of the address had not been prop- 

 ei'ly considered. The governor spoke long, 

 giving the liistory of the country from its 

 discovery, the modem conditions and the 

 hopes of the future. The matter was dull, 

 hours which seemed like weeks and minutes 

 which seemed like days passed and he con- 

 tinued to speak without the audience being 

 able to see any hope of cessation. The con- 

 spirators were nervous, the exciting events 

 had deprived many of them of their wonted 

 calm siestas, and under the soothing influ- 

 ence of the orator many slept ; others were 

 not able to endure the absence of alcohol for 

 so long a period and these departed to look 

 for it ; for others so long a period of silence 

 on their part could not be endured and 

 these departed to gather up an audience; 

 others felt they might be missed at home 

 and these sought the presence of the house- 

 hold gods. In short the conspiracy was 

 broken up, the audience gradually departed 

 with the taxis which were to have formed 

 the procession, and the governor was finally 

 left speaking to a single close friend who 

 went home with him by a back way, and the 

 country for a time was saved. The party 

 newspapers which printed the speech said 

 it was a masterly effort ; the opposition was 

 silent, for their newspaper had been blown 

 up. W. T. CouNCiLMAisr 



Harvaed Univeksitt 



SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR NATIONAL 

 SERVICE ON THE PART OF ZOOL- 

 OGISTS AND ZOOLOGICAL 

 LABORATORIES 



In an article in the New Republic for March 

 31 last entitled " America Prepares " William 

 Hard pokes fun at the enthusiasm for organi- 

 zation which has taken possession of the coun- 



