22 



."SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1044 



plan, I doubt whether it could be advan- 

 tageously applied in the United States 

 under existing conditions. 



This conclusion, however, does not mean 

 that the National Academy can not be of 

 service to local organizations. I believe, 

 on the contrary, that it might find many 

 ways and means of aiding them. The 

 prime object is to secure a high standard of 

 accomplishment among the minor academies 

 remote from the chief centers of research, 

 and to give the encouragement which the 

 production of good work under unfavor- 

 able conditions so richly deserves. It 

 should be possible to discover methods of 

 realizing these ends, and thus to contribute 

 to the strength and standing of the local 

 academies and the progress of American 

 research. 



[It will be noticed that comparatively 

 little attention has been given in this paper 

 to the relationship of the Academy to the 

 national government. This is due to no 

 underestimate of the importance of the 

 connection, but rather to the strong desire 

 that this chief implication of the Acad- 

 emy 's charter should ultimately be realized 

 in the fullest sense. Valuable suggestions 

 for cooperation with various departments 

 of the government have been made by 

 Academy members, and every effort should 

 be exerted to carry them into effect. But 

 recent experience indicates that the most 

 promising way to accomplish this lies in 

 first developing the standing and prestige 

 of the Academy. When it becomes more 

 widely and favorably known for its con- 

 tributions to scientific progress, and is 

 universally recognized as the national and 

 authoritative representative of American 

 science, the Academy's influence with Con- 

 gress and with the various officers of the 

 government will be far more potent than at 

 present. I therefore believe that no effort 

 should be made to press a demand for 



greater government recognition until the 

 publication of the Proceedings and other 

 new activities have had time to produce 

 their anticipated effect.] 



In summarizing the suggestions offered 

 in this paper, we see that many of the new 

 activities proposed for the National Acad- 

 emy can not be undertaken without a suit- 

 able building. If this can be obtained^ 

 and adeciuately endowed, the Academy will 

 be able greatly to extend its influence and 

 usefulness both at home and abroad, 

 through original researches, increased serv- 

 ice to members, public lectures and ex- 

 hibits, and greater cooperation in inter- 

 national projects. Under present condi- 

 tions, the International Association of 

 Academies could hardly be invited to meet 

 in Washington. But if established in a 

 home of its own, the Academy might ulti- 

 mately succeed the Royal Society and the 

 Academies of Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg 

 and Berlin as the leading Academy of the 

 Association for a period of three years. In 

 this position it could contribute in a more 

 effective way to the furtherance of inter- 

 national science, and to the study of the 

 great problems of cooperative research, 

 which offer large possibilities of extension 

 and development. ^- 



The one way to secure a building and en- 

 dowment is to prove by continual increase 

 of efficiency that the Academy can use them 

 to advantage. The establishment of Pro- 

 ceedings, the institution of lecture courses, 

 the encouragement of broader methods of 

 science teaching, and closer identification 

 with the general interests of science as 

 represented in all movements for the pro- 

 motion of research and the diffusion of sci- 

 entific knowledge, are opportunities open 

 to immediate realization, and deserving of 



32 1 hope to discuss the international relations 

 of the Academy in a future article. 



