Mat 7, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



685 



has nearly the value of that used in the " ordi- 

 nary English system," and this may be re- 

 garded as an advantage.^ The unit in " ordi- 

 nary " use, however, is not and never will be 

 the exact " standard " pound, because for al- 

 most all practical purposes the refinement of 

 distinguishing between "local" and "stand- 

 ard " gravity-pull is of no importance. For 

 precise work there appears to be absolutely no 

 choice between the system which makes 

 Z — 32.1740 and that which makes K=l 

 except that the latter simplifies the funda- 

 mental equation and all equations depending 

 upon it. 



Mr. Kent thinks the C.Gr.S. system "should 

 not be inflicted on young students " because 

 it is " only used in higher physical theory." 

 The great majority of those who study mechan- 

 ics are preparing for the profession of engi- 

 neering. In view of the fact that in a large 

 and increasingly important part of the pres- 

 ent-day field of engineering — applied electric- 

 ity — ^the units employed are based upon the 

 C.G.S. system, it is difficult to assent to the 

 view expressed by Mr. Kent on this point. 



L. M. HosKiNS 

 Stanford Univeesity, 

 March 29, 1915 



CONDITIONS AT THE UNIVEESITT OF UTAH 



To THE Editor of Science: In view of the 

 fact that seventeen members of the faculty of 

 the University of Utah have resigned their 

 positions on the ground that it seemed to them 

 " impossible to retain their self-respect and re- 

 main in the university," the council of the 

 American Association of University Professors 

 has authorized the appointment of a committee 

 of inquiry to report upon the case. At the re- 

 quest of the president, the secretary of the 



2 The same advantage may be retained with the 

 simpler equation. (2) if we permit quantity of 

 matter to be expressed in terms of a unit other 

 than the pound. Why the reduction of quantity 

 of matter from pounds to units 32.1740 times as 

 great as the pound should be regarded as more 

 puzzling than the reduction from pounds to tons 

 or the reduction of a length from J aches to feet, is 

 something I have never been able to comprehend. 



association recently spent four days in Salt 

 Lake City investigating the situation in the 

 university and collecting evidence to be laid 

 before the committee. The special purposes 

 and scope of the investigation are indicated 

 in the extract from the letter addressed by the 

 secretary of the association to the president of 

 the university, which was printed in the issue 

 of Science for last week. 



The report of the committee of inquiry will 

 be prepared and published at as early a date 

 as is practicable. It is the purpose of the 

 committee to present all the pertinent facts 

 so fully in its report that university teachers 

 may judge for themselves as to the adminis- 

 trative methods, and the conditions of profes- 

 sorial service, in the university. We make this 

 statement in order that any one who is con- 

 sidering either the acceptance of a position in 

 the university or the recommending of others 

 for such a position, may look forward to a full 

 knowledge of the situation in the near future, 

 and may postpone immediate action in case he 

 deems such knowledge advisable before reach- 

 ing a final decision. 



John Dewey, 

 President of the American Asso- 

 ciation of University Professors, 



A. 0. LOVEJOT, 



Secretary of the American Asso- 

 ciation of University Professors, 



Edwin R. A. Seligman, 

 Chairman of the Committee of 

 Inquiry 

 April 30, 1915 



UNNATURAL HISTORY 



To THE Editor of Science: I am sure your 

 readers will be interested and instructed, and 

 the monotony of their daily grind relieved, by 

 the following information regarding hitherto 

 unsuspected details in the life history of the 

 kangaroo. These facts were given out by a 

 university student in response to the question : 

 " Explain how the young kangaroo obtains its 

 nourishment." 



" Immediately after hirth they are swallowed 

 hy the mother and finally lodged directly over 

 the hreasts, the teats being directed inwards. 



