May 10, 1901.] 
of the National Legislature, and of Momm- 
sen, the great historian, who has taken an 
active part in politics. In Italy, one of the 
honorary members of our society, Canni- 
zaro, is a Senator and vice-president of that 
body. In France Berthelot is a life senator 
and has been minister of foreign affairs. 
In England, Roscoe has been a member of 
Parliament and Faraday and Humphry 
Davy and other scientific men were active 
in public affairs. In our country, I believe, 
only one member of the Chemical Society 
has ever become a member of the National 
Legislature and this was due to a fortuitous 
combination of most incompatible elements, 
namely, a union of democracy and prohi- 
bition. 
I think we should all strive to discourage 
this sentiment, which is so prevalent, that 
politics is a dirty pool and that men of 
science should keep out of it. When you 
have reached competence and distinction in 
your profession what better service to which 
to apply your leisure hours than the study 
of the public weal? There are so many 
ways in which science can be utilized in 
political and civic affairs. The conserva- 
tion of the public health, the prevention of 
epidemics and contagious diseases, the con- 
trol of the water supply of cities, the disposal 
of the refuse of cities, the study of dangerous 
and fraudulent counterfeits of foods, are all 
matters affecting directly the public health 
and the public welfare. To become in- 
terested in these matters would be to more 
actively participate in public affairs, and 
it seems to me it is an ambition which 
every scientific man might well entertain, 
not only to become eminent in his pro- 
fession, but also to devote a portion of 
his more mature life to the study of the 
public welfare and the active participation 
in those political relations of life which 
will enable him to become more useful to 
humanity. 
May we not then expect to see the day 
SCIENCE. 
731 
when our State and National Legislatures 
shall not be considered as properly organ- 
ized until they have among them members 
representative of the great body of Ameri- 
can chemists ? 
On April 12, 1976, will be celebrated the 
centenary of our society and shortly there- 
after the bicentennial of our national inde- 
pendence. May I drop for a moment the 
role of chemist and assume that of prophet ? 
Our country will have then about 225,000,- 
000 inhabitants. Our foreign export trade 
will amount to more than $500,000,000 an- 
nually. The revenues and expenditures of 
our Government will each:reach the annual 
sum of $4,000,000, 000. 
The average yield of wheat in the United 
States will be nearly 25 bushels per acre, 
and the average yield of other field crops 
be proportionately greater than now. 
Diversified manfacturing industries will 
flourish in every part of the country, thus 
distributing population and encouraging 
agriculture. The product of a day’s labor 
will be double that of to-day, thanks to 
new processes, improved machinery and 
greater skill. The condition of the artisan 
and the laborer will be greatly ameliorated, 
aud the principles of the trust, which now 
help chiefly the capitalist, will be extended 
to include the working man as well. The 
laborer will not only have a larger daily 
wage, but will also share in the legitimate 
profits of the business. 
The advancement of chemical science will 
not only make the fields more productive 
and more easily tilled, but will also teach 
how their products can be more economi- 
cally and easily consumed. Good roads 
will lead everywhere and the horse be 
relegated to the museum and the stable of 
thesportsman. New sources of energy will 
take the place of coal and gas, and this en- 
ergy will come from the winds and the rains. 
The sun directly and indirectly will mon- 
opolize the power of the country, working 
