966 
England in the case of the president of the 
The addresses of the 
vice-presidents should be as nearly as may 
British Association. 
be of the same importance and interest. 
These should not be addresses such as are 
presented before the special societies, but 
should be intelligible and interesting to all 
men of science and to the great mass of men 
and women who have had a college educa- 
tion or an equivalent training in affairs. 
The afternoons through the week might 
with advantage begin with these addresses, 
not more than two being given simultane- 
ously, and these might be followed with 
reports or discussions of problems of general 
interest. The sectional committees and the 
council should pay special attention well in 
advance to the arrangement of a program. 
Care should be taken, if necessary by invi- 
tation to those not members of the Associ- 
ation, to secure the adequate presentation 
of subjects in which the Association needs 
strengthening. Thus applied science should 
be given more prominence than hitherto, 
Those eminent in public life, in educational 
work and the like, and distinguished foreign 
men of science, might be invited to address 
the Association or to take part in its discus- 
sions. Fundsshould be available to defray 
at least the traveling expenses of such in- 
vited guests. 
4. The addresses, reports and discus- 
sions should, in part at least, be of such in- 
terest as to attract the general public, se- 
curing a large local attendance and being 
reported widely by the press. It is not pos- 
sible, least of all in a democratic country, 
for science to isolate itself from common 
life. There must be special research that 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8S. Von. XIII. No. 338. 
can be appreciated only by the expert, but 
as quickly as possible the progress of sci- 
ence should be made a part of the world’s 
The Amer- 
ican Association should be one of the chief 
common stock of knowledge. 
factors in the diffusion of science, and its 
annual meetings should be looked forward 
to by the general public as the occasion 
when for its benefit the year’s progress in 
science and the contemporary state of sci- 
ence are exhibited in their outlines and in 
correct perspective. The meetings should 
typify the dignity and weight of science, so 
as to impress these on the minds of all. 
The sympathy and support of all the people 
Only 
so can recruits for scientific work be se- 
are absolutely essential for science. 
cured; only so can endowments and ma- 
terial support be obtained ; only so can 
scientific work under the government be 
placed on a secure and permanent basis. 
We have in these needs not only the justi- 
fication, but the absolute necessity of an 
Association with a large membership—it 
should be at least ten thousand—drawn 
from the intelligent people of the whole 
country. 
5. The social intercourse and personal 
contact of scientific societies and meetings 
are among their most important functions. 
Men in isolation become selfish and incom- 
petent. Evena great genius does not work 
in solitude, and certainly the ordinary man 
requires the interest and enthusiasm that is 
only evoked in the give and take of per- 
Eat- 
ing together, drinking together, smoking to- 
sonal acquaintance and conversation. 
gether, may have physiological drawbacks, 
but the psychological stimulus has war- 
