March 6, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



343 



Journal des Debats a resume of Mr. Furber's 

 memorial, which at once enlisted the sym- 

 pathy of eminent French scholars, and re- 

 sulted in a conference at the Sorbonne on 

 the 26th of June, at which the Comite 

 Franco-Americain was organized for the 

 purpose of advocating before the proper 

 authorities the desired changes in the French 

 regulations. In Julj^ a committee styled 

 the ' Pai'is- American University Commit- 

 tee' was also formed from among the 

 Americans resident in Paris to cooperate 

 with the Comite Franco-Americain, and at 

 the invitation of Dr. Thomas "W. Evans, 

 Chairman of the Committee, a number of 

 American and French gentlemen interested 

 in education assembled at his residence in 

 Paris for the purpose of deliberating upon 

 the most practicable course to be pursued to 

 bring about the desired reforms. Addresses 

 were made by Mons.Breal, Chairman of the 

 Comite Franco-Americain, Prof. Furber 

 and others, and the various difficulties rela- 

 tive to matriculation and graduation in the 

 French universities were thoroughlj^ dis- 

 cussed. 



Shortly after the formation of the Paris- 

 American Committee, Prof. Siflion New- 

 comb, at the solicitation of Prof. Furber, 

 organized in Washington an American com- 

 mittee to cooperate with the Comite Franco- 

 Americain and to give authoritative expres- 

 sion of the sympathy of the people of the 

 United States in the movement. The Com- 

 mittee numbers among its members Prof. 

 Newcomb, Chairman ; Dr. S. P. Langlej^, 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution ; 

 President Charles W. Eliot, of Harvard 

 University; Hon. Andrew D. AVhite; 

 President Timothy Dwight, of Yale 

 University ; President D. C. Gilman, of 

 Johns Hopkins University ; Hon. W. T. 

 Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Educa- 

 tion ; President Seth Low, of Columbia 

 College ; Hon. Carroll D. Wright, U. S. Com- 

 missioner of Labor ; President J. B. Angell, 



of the University of Michigan ; President 

 J. C. Schurman, of Cornell University ; 

 Prof. E. K. L. Gould, Secretary of the In- 

 ternational Statistical Association ; Presi- 

 dent B. L. Whitman, of Columbian Univer- 

 sity ; President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark 

 University ; and G. Brown Goode, As- 

 sistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, who acted as Secretary. A meet- 

 ing of the Committee was held at the 

 Columbian University on November 13th at 

 which resolutions were adopted expressing 

 the sense of the committee that America 

 would heartily welcome the proposed 

 changes in the French regulations, and sug- 

 gesting, as a means of inducing American 

 students to avail themselves of the precious 

 advantages offered bj^ the well-organized 

 system of university instruction of France, 

 that the French authorities accept the 

 bachelor's degree as the equivalent of that 

 of the Freneli Lycee, and that owing to the 

 lack of familiarity with the French lan- 

 guage, the frequent rigorous examinations 

 required by the French system be dispensed 

 with in the case of foreign students. The 

 committee strongly opposed the suggestion 

 of establishing a degree for Americans only, 

 which should have less significance than 

 that conferred upon native students. These 

 suggestions were elaborated by the French 

 committee, presented to the Ministry of 

 Public Instruction, and defended by the 

 committee before the Conseil Superieur. 

 After due deliberation, the latter body, on 

 the 17th of January, voted a decree intro- 

 ducing into the French faculties of science 

 all the best features of the German system. 

 In accordance with the decree, a student 

 will hereafter be admitted to these faculties 

 on an American bachelor's degree, and will 

 be permitted to choose his studies. After 

 pursuing any scientific course for a. year, 

 he can, if he wishes, apply for an examina- 

 tion in this branch and, if successful, obtain 

 a certifieat d'ctiide. Three such certificates 



