June 29, 1SS3.] 



SCIENCE. 



589 



FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1883. 



THE IMPORT DUTY ON SCIENTIFIC 

 JOURNALS. 



The failure of Congress last session to put 

 books and periodicals on the free list was, 

 whatever some of our literary friends may 

 think, a serious disappointment to many 

 scientific workers. As to the general free- 

 trade question, or the impolicj- of imposing 

 a tax on mental culture, we have nothing to 

 say here ; and, indeed, nothing that scientific 

 men could say would at present have any 

 practical effect against the influence which the 

 publishers, with their capital and organiza- 

 tion, exert whenever they think their interests 

 threatened. We believe, however, that some- 

 thing might be done b3- a combined effort of 

 American scientific men to get the duty re- 

 moved from certain specified foreign journals, 

 which no publisher in the United States 

 would ever dream of reprinting, and which in 

 no vfaj compete with anj- American publica- 

 tion. To take a few examples : the Quarterly 

 journal of mathematics, the Repertorium der 

 pliysik, the Comptes rendus, and Pfliiger's 

 Archiv fur die gesammte physiologie could 

 never conceivably be reprinted in this country 

 except at a loss. On each number of these 

 journals, as it arrives by mail, the subscriber 

 is nevertheless forced to pay duty before it 

 is delivered to him, and is frequentlj- put 

 also to the additional annoj'ance of having 

 to go in person to the post-office or customs- 

 house. These vexatious duties protect no 

 American interest. What they do protect, if 

 any thing, is the European investigator from 

 equal competition on the part of American 

 workers, to whom the gaining of a knowledge 

 of what is taking place in other countries in 

 the various branches of science is made as 

 costly as possible. 



It is useless to answer that all incorporated 

 educational institutions get their periodicals 

 dut}^ free. Manj' of the most active workers 

 have no college library within reach ; still 

 fewer . colleges can afford to subscribe to 

 more than a very limited number of scientific 



No. 21. — 1883. 



journals ; and all busj' teachers and investi- 

 gators know that it is essential to have at 

 least the chief publications in their own 

 special line of work alwaj-s at hand for imme- 

 diate consultation, or for perusal in a chance 

 half-hour's leisure, without the necessit}' of 

 a pilgrimage to a library for the purpose. 

 Happily, the day is rapidl}' going by when 

 all expected from a college professor was, 

 that he should be prettj' well ' up ' in a toler- 

 ably modern text-book, and be able to hear 

 recitations from it. To maintain a worthy 

 position among his fellows, and do his duty 

 hj his students, a professor nowadays must 

 know something of all the recent work of 

 importance in his own line of study ; not ne- 

 cessarily know the details in , each minute sub- 

 division of it, but at least have skimmed over 

 the recent publications, so as to be able to tell 

 an inquiring student where the latest papers 

 are to be found, and give him some hint as to 

 the comparative value of the investigations of 

 different workers. To do this properly, a 

 professor must have the readiest access to the 

 current literature of his own department. 

 This ' readiest access ' imphes that he must 

 receive personallj* all the more important 

 journals at the earliest possible date. 



We venture to suggest to the American 

 association for the advancement of science, 

 that it appoint at its next meeting a committee 

 to draw up a definite list of foreign technical 

 journals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, 

 mineralogy, geology, geographj', botany, zool- 

 ogy, physiologj', and ethnolog}', such as do 

 not compete with any enterprise of any pub- 

 lishing firm in the United states ; and then 

 urge upon Congress the passage of a special 

 act, putting these journals on the free list. 

 In England, France, and Germany, there are 

 alwaj-s to be found members willing to bring 

 before the legislature the legitimate claims of 

 science. We cannot doubt, that, if a suitable 

 bill were drawn up by official representatives 

 of science in the United States, some member 

 of Congress could be found to -introduce and 

 support it. If judiciously framed, so as to 

 touch no pubhsher's pocket, and vigorously 



