May 2, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



683 



' central ' as regards any of these things, 

 and has long ceased to be the only, or per- 

 haps even the chief, seat of American learn- 

 ing. But if through the gratifying growth 

 of other places it has sustained a relative 

 decline, in scientific or any other eminence, 

 it is because its methods, models and ex- 

 ample have repeated themselves through- 

 out the continent, until there is now scarce- 

 ly a city that does not contain a center of 

 intelligence and attainment radiating a 

 fructifying influence far beyond its imme- 

 diate vicinity. 



We cannot keep the fact too plainly be- 

 fore us, that the work and influence of our 

 Society were never meant to be local or con- 

 fined to any one place, whether central or 

 not. It aimed from its first act, to be con- 

 tinental in its influences, to encourage re- 

 search everywhere as well as in its own 

 vicinity. And if its originally avowed ob- 

 ject — ' the promotion of knowledge '—has 

 been so successfully prosecuted as to plant 

 younger and fresher centers of learning in 

 every quarter of our country, what more 

 glorious consummation could there be of 

 the designs of our departed founders, and 

 what more magnificent compensation to 

 their successors who still prosecute their 

 studies almost within the shadow of this 

 ancient hall? 



The Society desires to give the highest 

 practical expression to its absolutely na- 

 tional character, and to adopt all methods 

 which experience has shown to be most 

 conducive to promoting the objects for 

 which it was founded, and will gladly wel- 

 come at this meeting suggestions to that 

 end. It has believed that an important 

 step in that direction wiU be the holding 

 annually a general meeting of its members 

 from all parts of the country, of which the 

 present meeting is the first. It is probable 

 that such annual general meetings, supple- 

 mented by the facilities afforded by our 

 ordinary semi-monthly meetings, will fulfil 



many requirements of the intellectual 

 activity of our members, while our Trans- 

 actions and Proceedings, widely circulated 

 among the scientific societies and workers 

 of the world offer speedy and unexcelled 

 avenues for publication. 



During the hundred and sixty years of 

 our existence vast changes have occurred 

 in the population and economic conditions 

 of our country. Besides the radical politi- 

 cal changes of 1776 — which indeed were 

 accomplished within sound of my voice— 

 there has occurred an increase of popula- 

 tion and industry which is quite unique 

 in modern times. A scanty littoral popu- 

 lation which for want of adequate land 

 communication, had long clung closely to 

 the seaeoast and its estuaries, becoming 

 almost suddenly independent of the high- 

 ways provided by nature, has expanded 

 itself over a great continent with results 

 undreamed of by the wisest of our ances- 

 tors who lived before the age of steam. Al- 

 ready this population has become the larg- 

 est homogeneous people speaking a single 

 language which now exists as a separate 

 power, and there is no reason to doubt its 

 continued future increase both in numbers 

 and in homogeneity. Nor for that matter 

 need we doubt that before life departs from 

 our planet with the waning sun, but in a 

 remote future, new ethnologists and arch- 

 eologists and perhaps even anatomists, will 

 arise to dispute our homogeneity and will 

 carefully study our origin, character and 

 social structure, our language, civilization 

 and religion, and the atrophy, exhaustion 

 or catastrophe from which we shall per- 

 haps have perished as a nation. 



But it is not my purpose to occupy your 

 time with speculations on past or present 

 material affairs, except so far as they are 

 inseparable from oui- intellectual history, 

 because all such affairs are subordinate to 

 and dependent upon the progress of mind 

 and knowledge. Of all human agencies it 



