31U 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 477. 



Philadelphia spent more time and money than 

 would have heen required in going to St. 

 Louis. The fact is, most scientific specialists 

 will go where they expect to receive the great- 

 est benefit, and not a few entertain the notion, 

 apparently, that the special society with lim- 

 ited membership offers a better field for labor 

 than- the more democratic sections of the asso- 

 ciation. The difiiculty in such cases might 

 be obviated through the plan followed by the 

 chemists. The American Chemical Society, 

 which includes probably the whole of the mem- 

 bership of Section C, holds two meetings an- 

 nually. By agreement made seven or eight 

 years ago through committees from both or- 

 ganizations, one meeting of the Chemical So- 

 ciety is held each year in connection with that 

 of Section C. The program of this meeting 

 is a joint production; the ofiicers of Section 

 C preside through half the sessions and those 

 from the society through the other half. This 

 scheme has worked well from the beginning, 

 and I have yet to discover that there is any 

 tendency to make one of these annual meet- 

 ings any more aristocratic or exclusive than 

 the other. The plan works to maintain Sec- 

 tion C in fiourishing condition and gives a 

 separate meeting for such chemists as may 

 desire it, once a year. 



To make any such arrangement permanently 

 satisfactory one thing will be found neces- 

 sary. The association will have to decide 

 upon and publish its meeting places several 

 years in advance. This will give the chemists 

 and other special organizations an opportunity 

 of planning properly for the intermediate or 

 semi-annual meeting. Advance knowledge of 

 this kind would make it possible to avoid an 

 awkward situation like the one in which some 

 of the societies now find themselves. The 

 Chemical Society held a meeting in Philadel- 

 phia two years ago; other societies have just 

 been there, and all those who are loyal to the 

 association will expect to return there next 

 winter. As individuals most of us would 

 doubtless prefer to go to some place not so 

 recently visited. 



I, therefore, suggest that a committee from 

 the association, perhaps the committee on 

 policy, take the matter up and invite coopera- 



tion from the various societiea. In this way 

 it may be possible to prepare a program for 

 four or five years ahead. The contingency of 

 returning to the summer meeting, after the 

 meetings at Philadelphia and New Orleans, 

 of course, would have to be considered by this 

 committee. It is not too early to begin work 

 on such an advance program, which should 

 be in shape for presentation at Philadelphia. 

 Most of the interchange of views will have to 

 be by correspondence, which consumes time. 

 Now, as to the continuation of the convo- 

 cation week scheme. The Washington gath- 

 ering was a" great success for several reasons. 

 The St. Louis convocation was not as satis- 

 factory, and a number of factors operated to 

 keep down the attendance. Bad weather was 

 partly at fault, and many were doubtless kept 

 away through the expectation of visiting St. 

 Louis next summer. It is not fair to draw 

 many conclusions from this occasion. Por 

 those organizations which, like the American 

 Chemical Society, hold two meetings each 

 year convocation week should be as convenient 

 a time as any for the large general gathering. 

 My personal preference would be for the last 

 week in June, and this date, just after the 

 commencement season, would doubtless suit 

 most men from the schools of the west or 

 middle west. But, on the other hand, the 

 date is too early for men from some of the 

 eastern schools. A September meeting is too 

 late for some college men, and in August the 

 temperature factor is usually against us, etc. 

 Bringing up these points now is like thresh- 

 ing over old straw. I am, therefore, in favor 

 of giving the winter meeting plan a trial long 

 enough thoroughly to test its merits, which 

 may require several years. In any event, I 

 believe it is for the best interests of every 

 scientific man in America to aid in building 

 up and maintaining the power and influence 

 of the association in developing lines of scien- 

 tific work. The section scheme and convoca- 

 tion week bring us all together. Why not 

 continue a good thing! 



J. H. Long. 



In regard to the question of the best organ- 

 ization of scientific societies, my experience 



