Febeuaey 19, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



311 



has been, if you will let me eliminate the word 

 scientific, that the most flourishing societies 

 are those where the governing body has been 

 fairly permanent. By such means a stable 

 organization and consistency of purpose are 

 possible. 



The great value to be derived from a dis- 

 cussion of this character is that from the 

 various opinions presented some ideas will be 

 offered that may be of service in improving 

 the government of the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science. Therefore, 

 I may at the outset say what every one con- 

 nected with the association knows, that it has 

 been continually experimenting, in the hopes 

 of finding something that would give satisfac- 

 tion to every one; but as that is an impossi- 

 bility it should be accepted as such at the 

 beginning. What is needed, therefore, is a 

 consistent policy that will extend over a num- 

 ber of years, in order that the advantages of 

 the existing policy may become apparent and 

 sufficiently nmnerous to outweigh possible ob- 

 jections. For instance, it matters little to 

 most of us whether the meetings are held in 

 summer or during convocation week, but if 

 they are held at one time, those who prefer 

 the other time naturally criticize the change, 

 and discontent is the result. 



The council, which is the governing body of 

 our association, should be a permanent organ- 

 ization, so far as possible, and changes should 

 be limited to the new officers elected each 

 year. What is needed, it seems to me, is 

 more conservatism, that is, less disposition to 

 change. Originally, this was provided for by 

 making the past presidents permanent mem- 

 bers of the council, but unless the meeting is 

 held in some convenient place, the past presi- 

 dents are apt to be conspicuous by their ab- 

 sence, or if they are registered at the meeting, 

 they do not attend the council. The result 

 has been that each year new men, many of 

 whom are possessed of decided opinions and 

 are unfamiliar with the traditions of the 

 organization, have come into the council, and 

 they have suggested innovations that seemed 

 to ofiEer advantages, which on experiment 

 failed to manifest themselves. May I illus- 

 trate my point by a note that appeared in 



SciE>fCE subsequent to the Washington meet- 

 ing, written by ofie of the vice-presidents of 

 the organization, who criticized the local com- 

 mittee for not having ofiered certain facilities 

 which he deemed desirable; whereas, as a mat- 

 ter of fact, the local committee had distinctly 

 made the very provision that he called for, 

 but it was completely ignored by the visiting 

 scientists. Had the gentleman who wrote the 

 note been more regular in his attendance at 

 the meetings, he naturally would have known 

 that his wants had been anticipated, a fact 

 that could readily have been ascertained by 

 inquiry of the local secretary. Finally, it 

 seems to me highly desirable that the affiliated 

 societies should be represented on the council 

 by men who should serve for a term of years. 

 In conclusion, so far as my experience is 

 concerned, I venture the opinion that the most 

 satisfactory form of organization is the one in 

 which the governing body is changed each 

 year only by a minority of its members. 



Marcus Benjamin. 



To THE Editor of Science : The recognition 

 by OUT leading universities of one week in the 

 year as convocation week is an indication of 

 the academic value put upon the work of our 

 scientific and learned societies. JSTo other 

 cause could secure such recognition, and it 

 behooves those who have the guidance of these 

 societies to make the meetings worth attending. 



A large attendance of those interested and 

 competent to take a part is, I take it, next to 

 honest work, the chief desideratum; otherwise 

 publication would meet all reasonable demands. 

 How to secure a good attendance, therefore, 

 is the first question to raise. Is the first week 

 of the new year the best time for the purpose ? 

 For most societies I assume that it is. But 

 the Society of the College Teachers of Educa- 

 tion, the latest affiliated group, finds itself 

 unable to meet regularly with the American 

 Association. In most states the state teachers' 

 association meets during the Christmas holi- 

 days, and properly enough many of the college 

 teachers of education are expected to be pres- 

 ent. Attendance on two meetings within two 

 weeks is a heavy task for the holiday time. 

 Furthermore, the Department of Superin- 



