Januaey 18, 1907] 



SCIENCE. 



83 



not to be had elsewhere. The chances for 

 young men to become known of their fel- 

 lows are equally good. The young mem- 

 ber may, it is true, at his first or second 

 attendance, feel somewhat lost and out of 

 place, but if his countenance is seen fre- 

 quently, and especially if he soon presents 

 a paper of merit, he becomes known, makes 

 acquaintances wherever he wishes, and de- 

 rives from scientific conversation and social 

 intercourse with his fellows the full and 

 stimulating benefit these meetings are in- 

 tended to afford. I know of few greater 

 satisfactions than the talks over problems 

 and difficulties with a worker along like or 

 kindred lines, all the more, perhaps, if he 

 chance to be a new acquaintance. Narrow- 

 mindedness and intolerance are evils which 

 are mitigated by rubbing up against one's 

 co-workers and finding out their different 

 points of view. The suggestions and helps 

 to be given and received constitute benefits 

 to be derived from these meetings whose 

 value is properly appraised by those who 

 know how to profit by them, but is by 

 too many, unfortunately, much underesti- 

 mated. The older men can contribute 

 greatly to the success of such gatherings 

 if they come prepared to meet more than 

 half way the perhaps diffident approaches 

 of the younger generation and ready to 

 part freely with information and hints 

 drawn from their long experience. I be- 

 lieve this is the spirit in which most, if not 

 all, of the older men do come to these meet- 

 ings, but the younger ones must be remind- 

 ed that although their seniors may have 

 the best will in the world to help, they can 

 not possibly do so unless they know who 

 need help. Therefore, the younger mem- 

 bers must not be backward about making 

 themselves and their wants known. 



In all of these ways the reorganiza- 

 tion of the American Chemical Society in 

 1890-3 did much to forward the cause of 

 chemistry in our country, aside from pro- 



viding an organization representative of 

 the profession and a medium worthy of 

 respect at home and abroad. The low dues 

 which it seemed necessary to levy at the 

 start and the lack of an endowment fund, 

 however, made it impossible to provide 

 the needed detailed information in all 

 branches, even in the form of abstracts 

 relating to the advances of chemistry in 

 the world at large. It was possible to 

 cover only the home field, and that not 

 fully until 1902. Notwithstanding that 

 this field has been well covered in the main 

 since that date, the inability to offer more 

 has been a most serious obstacle to the full 

 development of the society, one which, if 

 allowed to operate too long, must inevitably 

 lead to its deterioration and eventual dis- 

 integration. For our members all need to 

 know what is being done abroad. Through 

 our own inability to afford this knowledge, 

 they must seek it in foreign publications, 

 which, besides covering the foreign field, 

 give accounts of much of the work origi- 

 nating here. If our members have not ac- 

 cess to certain public libraries or to those 

 at educational centers, their only recourse 

 is to subscribe at considerable expense to 

 other publications than that of their own 

 society. To the young worker, this addi- 

 tional sum, while absolutely inconsiderable, 

 is sufficient oftentimes to turn the scale of 

 his indecision in favor of the foreign pub- 

 lication or society as against the local one 

 which patriotism would naturally lead him 

 to prefer. The result has been that while 

 our society has continually prospered and 

 increased numerically, until its membership 

 now exceeds 3,000, making it perhaps the 

 third among existing chemical societies, it 

 has failed to attract to itself anything like 

 the number that properly should be at- 

 tached to it. The total number of chemists 

 in this country is probably fully double 

 that enrolled in our membership. It has 

 even been placed at 8,000. Of these some, 



