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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 629 



but by no means the larger number, belong 

 to other organizations. Very many are 

 unattached. For one reason and another, 

 we have failed to attract these, most of 

 whom are unquestionably connected with 

 the technical industries. And it is among 

 these technical members of our society that 

 a spirit of discontent has been most pro- 

 nounced. Numerically they constitute 

 probably a majority of its membership. 

 That this discontent should exist particu- 

 larly among technical men is not surprising 

 when we consider the conditions under 

 which they work as compared with those 

 of the educators and their students. The 

 latter either possess themselves, or have 

 access to, all or much of the world litera- 

 ture that they need; the former are far 

 less favorably situated in this respect, and 

 it is to them of the utmost importance that 

 their society should provide through its 

 publications the power to meet all ordi- 

 nary emergencies and to rise above pro- 

 vincialism. 



The spirit of discontent to which I have 

 referred has been manifest for some years. 

 It has not been due altogether to the want 

 above specified, but is in part chargeable 

 to certain other conditions to which I shall 

 refer later. It has manifested itself thus 

 far in the formation of new and inde- 

 pendent societies of specialists and in the 

 growth of others already existing. The 

 fact that these organizations have come 

 into being and find continued support and 

 that new ones are contemplated is evidence 

 in a general way that they are needed, or 

 that our own society does not offer all that 

 it should. For the best interests of the 

 profession at large, however, it seems very 

 unfortunate that its power for good should 

 be diminished by degrees in this way, for 

 it is undeniable that for chemistry as a 

 whole much more can be accomplished 

 through union of all chemists than through 

 many independent organizations, some 



weak, few strong, the weaker ones fated to 

 a hard struggle and destined to accomplish 

 unaided far less than they might as mem- 

 bers of a strong general organization. 



As a first step toward improving the 

 situation, it was early recognized that we 

 should endeavor to provide for our mem- 

 bers complete abstracts covering the whole 

 range of chemical literature. 



In the matter of chemical abstracts taken 

 as a whole throughout the world, it has 

 long seemed to many that there was an 

 excessive waste of valuable time, labor and 

 money, in their preparation. The same 

 work is repeated in several languages and 

 sometimes more than duplicated in a single 

 tongue. Cooperation on an international 

 scale, each country preparing its own ab- 

 stracts and exchanging with other countries 

 through a sort of clearing-house bureau, 

 would obviously be the ideal solution of 

 the problem, but quite as obviously an ideal 

 that would meet with difficulties too great 

 to be overcome at one stroke. It would be 

 simpler to begin by securing cooperation 

 between English-speaking countries, and 

 earnest efforts on our part have been put 

 forth with this end in view during the past 

 few years. It is unnecessary to follow 

 here the step.s taken, or even to outline 

 the tentative propositions formulated and 

 urged, chiefly by our editor. Suf&ce it to 

 say that success was not achieved, and it 

 became clear that we should have to rely 

 on our own unaided efforts and add to the 

 existing duplication of abstracts if we 

 wished to approach the ideal in our pub- 

 lications and make them of value to all 

 chemists. 



This end is attainable with sufficient 

 money at command and with the right 

 minds to plan and organize. The last con- 

 dition is more readily met than the first, 

 without which, however, success is beyond 

 reach. Recognizing this clearly, the coun- 

 cil a few years ago directed the appoint- 



