660 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 695 



obtained regarding the American Chemical 

 Journal, although a request for it had been 

 made. It is fair to assume that the wider 

 scope of this last journal is probably cor- 

 related with a somewhat larger circulation ; 

 the editor's sei-viees are also gratuitous, and 

 it is generally understood that, whatever 

 may be the case at present, for many years 

 its publication involved a financial loss. 

 The Journal of the American Chemical 

 Society, on the contrary, does pay ex- 

 penses, including a small honorarium to its 

 editor. Its solvency is due, of course, to 

 its large subscription list. To put the 

 matter in another way, chemists engaged in 

 research do not pay the cost of publishing 

 their results and, indeed, can not afford 

 to do so. Consequently, in order that they 

 may be truly independent not only of the 

 munificence of individuals, but also of the 

 control which this munificence necessarily 

 involves, it is essential that those chemists 

 who do research should combine with those 

 who are otherwise engaged; the partner- 

 ship is a thoroughly honorable one on both 

 sides, the one furnishes the money, the 

 other the results. 



This mutual dependence has, however, 

 another phase. "We can not expect the 

 "man who pays" to continue to pay unless 

 he receives value for his money, but the 

 value of a scientific journal, unlike that of 

 a popular magazine, is dependent entirely 

 on gratuitous contributions. It can not 

 buy its talent, but must take what material 

 is sent to it. 



It would appear, therefore, that every 

 paper by an American chemist which is 

 printed in foreign journals is not only a 

 distinct loss to his non-publishing chemical 

 brethren, but it also acts injuriously on the 

 interests of those who are actively engaged 

 in research, because it- renders the native 

 journals less valuable and, therefore, tends 

 to restrict their circulation. Moreover, 



this loss and injury are greater in direct 

 proportion to the value and general in- 

 terest of the papers in question. Few who 

 have not looked into the matter realize how 

 much the Zeitschrift fUr physikalische 

 Chemie owes to its American contributors. 

 A similar state of things prevails in the 

 domain of organic chemistry, which is in- 

 debted to American chemists for two of the 

 most interesting and important concep- 

 tions which have enriched it within recent 

 years; unfortunately— as I venture to 

 think— they have been developed in the 

 Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesell- 

 schaft, and in Liehig's Annalen der 

 Chemie, respectively. 



Some of the most valuable results ob- 

 tained by a few American chemists appear 

 in the publications of certain of the learned 

 societies. Very frequently the society in 

 question has contributed funds towards the 

 cost of the research. In such cases it is only 

 fair that the society should have an oppor- 

 tunity of making known the discoveries. 

 The "American Academy," which is, 

 doubtless, the most important association 

 of this nature, publishes 850 copies of its 

 Proceedings, 200 of which are supplied to 

 the author. Of the remainder, about 450 

 go to various libraries and learned societies 

 aU over the world and the other 200 to 

 the foreign honorary members and to those 

 members and associate members who desire 

 to receive them. Other people can obtain 

 the articles at a relatively small cost. It 

 is impossible to doubt that the circulation 

 of the Proceedings is of a very high order, 

 but I fear that it is equally certain that 

 their contents fail to reach the mass of 

 American chemists, and it is with their 

 interests that I am immediately concerned ; 

 the specialist can generally take care of 

 himself. For many years it has been 

 customary for the American Chemical 

 Journal to reprint articles which have ap- 



