Januaey 6, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



21 



only to establish bureaus of investigation, 

 but some to save as well. 



A progressive manufacturer does not 

 hesitate long in substituting more efficient 

 machinery. He also knows that his peo- 

 ple are more efficient and happier in good 

 sanitary surroundings. So, even if the 

 leaks are stopped and the cost of running 

 mounts up, the community is the better 

 able to bear the burden and does it cheer- 

 fully. The average American doesn't 

 mind paying a suitable price for a satis- 

 factory article; in fact, of late he has be- 

 come somewhat accustomed to paying a 

 little more than he should. 



The complications arising from the 

 growth of cities call not only for "the em- 

 ployment of well-trained, tactful, honest, 

 energetic and fearless health officials," but 

 also lays a responsibility upon all forms of 

 educational activity to bring about a "bet- 

 ter appreciation by the people at large, of 

 what is conducive and what a menace to 

 public health," and individual safety. 



In regard to health officials, I can not 

 refrain from expressing an opinion bear- 

 ing upon the organization of a health de- 

 partment. In the first place the head of 

 the health department should be an expert 

 sanitarian and not merely a doctor of med- 

 icine, whose training in sanitation has been 

 incidental. He should be a specialist in 

 sanitation with the background of a med- 

 ical doctor. Furthermore, the numeroTis 

 details, especially financial, should not be 

 thrown upon the head any more than the 

 captain of a warship should look after the 

 details of the ship's larder. The chief 

 needs every particle of his well-trained 

 brain and energy to deal with the great 

 problems of the city's health. He should 

 be provided with a financial coadjutor — a 

 man of absolute rectitude, and as well 

 trained as himself, but along another line 

 — a man who will see that the purchasing 



power of the city's money is equal to that 

 of a private corporation. The terms of 

 office of these directors, technical and 

 financial, should be limited to the period 

 of normal human efficiency, decent pension 

 provisions being made for them when that 

 period shall have ended. They would thus 

 be i;nharapered by any political, religious 

 or social associations, in the conduct of the 

 department. I recognize that such a prop- 

 osition is somewhat radical — in fact in 

 direct opposition to the opinion of some— 

 and sounds a bit Utopian, but I am glad to 

 say that my confidence in my fellow man 

 is such that I am willing to give such large 

 powers to him. Our democratic govern- 

 ment breeds men worthy of such confi- 

 dence; if it does not, then it is a failure, 

 and we are not willing to acknowledge or 

 to accept that verdict. 



Chaeles Baskerville 

 College op the Citt op New York 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 At the Minneapolis meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence, Dr. Charles E. Bessey, professor of bot- 

 any and dean at the University of Nebraska, 

 was elected president for the meeting to be 

 held at Washington, beginning on December 

 27, 1911. It is planned to hold the meeting 

 of 1912 at Cleveland. The meeting of the 

 association and of the affiliated societies at 

 Minneapolis was in every way successful. 

 The registration of members of the associa- 

 tion was 663, which represents an attendance 

 of scientific men about twice as large. Owing 

 to the distant place of meeting, it is necessary 

 to wait until next week for the publication of 

 the report of the general secretary and the 

 addresses of the vice-presidents. 



Professor Alexander Smith, University 

 of Chicago, was elected president of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society at the Minneapolis 

 meeting. 



At the meeting at Ithaca the following were 

 elected as officers for 1911 of the American 



