910 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1043 



the functions of a National Academy should 

 be of the broadest character, and that the 

 advantage of sharing in the results of all 

 its departments should belong to every 

 member. Thus the policy of our National 

 Academy of avoiding division into separate 

 sections,* and of bringing papers on the 

 most diverse subjects before the entire body, 

 is fundamentally sound and should be 

 maintained. Later in this paper the ques- 

 tion will be considered whether the range 

 of the Academy's activities should be ex- 

 tended so as to give increased recognition 

 to departments of knowledge other than the 

 physical and natural sciences. 



Under the conditions now existing in the 

 United States, there is reason to believe 

 that the functions of a National Academy 

 might well be multiplied so as to meet a 

 wide variety of needs. It should stand, 

 first of all, as a leading source and sup- 

 porter of original research and as the na- 

 tional representative of the great body of 

 American investigators in science. To the 

 government it should make itself necessary 

 by the high standard of its work, the broad 

 range of its endeavors, and the sane and 

 scientific spirit underlying all of its actions. 

 To its members it should offer stimulus and 

 encouragement in their investigations; due 

 recognition of their advances; financial 

 assistance and the use of instruments at 

 critical periods in their work; the advan- 

 tage of listening to papers ranging over the 

 whole field of science, bearing suggestions 

 of principles or methods likely to develop 

 new ideas ; contact with the greatest leaders 

 of research from all countries and oppor- 

 tunities to listen to descriptions of their 

 work; access to books and manuscripts not 

 easily obtainable from other sources; and 

 participation in international cooperative 

 projects in every field of investigation. In 

 the public mind it should rank as the na- 



* Except for voting purposes. 



tional exponent of science, and as the 

 agency best qualified to bring forward and 

 illustrate the latest advances of its own 

 members and of the scientific world at 

 large. To representatives of manufactures 

 and industries, the Academy should serve 

 to promote the appreciation and widespread 

 use of the scientific principles and methods 

 which have built up the great industrial 

 prosperity of Germany. With other soci- 

 eties devoted to various branches of science, 

 it should cooperate in harmony with the 

 best interests of American research. To- 

 ward local bodies for the encouragement 

 of investigation and the diffusion of knowl- 

 edge, it should act as an inspiring example 

 and a reliable source of support. And in 

 the broad field of international cooperation, 

 it should unite with the leading academies 

 of the world in the endeavor to perfect the 

 organization of research and in the use of 

 all agencies contributing to its advance- 

 ment. 



NEEDS OF THE ACADEMY 



Many of these objects have been accom- 

 plished by the National Academy in the 

 past, but others remain for the future. The 

 greatest aid in accomplishing its full work 

 would be met by the provision of a suitable 

 academy building, and an endowment suffi- 

 cient to publish Proceedings, conduct re- 

 search, provide public lectures, maintain 

 exhibits illustrating current investigations, 

 and to meet such additional needs as are 

 implied by the Academy's national charter 

 and its obligations to the scientific world 

 and the general public. Through the cour- 

 tesy of the Smithsonian Institution, ex- 

 tended in the year of the academy's organi- 

 zation, the annual meetings are held in the 

 National Museum, in rooms ordinarily em- 

 ployed for other purposes. Thus the Acad- 

 emy does not even possess a permanent 

 office, or a room for its library, which will 



