July 7, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



gTuity, as when one has heard bad news. 

 If the incongruity is permanent, because 

 of lack of ability to give the ideas an 

 orderly arrangement, their educative value 

 is at least doubtful. 



Attention is determined by past and 

 present states of consciousness. In child- 

 hood, these states of consciousness are 

 largely racial and social, and continued 

 attention can be secured only by creating 

 educational situations in which the school 

 consciousness loses its identity in the racial 

 and social consciousness. 



Edgar James Svtift 



Washington Univeesitt, 

 St. Louis, Mo. 



THE CHEMISTS' CLVB^ 

 I HAD the honor, I believe, of presiding 

 over the first meeting of the New York 

 Section of the American Chemical Society 

 held in the Assembly Hall of what subse- 

 quently became the quarters of the Chem- 

 ists' Club, and I feel honored in being in- 

 vited to address the last meeting held in 

 those quarters. At that first meeting ex- 

 pression was given to hopes which to some, 

 at that time, seemed extravagant, but 

 which have now been splendidly realized. 

 It will not be out of place nor without 

 interest, I am sure, to briefly recall some of 

 the facts and influences which led to the 

 ultimate organization of the Chemists' 

 Club — a club which has, for more than a 

 decade, had such a potent influence in 

 centralizing the interests of the chemists 

 of New York and the vicinity, and has 

 furnished a home for these chemists and 

 their several societies and associations. 



At the meeting of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science, held 

 in Boston in 1898, the question of the dis- 

 posal of the books and other material con- 



^ Address before the New York Section of the 

 American Chemical Society on March 10. 



stituting the library of the association was 

 discussed. It was decided to consign this 

 material to the University of Cincinnati. 

 In the meeting of the council of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society held at about the 

 same time and in the same place, inquiry 

 was made concerning the location and con- 

 dition of the books and material consti- 

 tuting the library of the American Chem- 

 ical Society. After the closing of the old 

 university building on Washington Square, 

 which had housed the library for several 

 years, all of the material had been packed 

 in boxes and placed in fire-proof storage, 

 where it was entirely inaccessible for con- 

 sultation and use. On my return trip to 

 New York after the close of that meeting I 

 was accompanied by Dr. Charles F. Mc- 

 Kenna. Our conversation naturally turned 

 upon the material constituting the library 

 of the society, regarding the disposition of 

 which no decision has been made. This 

 library was known to contain much valu- 

 able chemical material not otherwise avail- 

 able in this country, and it was evident 

 that its removal from the city would be a 

 misfortune to the local chemists. In the 

 course of our conversation, Dr. McKenna 

 suggested that, with the retention of the 

 library in this city as an incentive, it 

 should be possible to arouse sufficient in- 

 terest in the matter of organizing a chem- 

 ists' club to make such an enterprise an 

 established fact. 



In the year or two preceding, Professor 

 A. A. Breneman had endeavored to arouse 

 interest in such a project, but with no 

 special end in view, such as the retention 

 of the library, the effort proved ineffectual. 

 The results were, nevertheless, influential 

 in promoting the ultimate organization of 

 the club as we know it. 



Soon after our return from Boston, Dr. 

 McKenna called me by telephone to tell 

 me he believed that the inexpensive but 



