January 9, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



43 



character of the meeting was directly re- 

 fleeted in the marked respect paid to it 

 by the press, and the period during which 

 the influence of the association will be 

 commensurate with the importance of the 

 subjects it represents may be confidently 

 said to have commenced. 



Despite occasional criticisms of indi- 

 viduals as to the excessive growth of ma- 

 chinery, the association still needs perfect- 

 ing in some details of organization in 

 order to handle with expedition and with- 

 out friction the enormous mass of business 

 incident to the association of such wide 

 scientific interests. Many details might 

 profitably be systematized and removed 

 from the hands of the overburdened sec- 

 retaries, to be discharged in routine fashion 

 by errand boys or clerks, and once pro- 

 vided for, would be carried out through 

 successive years as a matter of course and 

 without demand upon the time of any 

 officer of the association, whose energy 

 may better be devoted to the performance 

 of the scientific duties connected with his 

 post. Every means possible should be 

 employed to enable officers, as well as 

 members, to lend their energies to those 

 objects for which the association primarily 

 exists, and with the perfection of this 

 machinery will cease of necessity the iso- 

 lated criticisms which have been made by 

 those of pessimistic habit with regard to 

 the over-organization of the association. 

 The same machinery which was adequate 

 to provide for the needs of an organization 

 of 1,000 members with an annual attend- 

 ance of 200 will not suffice for an associa- 

 tion of four times that size and attendance. 

 The sooner scientific men profit from the 

 experience and practice of successful en- 

 terprises in the world of business, the 

 greater will be the success of the forward 

 movement in the world of science. 



One cannot overestimate the part which 

 is being played in this new movement by 



the affiliated societies, many of interna- 

 tional renown, which have come into re- 

 lations with the association. Most of 

 these are of technical character and are 

 establishing with the sections desirable re- 

 lations of an advisory and directive type. 

 This they are well able to do by virtue of 

 the professional character, of their mem- 

 bership, and American science may con- 

 fidently expect great results from the in- 

 timate relation in which such societies 

 stand to many of the sections. It is to 

 be sincerely regretted that in one or two 

 cases the spirit of the movement has failed 

 to reach other organizations, where some 

 members have strongly opposed the culti- 

 vation of any relations whatever, and it 

 may be given as more than an individual 

 opinion that such men have failed to give 

 thoughtful consideration to the real eon- 

 sequences of the armed neutrality which 

 their position invokes. It may be said 

 with frankness that even before such 

 organizations some matters of the most 

 trivial character are presented, while the 

 section programs have to offer that which 

 would be of broad and genuine interest 

 to the members of the society. Both sides 

 have much to gain, and neither has any- 

 thing comparable or even considerable to 

 lose by the proposed entente cordiale. 



It would be improper to pass the sub- 

 ject of these affiliated societies without re- 

 verting in a word to one of an entirely 

 different character, which has played an 

 important part at Washington. The 

 American Society of Naturalists has per- 

 formed an invaluable service for those in 

 attendance in its afternoon discussion on 

 the most effective use of endowments for 

 scientific research, which was participated 

 in by six members of broad view and 

 striking individuality, and by its annual 

 dinner, with an address by the president 

 on the characteristics and distribution in 

 different fields of American men of science, 



