86 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 4. 



attended with more than interest, I might 

 say with zeal. The tlu-ee who called the 

 Society into being may, without invidious- 

 ness, be mentioned as having aided mater- 

 ially in the prosecution of its work. One 

 of these of course need not be named to 

 you. He has served from the beginning as 

 Secretary, and again as the leading mem- 

 ber of the publication committee. It is no 

 flattery to him to say that the growing en- 

 ergies of the Society must at various stages 

 have become chilled or misdirected, except 

 for his comprehensive intelligence and un- 

 tiring industry. Another was our former 

 Treasurer, now absent from the country. 

 Still another has been elected by you to-day 

 to the office of Librarian. The meetings 

 were, as the ordinary meetings still are, 

 held at Columbia College, and at that time 

 the majority of the members of the Society 

 were connected with that institution. The 

 President, after two years' service, fearing 

 that the continuance of a representative of 

 that College as presiding officer would tend 

 to hamper its usefulness, proposed the elec- 

 tion of a new President not connected with 

 any college. It was in this way and for 

 this reason that you honored me with the 

 post from which I retire to-day. It is not 

 improper for me to add that I am myself 

 an outspoken believer in the docti'ine of ro- 

 tation in office, and that I was only pre- 

 vented fi-om retiring at an earlier period by 

 urgent representations concerning the pre- 

 sumed welfare of the Society, at a time 

 when all were not yet fully agreed upon the 

 expediency of changes which have since 

 taken place. 



The Society was therefore distinguished 

 from all American mathematical clubs or 

 associations by two circumstances : it was 

 formed in and took the name of the largest 

 city of America, and it was distinctly under- 

 stood to be unconnected with any institu- 

 tion of learning. Suggestions came to be 

 made that its usefulness would be decidedly 



increased by the publication of a periodical 

 journal. Consideration of these sugges- 

 tions by the Council led to the establish- 

 ment of the Society's Bulletin, with the 

 nature and scope of which you are all fa- 

 miliar. It was decided to be inexpedient 

 to publish original investigations, that field 

 being already occupied by successful Ameri- 

 can periodicals. To meet the expense of 

 the publication, the fees of the members 

 were somewhat increased, and for the same 

 reason, as well as to extend the usefulness 

 of the Societj^ well-known mathematicians 

 in all parts of the country were invited to 

 become members. That this movement 

 towards enlargement was judicious and 

 timely was proved at once by the rapid 

 growth of the membership,* which since the 

 middle of 1891 has included a large pro- 

 portion of the prominent mathematicians 

 of the United States and Canada. As the 

 Society thus became in reality an associa- 

 tion of American mathematicians as a bodj"-, 

 the change of name effected this year was 

 only a natural sequence. Finallj', the re- 

 sult of the change of name has been that a 

 number of persons, including several of the 

 highest repute, who had not previously 

 joined the New York Mathematical Societj^, 

 regarding it as a local organization, have 

 connected themselves with the American 

 Mathematical Society; and I need hardly 

 say that, if any one of prominence still 

 holds aloof, from inattention or otherwise, 

 his entrance at any time as a member will 

 be greeted with a hearty welcome. 



It is said that when the London Mathema- 

 tical Society was organized there had been 

 no previous example of a similar organiza- 

 tion, and that fears were felt and expressed 

 that its management might naturally drift 

 into the hands of a few having time and 

 energy to give to its affairs, and that there 

 might thus be serious danger of its falling 

 into the control of a clique. The lapse of 

 time has developed the fact that the lead- 



