57 



each one, and it has called into existence something that is better than it 

 was itself. Our criticism is constructive. 



I believe scientific men — or at least if you will make it a little broader 

 than that, the school-master today is the priest of today ; and he is going 

 to be the priest of the future. There were some questions submitted to 

 the children of the schools in one of our cities; one of them was, "Where 

 is Heaven?" In the answers one of the pupils (it was a girl, so there 

 could not have been any malice in it) said that Heaven was said to be 

 above the clouds, but she added that physical geography teaches that the 

 atmosphere is only about forty-five miles high, and that even a very few 

 miles up it is probably not possible for anybody to live, so Heaven could 

 not be there at all. Whatever that child may have thought that was 

 wrong or inadequate about Heaven, it is clear that she believed the things 

 her teacher had taught her about the air. He. instead of her minister — 

 if she had one — was her priest. 



I happened to be present at the inception of this Society after Amos 

 Butler brought it to us, and of course if would be very easy to continue 

 these reminiscences ; but that is not what the committee asked me to do. 

 and I do not intend to do it. But this Society has been a great help to me 

 and to all of us, not only in its ineetiisgs. but in the rambles we have had 

 over all parts of Indiana in our Spring meetings. We went out to Fort 

 Quiatanon and hunted beads the Indians had lost at the old trading post 

 and were as happy when we found one as the Indians were sorry when 

 they lost it ; we have gone over the whole State getting acquainted with 

 whatever of interest it had to offer. Even at the very first meeting down 

 at Brookville, the home of the Academy, we went swimming, and naturally 

 got acquainted with ourselves ; saw ourselves in a sense in which others 

 did not very often see us. (Laughter). These social occasions have been 

 the best part to me, after all is said, of the meetings of the Academy from 

 the beginning until now. 



I have the pleasant and easy task of introducing first a man who 

 needs no presentation to scientific men anywhere ; a man who needs no 

 title, but whose titles are so numerous that there would not be time to 

 read them. He is an investigator and a teacher, was for a time the pre- 

 mier of Indiana teachers. He is an author to whom science owes much 

 and man owes more; the man for win. m the river Jordan was named. 

 (Laughter). Dr. David Starr Jordan, President of Leland Stanford 

 University. (Applause.) 



