26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE PRINCETON MEETING 



while you wait. Within that hibj-rinth of canyons, still in the making, there 

 are many strata resting conformably and iinconformably one on the other. 

 In tracing the various formations, you find that the Morganstein grades so 

 insensibly into the Morgansheim, that it can not readily be determined where 

 one begins and the other ends. Flora is wholly lacking, but a rich and pe- 

 culiarly recent fauna is found, though well preserved fossils are extremely 

 rare. This is due to the rapid shifting of formations and the resulting meta- 

 morphism which is continually going on. It is in the domain of economic 

 geology, however, that the Wall Street quadrangle is especially impressive. 

 Some of the strata are auriferous, while others are not. Many possess vast 

 stores of the precious and other metals, and even diamonds are known to occur. 

 These riches frequently are well nigh inaccessible, and to secure them it is 

 necessary to resort often to more subtle and searching methods than those 

 furnished by dynamite or the cyanide process. Thus you see that just as the 

 Geological Societj' was in a position to furnish the talent necessary to unravel 

 the mysterious volcanic manifestations at Panama, so now it is equipped to 

 solve those intricate and complex problems to which the experts of the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, the Pujo Investigating Committee, and the leaders 

 of the three political parties can find no open sesame. The versatility of our 

 beloved Society is Indeed amazing. 



Your Editor fully sympathizes with Robert Louis Stevenson's expressed 

 belief, that "he who loves the labor of his work is called of the gods." Neither 

 time, place, nor circumstance have been permitted to interfere with editorial 

 duties, and no engagements have been so compelling that there has not been 

 always a little time available for the next manuscript. In his efforts in their 

 behalf, the Editor has had always the cordial support of the contributing 

 members, and while on a few rare occasions an author may have seemed a 

 little "het up," it was recognized that it was merely temperamental. Actual 

 friction has been avoided invariably by adhering strictly to the policy of not 

 writing letters, as well as by rememl^ering that the chief function of an editor 

 is not to be seen or heard, but to be felt In this connection permit me to 

 urge my successors not to take their job too seriously, and never, for their own 

 peace of mind, to lose their sense of humor. It will not be their function to 

 run the Society. They must remember that authors often work under pressure 

 and many disadvantages. The contributors are usually jolly good fellows who 

 mean to be fair and considerate. Just lend them a helping hand in every way 

 you reasonably can and your editorial journey will be along a pathway strewn 

 with flowers, as has been that of the present incumbent. 



In celebrating the quarter century of its existence, the Society wisely main- 

 tains .its customary simplicitj'. Only on its social side has it been affected by 

 the trend of hectic, modern life. The time was when the Society was wont, 

 after the serious work of the meeting was over, to repair to a "rathskeller," 

 or some equally humble hostelry, and, after suitable refreshment, to listen 

 delightedly to the efforts of the patrons of the "School of Oratory" early es- 

 tablished by the Society for the benefit of its budding young geologists. In 

 time this entertainment, charming as it was, palled a little, and it was felt 

 by the giddier members that the Society should be somewhat more modish, 

 and so the "movies" and "polite vaudeville" crept in, while, owing to changing 

 ec(momic conditions, the price per plate crept up from one dollar to two fifty. 



