222 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 



acknowledged exponent of the geography of the western hemi- 

 sphere, and particularly of the United States and its possessions. 

 The Society has furthermore sought to promote the "increase" 

 of geographic knowledge by the encouragement and assistance 

 of various scientific expeditions and the " diffusion " of such 

 knowledge by the offer of prizes for the best essays on designated 

 subjects of geographic interest. 



In not one of these several directions, however, does the So- 

 ciety's most substantial and conspicuous success afford more 

 than a faint foreshadowing of the possibilities of usefulness 

 that are open to it, and of which it stands ready to take advan- 

 tage as rapidly as its financial resources will permit. It is doubt- 

 ful if the study of any branch of human knowledge ever before 

 received so sudden and powerful a stimulus as the events of the 

 past year have given to the study of geography, and the Na- 

 tional Geographic Society should be in a position to extend to 

 the residents of every large city and of every important educa- 

 tional center in the country the same opportunities for the ac- 

 quisition of geographic knowledge that are now so much appre- 

 ciated by the people of Washington. There is not one of the new 

 territorial possessions of the United States the geographic con" 

 ditions and economic possibilities of which have not already been 

 discussed, under the auspices of the Society, by distinguished 

 men who are thoroughly familiar with them from personal obser- 

 vation and research, and it would be almost impossible to devise 

 a means of more effectually promoting the Society's objects than 

 by the delivery of these and other entertaining and instructive 

 lectures in all the large centers of population. It is also desired 

 to increase the size, and in corresponding measure the attract- 

 iveness and value, of the Magazine, and to this end a strong and 

 influential addition has been made to the Editorial Committee, 

 and an Assistant Editor, who will devote his entire time to the 

 work, has been appointed. 



While the Society will welcome any special donations that 

 can be devoted to the promotion of geographic research, to the 

 foundation of scholarships, or as awards for competitive essays, 

 its main reliance must continue to be those annual dues of mem- 

 bers for which it renders a full equivalent in its lectures and 

 publications. Its past and present presidents, the late Hon. 

 Gardiner G. Hubbard and Dr Alexander Graham Bell, have 

 been generous contributors both to the ordinary and the special 

 agencies by which it has sought to attain its objects, and to- 



