1880. | Editors Table. 41 
Philadelphia scientific work. But the proposition was rejected by a 
quorum of the council, and the president has issued a report of 
the proceedings, which now lies before us. As it occupies nearly 
twelve octavo pages, it of course includes much besides the pro- 
ceedings referred to, and is in fact a digest of the president's 
views on the subject. That sucha document should be prepared, 
which he occupies in relation to the opinions of the majority of 
members of the academy. n examination of its’ contents 
shows that his perception of the proprieties of discussion, both 
as a man and as an officer, is still less clear. We only allude to 
the gross inuendoes and slurs it contains, to state that some of 
the worst of them were added by the author after the formal 
authorization of the publication of the report of council, and that 
he thus commits an offence against ordinary propriety, and against 
the Society itself. Such is also the omission of the names of per- 
names were contained in the report as read. We think, how- 
ever, that the publication will be, on the whole, useful to the 
academy’s cause, as it indicates, in no doubtful way, the unfit- 
ness of its author for the position he occupies. 
We, however, call attention to one subject, which, dressed up 
in various guises, has served, and still serves, as a scare-crow to 
some useful members. The proposition to create thirteen pro- 
fessors who shall be ex-officio members of council, does not dis- 
turb the present order, by which the general officers of the 
academy are ex-officio members of council. It simply places the 
experts of the institution on an equal footing in council with 
those elected by the academy at large, thus forming a body com- 
posed of what might be called senate and house combined. But 
Dr. Ruschenberger pretends to be alarmed for the safety of the 
property when entrusted to the care of the thirteen. We do not 
believe that any one else is apprehensive of danger, but if they 
are, we suggest that still greater risks attend the charge of the 
collections by equal or smaller numbers (say four, as a present) of 
persons, who are mostly unacquainted with the business. Sec- 
ondly, the use of new material by thirteen men to the exclusion 
of the eight hundred and eighty-seven other members of the 
academy, appears to Dr. Ruschenberger, to be a monstrous 
injustice. Perhaps the doctor would approve a plan by which 
all these gentlemen might take turns at describing the mass 
new species daily received at the hall of the academy ; 
the difficulty could be gotten over if the council would BAT 
that new species might be described several times 
But seriously, the president inverts the order of things abso- 
lutely. The amount of new material coming to the institution 
obviously depends on the number of persons interested in bringing 
it there. If such interested persons find that they have no rights 
