134 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. No. 52G. 



In this connection, it may be suggested 

 that some plan for having the proposed 

 magazine issued by an influential publish- 

 ing house demands careful consideration. 



An objector to the proposed plan of con- 

 centrating geographical publications may, 

 perhaps, say that the standard of the new 

 magazine with its world-wide field and 

 high aims, would tend to discourage the 

 modest student who has his maiden paper 

 to present, and could not afford space for 

 the ambitious amateur who desires to see 

 his name in print. For one, I would meet 

 these objections by admitting their truth- 

 fulness, but claim that in the end good 

 would result. The new magazine should 

 be under rigid censorship, in reference to 

 the scientific quality and literary merit of 

 the matter presented. While these safe- 

 guards would demand greater care and 

 more serious effort than at present on the 

 part of contributors, they would not debar 

 any one whose work had merit, but serve 

 rather to stimulate all geographers who 

 desire to put the results of their labors on 

 record to strive for high ideals. 



From the point of view of the existing 

 geographical societies, it may be claimed 

 that they have developed in response to 

 certain local demands, are adjusted to the 

 conditions that gave them birth, and serve 

 the communities in which they are located 

 better than could be expected if they were 

 more or less merged in a larger organiza- 

 tion. Such contentions are no doubt true 

 except perhaps as to the validity of the last 

 clause. The proposed change does not re- 

 (|uii'e of any local society or club the ob- 

 literation of its individuality. Under the 

 plan for uniting all or a large number of 

 our local .societies in one truly American 

 geographical society, there would, of course, 

 be a change of name. If a league were 

 organized present names could be retained 

 and sini[)ly another process of publication 

 initiated. The aim in cither case should 



be to maintain the individuality of each 

 affiliated society, and an endeavor to make 

 it if possible even better adapted to local 

 needs than at present. An important aid 

 in this direction .(as already suggested) 

 would I'esult from the influence of the gen- 

 eral meetings that would be held at the 

 homes of the various chapters or affiliated 

 societies. Such meetings, as may be judged 

 from the history of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science, would 

 stimulate interest in the local chapters to 

 a high degree. 



Then, too, a strong, well written and 

 well edited and well illustrated geograph- 

 ical magazine, by presenting a wide view 

 of geography and of its many contacts 

 with other interests, may reasonably be 

 expected to exert a wider influence even 

 in the home city of an affiliated society 

 than any strictly home journal. 



In addition to the richer harvest to be 

 expected from an annual congress of 

 American geographers and a jointly pub- 

 lished magazine as ju.st considered, earnest 

 and active cooperation among our geo- 

 graphical societies, as may reasonably be 

 expected from such concentration of en- 

 ergy, should lead to their taking the ini- 

 tiative in several other directions. Among 

 such hopes of the future is the securing of 

 a map of North America on a scale of 

 1/1,000,000, as a contribution to the map 

 of the world in the completion of which 

 certain European societies are interested. 

 Another desirable undertaking would be 

 the publication of detailed instructions for 

 the use of travelers and others, as to how 

 and what to observe, in reference especially 

 to the securing of the best possible illus- 

 trations of the results of known physio- 

 graphic processes, and the recording of 

 facts which are likely to lead to the dis- 

 covery of new law.s. Again, time and 

 money might well be expended in pre- 

 paring and publishing a dictionary of 



