IN HONOR OF THE ARMY AND AVIATION 



267 



simple policy of always giving them a after due warning, they have misbe- 



square deal ; by not punishing them for haved ; by making friends with them 



a given course of action unless they had again whenever they were ready to be 



had ample previous warning that such friendly, and by finding an outlet for 



action would be followed by punishment ; their superabundant animal spirits in 



by never failing to punish them when, rough but innocent field sports. 



IN HONOR OF THE ARMY AND AVIATION 



THE sixth annual banquet of the 

 National Geographic Society, 

 which was held on January 14, 

 was probably the most notable banquet 

 in the history of the Society. In addition 

 to the President of the United States and 

 the ambassadors of Great Britain, Ger- 

 many, Mexico, and the Ottoman Empire, 

 there were members present from 37 

 States and from many foreign countries. 

 The dinner was in honor of the United 

 States Army and of the discovery of the 

 art of aviation, the principal guests of 

 honor being the officers of the Army and 

 Mr. Wilbur Wright. Announcement was 

 made during the evening of the election 

 of President Taft as honorary member 

 of the Society in recognition of his 

 effective promotion of and interest in 

 geographic science. The Society now 

 has five honorary members, as follows : 

 William H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, 

 Robert E. Peary, Fridtjof Nansen, and 

 George Dewey. Mr. Henry Gannett, 

 President of the Society, presided, and 

 Gen. John M. Wilson, formerly Chief of 

 Engineers, U. S. Army, acted as toast- 

 master. 



Through the courtesy of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, the guests and 

 members of the National Geographic 

 Society had the opportunity of testing 

 a new plant recently introduced by the 

 explorers of the Department. The new 

 vegetable was the dasheen, which, in- 

 stead of potatoes, was served with the 

 filet of beef. The dasheen is one of the 

 principal foods of rich and poor in the 

 Orient, the Pacific Islands, Africa, and 

 the West Indies. By many connoisseurs 

 it is preferred to the potato. The intro- 

 duction of this popular tuber is impor- 



tant, because the plant can be grown 

 throughout the Southern States and as 

 far north as Washington. It is capable 

 of becoming a profitable industry on 

 many lands which are too wet for the 

 growing of potatoes. The office of For- 

 eign Seed and Plant Introduction of the 

 Department of Agriculture will be glad 

 to give information to all persons inter- 

 ested in this newly imported vegetable. 



The addresses of the evening are 

 printed in full as follows : 



PRESIDENT GANNETT 



It gives me much pleasure to welcome 

 this gathering here tonight. It is true 

 of all societies that the membership 

 moves slowly at first, but lately the 

 Society has been growing by leaps and 

 bounds. A year ago the membership 

 numbered 53,000. Today it numbers 

 74,000 — an increase of 21,000 in a year. 

 It publishes a monthly magazine, and 

 those who are competent to judge say it 

 is a very good magazine. It maintains a 

 course of weekly lectures here in Wash- 

 ington, and those I know are good, be- 

 cause they are always crowded every 

 night and people are turned away. It 

 has given a number of medals for 

 achievement in geographic science and 

 exploration. It has sent an expedition 

 to Alaska to explore the mountains and 

 volcanic regions and scenic phenomena. 

 And, finally, it gives an annual banquet. 

 Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have great 

 pleasure in introducing to you the toast- 

 master of the evening, General Wilson. 



THE TOAST MASTER, GEN. JOHN M. WIESON 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

 In a long military life of over 55 years 



