152 
HOWARD. 
He had been chosen first among the organizers of the Con- 
gress and as its President. He and the two Vice-Presidents, 
Doctor Munsterberg and Doctor Small, were sent to Europe 
to secure the cooperation of the leading men of science and 
art in all branches of learning, and to gain their support to 
the Congress and their attendance. It is obvious that no 
better choice could have been made, for Newcomb was, of all 
the American men of science, the one best known to European 
investigators. He was received everywhere with all the re- 
spect which his eminent scientific standing demanded and 
which his irreproachable character deserved ; and the success 
of his journey and that of his colleagues was surprising. He 
returned to this country and immediately began the organi- 
zation of the Congress. He secured offices and a corps of 
helpers, and worked night and day. He saw the necessity for 
the appointment of an executive secretary of the Congress in 
a person accustomed to the handling of large meetings of 
scientific men, and it was upon his suggestion that the exposi- 
tion authorities appointed the speaker to that position. Ar- 
riving at St. Louis, in the hot days of late July, little had 
been done locally. The confusion attending the opening of 
a large international exposition had hardly passed away. 
The necessity for large and competent meeting halls in great 
number had not been met, and there was room for hard work 
and organizing ability in the extreme. All emergencies were 
met; the Congress assembled; distinguished men of all 
branches of learning came from all parts of the world ; New- 
comb was the controlling factor; his opening address, devoted 
as it was to the broad subject of the evolution of the scientific 
investigator, was broad and profound and eloquent. I quote 
a paragraph from his closing words, to give you an idea of 
the felicity and eloquence of his diction : 
‘‘The assembling of such a body as now fills this hall was 
scarcely possible in any preceding generation, and is made 
possible now only through the agency of science itself. It 
differs from all preceding international meetings by the 
universality of its scope, which aims to include the whole of 
knowledge. It is also unique in that none but leaders have 
been sought out as members. It is unique in that so many 
