Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 47.djvu/865

Rh told what great benefits industry receives from labors in pure science. It was a happy thought for Mr. William McMurtrie to point out to a scientific audience the benefits that the science of chemistry has derived from industrial operations. Those who listened to Vice-President William Kent's address on The Relation of Engineering to Economics carried away several valuable ideas, one being that the invention of machines has been of more economic importance than the division of labor of which the old economists made so much; another that America is far behind the Old World in the art of wasting human labor; and another that improved methods inflict more temporary loss on capital by destroying the value of machinery and appliances than upon labor by displacing workmen. Mr. B. E. Fernow, addressing the Section of Economic Science, ventured upon the debatable ground of governmental functions, but probably most of his audience accepted what he said in regard to the conservation of our forests and other natural resources. The papers read gave evidence of diligent research and had been in the main well sifted, although occasionally some newly fledged professor or garrulous veteran consumed more time than he should have. Time limits rigidly enforced by the several presiding officers might be worth trying in order to give more snap to the proceedings and increase the value of the association to the best workers. The only remarkable discovery announced in the course of the meeting was the finding of another implement in the glacial gravels, which strengthens the view that man lived in America either during or immediately after the Glacial period. The implement was exhibited and described by Prof. G. F. Wright, who has become the leading exponent of this view. The attendance was an average number, and probably included a smaller proportion of sightseers and a greater one of workers than when the meetings are held in larger cities.

Next year the association will hold its fourth meeting in Buffalo, further strengthening the precedent of a decennial visit to that city, and Prof. E. D. Cope will preside. The vice-presidents elected are: (A) Mathematics and Astronomy—William E. Story, of Worcester; (B) Physics—Carl Leo Mees, of Terre Haute, Ind.; (C) Chemistry—W. A. Noyes, of Terre Haute, Ind.; (D) Mechanical Science and Engineering—Frank O. Marvin, of Lawrence, Kan.: (E) Geology and Geography—Benjamin K. Emerson, of Amherst; (F) Zoölogy—Theodore N. Gill, of Washington, D. C.; (G) Botany—N. L. Britton, of New York city; (H) Anthropology—Alice C. Fletcher, of Washington, D. C.; (I) Social Science—William R. Lazenby, of Columbus, Ohio.

Prof. F. W. Putnam remains Permanent Secretary. The following are the other officers: General Secretary, Charles R Barnes, of Madison, Wis. Secretary of the Council, Asaph Hall, Jr., of Ann Arbor, Mich. Secretaries of the Sections: (A) Mathematics and Astronomy—Edwin B. Frost, of Hanover, N. H.; (B) Physics—Frank P. Whitman, of Cleveland, Ohio; (C) Chemistry—Frank P. Venable, of Chapel Hill, N. C.; (D) Mechanical Science and Engineering—John Galbraith, of Toronto, Canada; (E) Geology and Geography A. C. Gill, of Ithaca, N. Y.; (F) Zoölogy—D. S. Kellicott, of Columbus, Ohio; (G) Botany—George F. Atkinson, of Ithaca. N. Y.; (H) Anthropology—John G. Bourke, United States Army; (I) Social Science—R. T. Colburn, of Elizabeth, N. J. Treasurer, R. S. Woodward, of New York, N. Y.