SPECIAL ISSUE CONTAINING PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE KANSAS CITY SCIENCE PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE KANSAS CITY MEETING OF INTRODUCTORY NOTE THIS special issue of SCIENCE, which contains the preliminary announcements of the Kansas City meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is sent to all subscribers for The Scientific Monthly as well as to subscribers for SCIENCE, thus reaching all members of the Association. The announcements contain as much information about the approaching meeting as could be brought together at the time of going to press. The complete program of the meeting will be distributed at the registration office in the Aladdin Hotel at Kansas City. The office will open at 9 on Monday, December 28, and will remain open throughout the following days of the meeting. Members who do not attend the meeting may receive the general program if they will write to the permanent secretary asking for it. Such requests should be in the Washington office by December 22nd. The importance of scientific thinking and of the results of scientific research in the lives of all the people are being rapidly more thoroughly appreciated in recent years. There has never been a period in which the leadership and the great responsibility Those expecting to attend the Kansas City meeting should look up transportation and arrange for rooms at once. A list of Kansas City hotels has been published in SCIENCE for November 13th. Those who are to present papers or addresses at the meeting should send in their manuscripts for the publicity service as soon as possible. When purchasing transportation to Kansas City be sure to secure a certificate for the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Associated Societies, unless a roundtrip ticket is purchased. On arrival at the meeting register the certificate or round-trip ticket promptly on a registration card. The validated certificate will entitle the holder to a half-fare rate for the return trip. of science workers was as generally acknowledged as at present. With the advance and spread of education and intelligence, in large part through the agencies of books and magazines, newspapers, the radio art and that of motion pictures, as well as through educational institutions, thoughtful persons of all classes are now generally greatly concerned with the rational foundations of knowledge and progress that constitute the realm of science. According to their best knowledge and ability the people are now judging and appraising the products of the labors of the scientific specialists-in some cases with more or less fearful forebodings apparently occasioned by the pains of intellectual and moral growth and the inevitable disintegration of many older standards and régimes, but generally with enthusiastic acclaim. Science becomes exoteric, whether its votaries will or no, and the public responsibility of those who understand its various fields and disciplines is thereby enormously enhanced. A liberty to think and speak and write as honestly as one can is surely being gradually approached, but extreme conservatism is too frequently too uninformed to be dealt with by logical reasoning and it continues instinctively to resist informing treatment. The progress of science seems no longer to encounter serious resistance among the intellectual leaders-the robed and the crowned -but a new and serious resistance is nevertheless encountered, chiefly from the multitude of the less well informed. It is consequently desirable that scientific workers take special thought toward the making of the great background of science available and understandable to thoughtful people in general. Perhaps the most obvious need in this direction may be increased understanding of every field of science by those engaged in other fields; specialization must necessarily continue and become even more pronounced, but it is very essential that scientific men and women should increasingly appreciate the methods and accomplishments and aims that characterize science as a whole. Besides good physicists and biologists and psychologists we need, especially in the present exigency, more scientific philosophers or philosophical scientists. And we greatly require the help of all who are able to present the teachings and principles of their scientific fields so as to render them understandable to non-specialists. The American Association, especially through its great meetings, offers a ready and effective instrument for the cultivation of both a broader appreciation of science as a whole and a more thorough understanding of the respective special sciences. It offers the most logical and promising means by which all workers in science may unite in opposing any reactionary tendencies that seem to threaten the rapid continuation of scientific and rational progress. The association aims to promote intercourse among those who are cultivating science in different parts of America, to cooperate with other scientific societies and institutions, to give a stronger and more general impulse and more systematic direction to scientific research and to procure for the labors of scientific men increased facilities and a wider usefulness. It has played a prominent rôle in the progress of science and of education in general. Invaluable to scientific men, its influence for rationality and the scientific method of thought has become inevitably incorporated into the structure of American institutions and American civilization. The association belongs to its members, whose financial contributions make its organization and work possible, and to the numerous societies that are associated with it. Suggestions for possible improvements in association activities are heartily invited and will always be welcome. Members are specially asked to secure new annual and life members and to be constantly on. the lookout for opportunities to enlist the interest of publicspirited men who may be willing to become sustaining members or donors. The present endowment of the association is still very small (about $131,000) and the income therefrom is correspondingly limited. Many lines of activity that deserve serious attention must be neglected in these years because of the lack of adequate funds for undertaking new kinds of work. The association is the only American organization that deals with the entire field of science and education and that enjoys the support and cooperation of so large a number of individuals and scientific organizations. It offers one of the most efficient means by which funds may be directed toward the general advancement of science and the improvement of education in America. Increased membership, increased endowment and increased active, critical and constructive interest on the part of its members and the members of the associated organizations are the great present needs. Notices and announcements about the affairs of the American Association are published from time to time in its official journal, SCIENCE. A booklet of general information concerning the organization and its work is published each year and copies may be had from the permanent Washington office or at the registration office for the meeting. Members are urged to maintain familiarity with association affairs. A new volume of the Summarized Proceedings of the American Association is about to appear. It includes much general information about the organiza tion, summary reports for the last four years, an annotated list of the hundred scientific organizations that are officially associated with the association, and a Directory of Fellows and other members, corrected to June, 1925. This volume may be secured from the Washington office at a price of $2.50 to members, $3.25 to others. The annual meetings of the association are now held in convocation week (the week in which New Year's day falls). The meeting for 1926-27 will be held at Philadelphia, December 27, 1926, to January 1, 1927; the meeting for 1927-28 will be held in Nashville; and the great quadrennial convention for 1928-29 will be held at New York City, December 27, 1928, to January 2, 1929. COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE KANSAS CITY MEETING LOCAL COMMITTEE A. Ross Hill, general chairman. H. J. Waters, vice-chairman (deceased). Lyle Stephenson, vice-chairman. W. M. Symon, secretary. J. F. Porter. Geo. Melcher. Albert Saeger. CHAIRMEN OF SUBCOMMITTEES Finance: J. F. Porter, president, Kansas City Power and Light Co. Publicity: Lyle Stephenson, R. A. Long Building, 10th and Grand Ave. Hotels and Housing: W. M. Symon, manager, Convention Bureau, Chamber of Commerce. Transportation and Signs: Geo. Melcher, 226 Library Building. Exhibits: Albert Saeger, Junior College. Dinners and Banquets: W. M. Symon, manager, Convention Bureau, Chamber of Commerce. LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES FOR SECTIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION AND RELATED SOCIETIES Section A (Mathematics): U. G. Mitchell, 1313 Mass. Ave., Lawrence, Kans. Section B (Physics): Ben F. Eyre, 306 Land Bank Building, Kansas City. Section C (Chemistry): Herman Schlundt, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Section D (Astronomy): D. E. Haynes, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Section E (Geology and Geography): H. A. Buchler, Rolla, Mo., chairman; Vernon F. Marsters, 123 Railway Exchange Building, Kansas City. Section F (Zoological Sciences): H. H. Lane, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans. Section G (Botanical Sciences): Albert Saeger, Junior College, Kansas City. Section H (Anthropology): C. A. Ellwood, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Section I (Psychology): W. A. Andrews, Kansas State Section K (Social and Economic Sciences): N. S. Mc- Section N (Medical Sciences): W. W. Duke, 1814 Fed- Section Q (Education): George Melcher, 226 Library Building, Kansas City. Representative at large: W. M. Symon, Convention Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City. All these should be addressed, care of Mr. W. M. Symon, secretary of the Local Committee, Convention Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City, Mo. OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 1925, INCLUDING THE KANSAS CITY MEETING President M. I. Pupin, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Retiring President J. McKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hudson, N. Y. Vice-Presidents,1 Retiring Vice-Presidents and Secretaries of the Sections Section A (Mathematics): Vice-President, W. H. Roever, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Retiring Vice-President, J. C. Fields, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Secretary, R. C. Archibald, Brown University, Providence, R. I. Section B (Physics): Vice-President, H. M. Randall, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Retiring Vice-President, K. T. Compton, Princeton University, Princeton, N. J. Secretary, A. L. Hughes, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Section C (Chemistry): Vice-President, H. B. Cady, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans. Retiring Vice-President, F. G. Cottrell, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, American University, Washington, D. C. Secretary, Gerhard Dietrichson, Suite 209, 48 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Section D (Astronomy): Vice-President, A. E. Douglass, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. 1 Vice-presidents are elected for a term of one year, from the close of one annual meeting to the close of the next following one. Retiring Vice-President, John A. Miller, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. Secretary, Philip Fox, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Section E (Geology and Geography): Vice-President, R. A. Daly, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Retiring Vice-President, W. C. Mendenhall, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. Secretary, G. R. Mansfield, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. Section F (Zoological Sciences): Vice-President, H. S. Jennings, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Retiring Vice-President, Edwin Linton, 1104 Milledge Road, Augusta, Ga. Secretary, Geo. T. Hargitt, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. Section G (Botanical Sciences) : Vice-President, Robert B. Wylie, University of Iowa, Retiring Vice-President, G. R. Lyman, West Virginia Secretary, Sam F. Trelease, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Section H (Anthropology): Vice-President, C. B. Davenport, Station for Experimental Evolution, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. Retiring Vice-President, E. A. Hooton, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Mass. Secretary, R. J. Terry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo. Section I (Psychology): Vice-President, C. E. Seashore, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Retiring Vice-President, R. S. Woodworth, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Secretary, Frank N. Freeman, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. Section K (Social and Economic Sciences): Vice-President, F. R. Fairchild, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Retiring Vice-President, Thomas S. Baker, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa. Secretary, F. L. Hoffman, Babson Institute, Babson Section L (Historical and Philological Sciences) :2 Retiring Vice-President, Louis C. Karpinski, Univer- 2 The only portion of Section L thus far organized is that dealing with the History of Science, and the Committee on History of Science functions as an interim committee for Section L. The chairman of the committee acts as vice-president and chairman for the section. Section M (Engineering): Vice-President, C. R. Richards, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. Retiring Vice-President, A. E. Kennelly, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Secretary, N. H. Heck, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D. C. Section N (Medical Sciences): Vice-President, A. J. Carlson, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. Retiring Vice-President, William G. MacCallum, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Secretary, A. J. Goldfarb, College of the City of New York, New York, N. Y. Section O (Agriculture): Vice-President, C. V. Piper, U. S. Department of Agri culture, Washington, D. C. Retiring Vice-President, L. R. Jones, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Secretary, P. E. Brown, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. Section Q (Education): Vice-President, Otis W. Caldwell, Lincoln School, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Retiring Vice-President, L. A. Pechstein, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. Secretary, A. S. Barr, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Permanent Secretarys Burton E. Livingston, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. (Association mail address: Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington, D. C.) General Secretary3 W. J. Humphreys, U. S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Treasurers John L. Wirt, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D. C. Assistant Secretary Francis D. Murnaghan, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Secretary of the Council and Program Editor Sam F. Trelease, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Executive Assistant Sam Woodley, Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington, D. C. Auditor R. B. Sosman, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, D. C. 3 The permanent secretary, the general secretary and the treasurer are each elected for a term of four years; their terms of office expire at the end of the fifth New York meeting. C Members of the Executive Committee of the Council for the Calendar Year 19254 J. McK. Cattell (1926), chairman, Garrison-on-Hudson, M. I. Pupin, president of the Association (1925). B. M. Duggar (1925), Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Herman L. Fairchild (1927), University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y. Vernon L. Kellogg (1928), National Research Council, Washington, D. C. F. R. Moulton (1925), University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. W. A. Noyes (1927), University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Henry B. Ward (1926), University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Edwin B. Wilson (1928), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE KANSAS CITY MEETING This year's annual meeting will be the eighty-second meeting of the association. It is necessarily only infrequently that an annual meeting is held so far west as Kansas City and this will be the first in that place. It will bring the great scientific convention to a region characterized by typical American progress and prosperity, to a community of high intellectual and educational ideals, and many members and other friends of the association who dwell in the region now to be visited and who do not generally find it possible to attend the annual meetings will be able this year to receive the benefits of attending. The distance to be traveled will be relatively short from places in the Mississippi and Missouri valleys, and the facilities for transportation to Kansas City from all parts of the country are unsurpassed. The hotel accommodations at Kansas City are exceptionally excellent. The larger hotels are conveniently grouped in a small area and the Kansas City Junior College, at which many of the sessions will be held, is situated but a short distance away. The local arrangements for the meeting are in the hands of an able committee, of which Dr. A. Ross Hill is chairman. The Convention Bureau of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, which is deeply appreciative of the aims of men and women of science, is giving very valuable aid to the local committee. THE THIRD AMERICAN ASSOCIATION PRIZE The third annual American Association prize of one thousand dollars is to be awarded at the close The number in parentheses denotes the calendar year at the end of which the member's term of office expires. of the Kansas City meeting. Funds for the annual prizes were given to the association by a broadminded and far-seeing member who desires that his name be withheld. This feature of the annual meetings greatly increases interest and enthusiasm and has already demonstrated the wisdom as well as the generosity of the donor. The first annual prize was awarded at the third Cincinnati meeting (January, 1924) and the second award was made at the fifth Washington meeting (January, 1925). The Cincinnati prize was awarded to Dr. L. E. Dickson, of the University of Chicago, for original work in mathematics. The second award, at Washington, was equally divided between two prizemen: Dr. Edwin P. Hubble, of the Solar Observatory of the Carnegie Institution, at Mount Wilson, California, for original work in astronomy; and Dr. L. R. Cleveland, of the School of Hygiene of the Johns Hopkins University, for original work in parasitology and general physiology. The award will be made by the Committee on Prize Award, which is appointed under the authority of the association council. Suggestions are to be received from the secretaries of sections and of the societies that meet with the association on this occasion, and the winner will be selected from those suggested. Membership in the association will not be considered in making the decision. The winner of the prize will be announced in SCIENCE and in the daily press, shortly after the close of the meeting. According to the terms of the gift, the work of the younger men is recommended to special consideration by the committee. There will be no competition in the usual sense and manuscripts are not to be submitted unless asked for by the Committee on Award. The prize is to be given to the author of some noteworthy contribution to scientific advancement presented in the program of this meeting. Because of the fact that contributions in the several fields of knowledge are generally not readily commensurable, it is not intended that the prize paper is to be necessarily the very best of the meeting; it is to be one of the best. The prize will not be divided in the future, as it was at the fifth Washington meeting last year. GENERAL SESSIONS AND POPULAR LECTURES AT KANSAS CITY GENERAL SESSIONS The plans for the Kansas City meeting include an exceptionally attractive series of lectures to be given before general sessions of the association. The general sessions are calculated to be of interest and importance to men and women of science, with the special aim of furnishing convenient means by which |