The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-07-24
SEATTLE MAY GET 1t.
Greatest Congress of Scientists
Yet Held in America.
THREE NATIONS REPRESENTED.
President Harrington Working Hard to
Bring a Most Important Meet
ing TO This City.

President Mark ". Harrington. OF the
University OF Washington, who Is now
In Boston. is making strenuous efforts TO
secure for the state of Washington Ter
1887 what viii probably be the greatest
congress OF scientists yet held in Amer
lea Tha British Association for the Ad-
yancement of Science Will hold its 1897
meeting at Toronto, and the Canadi1a
Pacific Railway Company has arranged
10 give that association a grand excur-
sion across the continent to Vancouver,
Il. c. IL Is the desire OF the American
Association for the Advancement OF
Science to hold their 1887 meeting at
place where they can entertain the repre-
sentatives OF The British Association. and
also the representatives of the Australia
sian Association for the Advancement OF
Science. thus bringing together congress
OF representatives OF the most important
scientific associations OF the English
speaking race.
The proposed excursion to British Col
umhia suggested the idea to President
Harrington that II would be WELL IL possi-
bic. 20 have the American association hold
its 1877 meeting In Seattle. as the most
convenient place for the proposed gath
ering OF scientists. and a place from It's
natural surroundings that would prove
most attractive TO such a class of men.
He at once entered into correspondence
with the officers OF the American asso-
citation and found them very favorable To
Seattle as a meeting place. Prof. l.. ID.
Cope. OF Philadelphia. OF The American
association. warmly fayors the undertake
ing ana suggests that favorable railroad
rates will be the greatest necessity for
those favorIng Seattle 10 secure. before
the association would agree 10 meet here.
Prof. #. w. Putnam of Harvard uniyersi-
". permanent secretary OF the American
association. also favors Seattle. william
III. Hale, president of the Brooklyn CON-
mittee, is enthusiastic over a meeting at
some Pacific coast city, IN order that
the plans for the congress Of scientists
may be perfected. In fact. II was he who
suggested. the possibilities OF such a con-
gress or the three great associations. in
an article published In Nature October "a.
1896.
The American association viii hold Its
1896 meeting at Brooklyn, N Y. from
August Is 10 p. The association has
never met on the Pacific coast. bat San
Francisco viii make a strong effort at
the meeting In Brooklyn to secure the
1887 meeting, and now Seattle has enter
ed as a competitor with San Francisco
for this desirable prize.
This association. during nearly half a
century. has through It's annual meetings
stimulated scientific inquiry and research
in the many widely separted localities
where such meetings have been held. The
aim and scope OF the association are
broad. The whole cycle Of applied az well
as OF abstract sciences comes within its
purview. A simple enumeration OF the
sections shows that all intelligent per-
sons may fnd congeniai element among
them somewhere. Section A Is astronomy
and mathematics; h. physics. .. chemis-
try. u. mechanical science and engineer
ing; E. geology and geography. r. zoolo-
gy: 9. botany; ". anthropology; l., econ
onlc science and statistics.