Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-10

the dine OF the Boxer outbreak . Chinsse
number, at me time Of the Observation-Disclosures
war q Manchnxian number, at the time OF the
Morocco conference . number containing
!ntsresting inSermaaicn sosu 81 s tsss ene
national American conferencs - Rio WAS
celebrated By the publication of South
American number. These publications en-
abled the members Of the society ana s,, the
and clearer understanding Of the current
Newspaper reporta
High Praise Absorbed
This branch o. the societys activity has
recsavsd the highsst commendatinn from
the best critics. Gen. James b. Tilsen OF
Delawars net long ago wrote ito commend
the breadth and efRcieacy OF its services TO
the science Of geography. regard IT.
magazine - the best publicaftou Of the
kind OF which have any knowledfe. lts
paper ON Alaslka and maps Illustrating the
Aisskan boundary dispute are mSss vaia =,
those reGion1"
Admiral Dewey SAID: personally I shouid
ind It dihicuit to place an estimate upon
the value Of the educative work OF the So
ciety. but I am sure that any such esti-
nato must Be necessarily high.
Mr.. Charles F. King, author Of several
text books on geography, wrote ,t to a. ne .
Magazine the best magazine In the world
for teachers because Of Its up-to-date arti-
cles, facts and statistics, its superb Illus
teacher OF geography in this country can
afford to teach without its help.
Governmental Work Featured.
While the editor Of the magazine. MI.
Gilbert II. Grosvenor, covers tho whole
world in his news articles. especial atten-
ton is given to geographic work done by
&lA ant of ha
Washington Is the greatest center OF scien-
tific inquiry in the world-both on land and
on sea-and much Of 1t pertains to geogra-
ply. The government spends annually $l5,-
OO,00O for geographic work in one form or
another. The results are usually buried
in massive volumes OF official reports,
which are not available for several years
after they are written, hence It Is OF es-
pecia1 importance that the society should
keep Its members Informed OF what is going
on within its chosen sphere. But II gives
geography a broader Interpretation than the
older Organizations. It extends its Inquiries
over all physical geography-into the ar.
thereof, touching upon biology. zoology ana
all the other ''ologies" that come within
geographic lines. The present understand
Ing does not limit the science OF geography
to the making Of maps and globes. The
Americans developed the science of meteor
olgy, SO that we cannot only predict the
approach but plot the tracks of storms:
geography many times farther than any
other nation, and our geographers OF the
sea have demonstrated that one acre OF
water may be made to contribute more 10
feed the human race than ten acres OF
arabic land.
The magazine has a circulation Of about
Is 600 in all parts of the world, more than
ali the other geographic publications com
bined. There are several other publications
devoted to geographic science. The Geo
graphic Journal Of London, the Journal
Geographie and La Geographic OF Paris,
Peterman's Mitheilungen Of Gothic and the
Gesellschaft Fur Erdkunde of Berlin are
the principal ones. But they all pursue
very conservative policy and do not at
tempt to cover current events.
Courses Of Lectures.
Another means of diffusing knowledge is
from the lecture platform. The society
maintains two courses one Of popular and
another of scientific lectures, including
about forty during the season, and they
cover practically everything that is going
on in the geographic world. The speakers
are those best qualified to discuss the sub
jects chosen, and the lectures are almost
always published in the magazine, SO that
the members Of the society outside OF the
city OF Washington can enjoy them as
well as those who are able to be present al
their delivery. The society has Its own
home and lecturer hall at the corner OF 10th
md M streets, which was erected as me-
mortal to its FIRST president by the family
Of the late Gardiner Greene Hubbard: Here
also is the library, which is new. but Is
growing rapidly in Importance. It now has
about 5000 volumes, confined entirely to
geographic subjects. and is the best in this
country, although 1t cannot compare In I'M
portance with those Of the Royal Society
Of England or the German society, which is
especially noted for its collection Of maps,
or with geographical libraries in Petersburg
and Stockholm.
way, is a member of the National Geo.
graphic Society, has the largest and most
valuable geographic library in the world In
a building erected to shelter it adjoining his
palace at No. 10 Avenue d'Iena, Paris.
Prince Roland Bonaparte has been twice
president of the Geographic Society OF
Paris, and is the most generous patron OF
geographical research in France. He Is
ffty years of age and q grand-nephew OF
the great Napoleon. His grandfather was
Lucien Bonaparte, who was offered the
crown OF italy and Spain by his brother II
he would divorce his wife, the widow Of q
stockbroker, but he preferred the woman
to the kingdoms. His fourth son, Pierre
Napoleon, father Of Roland Bonaparte,
died in 1881, leaving a great fortune, most
Of It made In Paris real estate.