The Appeal., 1910-10-01

cludes some of the greatest scientists of the
United States, and, in it's nonresident member
ship, some of the greatest scientists of the world.
There botanists, astronomers, ornitholo-
gists, and, in fact, scientists of all kinds and de-
scriptions, to be found nightly in the great,
sweeping parors of the clubs quarters. There is
just as much hospitality and jollity in the club
as are to be found in the of any social
organization in the world-and learning besides
there, also. In order to be member Of the Co.'S
club you must have something besides
money and social standing 1t is probable that
there many members Of other organizations
in Washington, who would be willing to throw
their memberships into the deep sea, if the act
would buy for them admittance into the club
of these scientists.
The headquarters of the Cosmos club are in
the old Dolly Madison" residence 1t was there
that the widow of President Madison lived and
held social sway for years after the death of her
husband During the Civil war, for time, Admi-
raj Wilkes lived in the Madison house. It was
Wilkes who took Mason and Slideu from the Brit
ish steamer Trent" and thereby nearly brought
between the United States and Great
Britain at time when such might have
insured ultimate victory to the Confederate arms.
The biological survey of the United States
government has lost the services of DR.. C. Hart
Merriam, who for years was the surveys chief,
and who in the early days worked hard to
make theservice what he succeeded in making it.
of the most useful departments Of govern
ment. DR.. Merriam has accepted the direction of
the Hartman Foundation for Geological Re-
search. Mrs Hartman the widow of E. H. Har-
riman, the great financier and railroad man, has
carried out the wishes of her husband, and has
SGT aside large sum of money to be used for
purposes of geological study. Acting unqueston-
ably in line with her husbands wishes, Mrs. Har-
riman requested DR.. Merriam to take charge of
the work.
1t is probable that the former chief of the bio
logical survey is the foremost authority in the
United States in matters pertaining to certain
lines of natural history work. It was Dr. Mer-
riam, more than any other man. to whom Theo-
dore Roosevelt went for advice about the scope
Of his expected work in Africa. The doctor and
the colonel have been friends since boyhood
when in New York state both were pursuing bird
studies and exchanging letters on general sub
jects of natural history.
These words about DR.. Merriam and the Har-
riman Geological Foundation lead one to tell a
story about the late f1nancier, which perhaps
will throw some light side of his life con-
cerniEg which most people probably know little.
One year ago last winter I went south from
Washington, bound for Augusta, Ca, with
friend. E. H. Harriman's private was at
tached to the train at one of the stations on the
way. 1t happened that my friend was a close per-
sonal acquaintance of Mr.. Hartman, and he
invited to dine with the fnancier his private
car, and was told to bring his friend with him,
provided the friend would like to come.
There were several men of large affairs at
that little dinner party, one of the guests being
the president of one of the greatest railroad
systems in the world. The conversation, natu-
rally, was about big affairs of the financial world,
concerning which I knew very little, and
free to confess, cared much less. After hearing
a good deal about certain things concerning
which the discussion more or less unintelli-
gible to me, ventured to break into the CONVEX
sation and to tell Mr.. Hartman that had such
of the journals Of the Hartman Alaska EKpedi-
ton" as already had been published and more
over, that had read them
For the next two hours had ample evidence
that E. H. Hartman cared for something besides
railroads. Ten or twelve years before he had