The Washington herald., 1911-12-28

and looked at the presiding officer in
amazement. President Bessey shouted in
a louder voice: ''Will you stop?" No one
stopped and President Bessey stood 81
lently watching until those walking up
the aiSles had disappeared.
Then he said: when we have the Pres
ident of the United States on the stage
no one goes out" At this junction Presi-
dent Taft signifed his intention of leaV-
ing, and President BeSsey, wheeling sud-
denly so as to face the assemblage. said:
The audience will stand Smiling broad
Iy and preceded by Maj. Butt, Mr.. Taft
left the stage and passed up the aisle.
still smiling as he disappeared through
the door.
RepIete with Incidents.
The stern parliamentary manner OF
President Bessey ClimaXed an evening
replcte with several mildly exciting and
interesting Incidents Difficulty was eX
perienced by members of the watch og
the museum who acted as guards to the
entrance The hall, which has d seating
capacity of SO, was filed by o'clock.
and approximately 1,OO0 members were
denied admission.
There was much confusion and pro-
tests, one man declaring he had come
| from Montana to see President Taft,
and intended to get in the hall If he had
l
enlivened the proceedings with popular
airs
Th,. excitement was increased when
President Taft arrived He was followed
to the stage by number of prominent
men, including Elihu Root, John Joy Ed
son, c. G. Glover, Rear Admiral Stockton,
President Thrkield. of Howard Univer-
sity, and others. DR.. Nicholson intro
duced President Bessey, who presented
President Taft. Mr.. Taft said:
.'MayOr'' Gives Address.
Il had Christmas present a day or
two ago. 1t was a new Encyclopedia
Britannica. On the first page of it-l
suppose that was the reason why l got
| it-thCre was a dedication to King George
V and William Howard Taft, President
of the United States. Standing as l do
in the presence of this live encyclopedia
! of all knowledge. have the same feeling
of awe now that l had when I saw that
name before all the knowledge of the
world
AT first ! thought somebody else ought
to speak before me- but | am glad to
come first. because as a welComer 1t is
not necessary for me to advance a single
scientific proposition. l am here only as
the mayor of Washington, to advise you
that you have the freedom of the city.
cannot stay too long in Indeed, the
longer you stay, the longer YOU want to
stay.
We have centers of science here. We
have the Carnegie Foundation for SCien-
tific Research. and one of these days I
am going to read the things that come
from that research, when 7 have plenty
of time. Then We have a number of
bureaus that I presume would be called
bureaus of applied science | don't refer
to the science of gOvernment-that is
altogether too ineXaCt science for an
assembly like this-but | mean there are
certain bureaus connected with this gov
crnment that | hope present matters of
interest to so learned and scientific a
body as this. There are some of them
that | would like to get my hands on
and change. but there are limitations
upon the power of the President of the
I'pited States and he cannot do every
thing he would.
Would Change observatory.
"If I could change the Naval Observ-
atory into a bureau with a scientific pro-
fCssOr at the head of it, I would do it |
tomorrow. but there are conservative |
gentlemen connected with other branches |
and coordinate branches of the govern |
ment that prevent.
Then we have the Geological Survey |
and the Bureau of Chemistry and the |
Bureau of Entomology and the Bureau |
of Standards. | have no doubt there is |
d much longer list if had only commit |
ted il to memory, that | could give here |
for your studious consideration. But ii |
is enough of a congress of scientific |
nerves to Justify a meeting of all the |
scientific bodies of the country here, and
| hope that the government goes on
and as Congress becomes more liberal
IL
many of them ought to be, will be i'm
proved so as to commend them to those
of you who have theories as to what they
ought to be under the auspices and with
the necessary money which the United
States can devote, if 1t will, to useful
scientific research.
There is only one other remark that
I wish to make tonight In thinking
over what there was between this audi
pnCe and me of any possible common
knowledge, it occurred to me it was some
experience in the exercise of the judicial
faCulty-that is in your lives and in your
branches of study and action the search
for truth WITHOUT regard to the result
YOU reach. That is what makes the ad-
ministration of justice, what makes the
work upon the bench so delightful-the
absolute Indifference to a result, with the
weighing of the reasons pro and con,
and the final solution in accordance with
eternal justice.
Exercises Judicial Faculty.
The scientific man in his search for
the truth of nature, in which he would
wrest a rule from nature-a law-and
in which he studies each individual in
stance to find that law. or, If he thinks
he has found it, to make the instance
square with the law, exercises the ju-
diCiaI faculty in a different branch. but
with the same necessity for absolute
adherence to truth in order that a use
full result may be reaChed-no forcing
of a theory, no construction of individ-
ual instances in order to make a theory
If those instances really don't fit into
it: and If l know the weakness of the |
scientist or the temptation of the scien-
tist, it is in reference to just such cases
that
Just as the Judge upon the bench |
with a weakness for deciding the case
in advance because he has heard one
or two things in it, and then tries |
to square everything else that comes |
along to his original theory, so, too. |
with you. I have no doubt what you |
have to struggle against is too quick |
recognition of something that leads |
you to discover a law. Subsequent |
study changes your mind about ii. and |