Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-22
|DR. REMSEN OPENS
SCIENCE ACADEMY
Pleads for Home in Washinu-
ton for National Or
ganization.
DISTINGUISHED MEN
ATTENDING SESSIONS
Reception to Be Given by Smith
sonian Regents-Wilson to Pre-
sent Medals Tomorrow.

Proposing that the National Academy OF
Sciences be used more by the United States
government as clearing house for scien-
tific work and knowledge and that it be
properly housed in Washington, DR.. Ira
Remsen of Johns Hopkins University to-
day opened the fiftieth anniversary con-
vention of the academy in the New Ma
tional Museum. DR.. Remsen, who is
head of the Agriculture Departments
pure food referee board. and president
of the academy. spoke before notable
gathering of distinguished scientists from
all parts of America and Europe
The meeting was made notable by a
paper on international Research in
Science" by Prof. Arthur Schuster. Sec
rotary of the Royal Society of London, in
which he said that the present age is
distinguished by disclosures of facts
which take man nearer to the Infinite de-
sign of the universe and to the mil
Intestinal structure of matter than the
''boldest flight of imagination could have
aspired to half century ago.
Prof. Hadley Speaks.
President Arthur T. Hadey of Yale
University added to the interest of the
gathering by praising the tendency to-
ward real scientific study and thought.
and criticising the failure of some to
grasp the real meaning of science. He
spoke on THE Relation of Science to
Higher Education in America"
The program for. the convention in
cludes discussions of subjects of deep in
terest to scientists and to the public.
This afternoon DR.. George Hale, director
of the Mount Wilson solar observatory,
was scheduled to speak THE Earth
CIV Afoc infc. iD
and the secretary of the Smithsonian In
stitution will receive members of the
academy and guests at the National Mu-
scum. Following short program to-
morrow the members will go to the
White House, where President Wilson
will present the valuable medals awarded
for scientific research.
The convention will be brought to
conclusion Thursday night with dinner
at the New Willard Hotel.
Cites Academy's Work.
Following a short business session this
morning, DR.. Rensen opened the general
meeting with brief resume of the fifty
years work Of the academy. He men,
toned the long. list of distinguished
scientists who have been members of the
organization. He also showed how, IN
the early days of the Academy, during
and following the civil war, the govern
ment had called upon it for valuable in
vestigations and reports. Under IT'S
charter, he showed. the academy. must
make such governmental reports free or
charge.
There is still ample room for such in
vestigations." he concluded. There are
many scientific, questions which might
we'll be studied by the academy for the
government
DIR. Remsen spoke of request made
by Congress in 1908 for report from
the acadsmy on the question of how to
so organize the various government scie-
tific bureaus SO as to prevent duplication
of work and energy. After thorough
study of the question. he said, an able
and comprehensive report was made, but
no attention or study was ever given to 1t.
He said that the day must come when
for the good of the country the govern
ment will. use the academy more. He
said he hoped to see the day when
proper building would be erected for
the academy in order to make 1T
clearing house for scientific work and
knowledge.
Trend of Education.
President Hadl.y of Yale reviewed
the educational methods of the past.
saying that there has been a general
in the last fifty years toward
scientific training and teaching in all
schools.
Sometimes, however, he declared there
is too much of a tendency to think that
subjects make science, and that science
means knowledge of a certain kind of
facts.
Prof Shuster urged the use of the In
ternational Association Of Academies as
a means for carrying forward scientific
research of all kinds. In a comprehen-
sive way he told of how various scien-
tific bodies are doing certain kinds of
scientific work, but he said there is still
too many chances for overlapping and
for waste of energy and time.