SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the National Academy of Sciences shall consist of not more than fifty ordinary members, and the said corporation hereby constituted shall have power to make its own organization, including its constitution, by-laws, and rules and regulations; to fill all vacancies created by death, resignation, or otherwise; to provide for the election of foreign and domestic members, the division into classes, and all other matters needful or usual in such institution, and to report the same to Congress.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the National Academy of Sciences shall hold an annual meeting at such place in the United States as may be designated, and the academy shall, whenever called upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports to be paid from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but the academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any services to the Government of the United States.

Approved, March 3, 1863.

AMENDMENTS.

AN ACT To amend the act to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to remove the limitation of the number of ordinary members of said academy as provided in said act. Approved, July 14, 1870.

AN ACT To authorize the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the National Academy of Sciences, incorporated by the act of Congress, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and its several supplements, be, and the same is hereby, authorized and empowered to receive bequests and donations and hold the same in trust, to be applied by the said academy in aid of scientific investigations and according to the will of the donors.

Approved, June 20, 1884.

AN ACT To amend the act authorizing the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act to authorize the National Academy of Sciences to receive and hold

trust funds for the promotion of science, and for other purposes, approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"That the National Academy of Sciences, incorporated by the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be, and the same is hereby, authorized and empowered to receive, by devise, bequest, donation, or otherwise, either real or personal property, and to hold the same absolutely or in trust, and to invest, reinvest, and manage the same in accordance with the provisions of its constitution, and to apply said property and the income arising therefrom to the objects of its creation and according to the instructions of the donors: Provided, however, That the Congress may at any time limit the amount of real estate which may be acquired and the length of time the same may be held by said National Academy of Sciences."

SEC. 2. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved.

Approved, May 27, 1914.

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

During the past year two commissions have been given to the academy by the President of the United States, each of which bears very directly upon the public welfare. The first directed the academy to examine into the nature and consequences of the landslides which have blocked the passage of the Panama Canal from time to time; the second called upon the academy to take the initiative in ascertaining and correlating the resources for research (men, equipment, and experience) of the country, which may be applied to the solution of the scientific problems which are constantly arising just now in the preparations to meet impending national emergencies.

The examination of the canal slides was undertaken by a committee of 12 geologists and engineers, all men of national reputation, and their decision is of a kind to invite and to receive general attention at this time. Public confidence in the canal was rather seriously shaken when the great waterway remained closed to traffic for some months with no certainty that when cleared again it might not be closed by further slides within a few days or weeks. The strain upon shippers and upon the American public, which has taken an active interest and pride in the greatest engineering undertaking of our time, has been very severe.

The final report of the committee, though not yet in print, goes far to relieve this apprehension. The geologists of the academy committee assure us that there is no further ground for serious apprehension; that the mass of material in motion is now continually diminishing in magnitude, and although further slips are to be expected, they can not attain the volume of those that are past, nor can they any longer be accounted a serious menace to the full and complete usefulness of the canal in transporting the heaviest traffic from ocean to ocean.

The report of the committee will soon appear in print as a separate

document.

The second charge which was given to the academy is a direct consequence of a resolution taken at the annual meeting of the academy in April, 1916, as follows:

Resolved, That the President of the Academy be requested to inform the President of the United States that in the event of a break in diplomatic relations with any other country the academy desires to place itself at the disposal of the Government for any service within its scope.

When this resolution was brought to the attention of the President, he desired that the academy should take the initiative in ascertaining and correlating the scientific resources of the country which might be depended upon for the solution of problems arising out of the movement for "preparedness" against the possibility of war.

The council of the academy took immediate action upon the request and organized an independent body with power to act, which has been called the National Research Council. The explicit purposes of this research council as set forth in a prospectus recently issued are the following:

(1) The preparation of a national inventory of equipment for research, of the men engaged in it, and of the lines of investigation pursued in cooperating Government bureaus, educational institutions, research foundations, and industrial research laboratories— this inventory to be prepared in harmony with any general plan adopted by the Government Council of National Defense.

(2) The preparation of reports by special committees, leading to the statement of important research problems and thus serving as a clearing house for the coordination of research in various departments of science.

(3) The promotion of cooperation in research with the object of securing increased efficiency, but with careful avoidance of any hampering control or interference with individual freedom and initiative.

(4) Cooperation with educational institutions, by supporting their efforts to secure larger funds and more favorable conditions for the pursuit of research and for the training of students in the methods and spirit of investigation.

(5) Cooperation with research foundations and other agencies desiring to secure a more effective use of funds available for investigation.

(6) The encouragement in cooperating laboratories, of researches designed to strengthen the national defense and to render the United States independent of foreign sources of supply liable to be affected by war.

It is at once obvious that the value to the National Government of the information now being gathered in pursuit of this plan is very great, and there is a consequence which is by no means secondary in