27, 1919, after conducting the office with marked success throughout the greater part of the war. ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL. On June 17, 1918, the secretary of the Royal Society of London invited the National Academy to send delegates to an Interallied Conference on International Scientific Organizations, to open in London on October 9. The president of the Academy, after the matter had been given full consideration by the council of the National Academy of Sciences and the executive board of the National Research Council, appointed the following delegates from the Academy and Council: H. A. Bumstead, J. J. Carty, W. F. Durand, Simon Flexner, A. A. Noyes, and George E. Hale, chairman. All of these attended the conference in London, at which the following countries were represented by the delegates named below: Belgium.-Georges Lecointe, J. Massart, Ch. de la Vallée Poussin. France.-B. Baillaud, G. Bigourdan, Albin Haller, A. Lacroix, Charles Lallemand, Charles Moureu, Emile Picard. Italy.-Vito Volterra. Japan.-Joji Sakurai, Aiklchi Tanakadate. Portugal.-Braamcamp Freire. Serbia.-B. Popovitch. United States.-H. A. Bumstead, J. J. Carty, W. F. Durand, S. Flexner, G. E. Hale, A. A. Noyes. Great Britain.—Sir J. J. Thomson, Sir Alfred Kempe, A. Schuster, W. B. Hardy, W. A. Herdman, Sir F. Dyson, J. H. Jeans, H. G. Lyons, J. A. McClelland, Sir E. Sharpey Schafer, C. S. Sherrington, Sir W. Tilden. The delegate nominated by the Government of Portugal did not arrive in England in time to take part in the conference. A committee of the Royal Society issued a memorandum on international scientific organizations, in which it is pointed out that they "may be divided into four groups, according to their objects and methods of procedure. Some are intended to establish uniformity in the standards of measures, others to advance science by cooperation, and others again merely to encourage present interchange of opinion. Those that aim directly at organizing scientific progress may further be divided into two parts, according as the cooperation is essential to coordinate observations taken in different places or aims only at economy of labor." The memorandum then goes on to review the characteristics of a large number of international organizations and concludes with a statement of the following subjects for discussion at the conference: 1. Is it desirable for the allied nations to establish organizations for scientific cooperation among themselves? 2. If this be agreed upon, what should be the particular forms of organizaon to be aimed at in geodesy, seismology, meteorology, etc.? 3. Should particular academies be asked to submit proposals on those undertakings in which they have taken the leading part, such as (a) The Académie des Sciences on the Commission Metrique and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. (b) The Royal Society on the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. 4. What representation should be addressed to the governments with regard to those organizations which have hitherto received their support? DECLARATION. The first act of the London conference was to define its attitude, as expressed in the following declaration, toward the question of future relations with the men of science of the central powers: When more than four years ago the outbreak of war divided Europe into hostile camps, men of science were still able to hope that the conclusion of peace would join at once the broken threads and that the present enemies might then once more be able to meet in friendly conference, uniting their efforts to advance the interests of science. For ever since the revival of learning in the middle ages the prosecution of knowledge has formed a bond strong enough to resist the strain of national antagonism. And this bond was strengthened during the latter part of last century, when branches of science developed requiring for their study the cooperation of all the civilized nations of the world. International associations and conferences rapidly multiplied and the friendly intercourse between the learned representatives of different countries grew more intimate in spite of their political differences, which were admitted but not insisted upon. In former times war frequently interrupted the cooperation of individuals without destroying the mutual esteem based on the recognition of intellectual achievements; peace then soon effaced the scars of a strife that was ended. If to-day the representatives of the scientific academies of the allied nations are forced to declare that they will not be able to resume personal relations in scientific matters with their enemies until the central powers can be readmitted into the concert of civilized nations, they do so with a full sense of responsibility and they feel bound to record the reasons which have led them to this decision. Civilization has imposed restrictions on the conduct of nations which are intended to serve the interests of humanity and to maintain a high standard of honor, such as the recognition of the sanctity of treaties, especially those designed to apply to a state of war, and the avoidance of unnecessary cruelties inflicted on civilians. In both these respects the central powers have broken the ordinances of civilization, disregarding all conventions, and unbridling the worst passions which the ferocity of war engenders. War is necessarily full of cruelties; individual acts of barbarity can not be avoided and have to be borne. It is not of these we speak, but of the organized horrors encouraged and initiated from above with the sole object of terrorizing unoffending communities. The wanton destruction of property, the murders and outrages on land and sea, the sinking of hospital ships, the insults and tortures inflicted on prisoners of war, have left a stain on the history of the guilty nations which can not be removed by mere compensation of the material damage inflicted. In order to restore the confidence without which no scientific intercourse can be fruitful, the central powers must renounce the political methods which have led to the atrocities that have shocked the civilized world. INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL. On behalf of the council of the National Academy of Sciences, the delegates of the Academy submitted to the conference the following proposal: SUGGESTIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SCIENCE AND RESEARCH. 1. Immediate importance of International Organization to meet war needs.— The experience of men of science since the outbreak of the war has strongly emphasized the fact that there has never been an international association adequate to represent the larger interests of science and research. The International Association of Academies had within it the germs of better things, and some of us have attended its meetings for years in the hope that it might ultimately be developed into a thoroughly effective organization. Its chief merit lay in the inclusion of the principal national academies of sciences, which should certainly play a leading part in any international organization relating to science as a whole. Its defects were more numerous, involving among others the exclusion of many elements vital to the promotion of the best interests of research, together with an almost complete cessation of activity during the three-year intervals between successive meetings. Since the Petrograd meeting of 1913, when the possibility of greater usefulness was freely discussed, the association has practically ceased to exist. Current events clearly indicate, however, the great importance of establishing an international body for promoting the general interests of science and research. The special needs of geodesy, chemistry, engineering, seismology, medicine, astronomy, and other branches of science and technology are no less urgent than before, and the various international bodies formed to deal with them should be reorganized to meet existing conditions. But the broader necessities of science and research, seriously threatened through loss of men and curtailment of revenue, but potentially strengthened through a greatly enhanced public appreciation of their national importance, call for a new and vigorous movement in their behalf. This should be initiated at once by the nations of the Entente, primarily with reference to war needs, but with the expectation that in the future other nations, not now in a position to cooperate, will be invited to take part. 2. New factors in the organization of research emphasized by recent expericnce.-Experience in the United States since our entrance into the war has emphasized the following facts: 1. The essential solidarity of scientific research in all of its aspects and the ease with which investigators hitherto concerned only with pure science can deal with military and industrial problems. 2. The necessity of establishing and maintaining close cooperation between investigators formerly separated into academic, industrial, and military groups, and the immediate advantage to the nation which such cooperation has afforded. 3. The increased sense of obligation to the state on the part of all men of science and their strengthened desire to render their researches of the widest possible value. 4. The advantages certain to result in pure science from closer and more active cooperation between investigators who have specialized in its several fields, and from their contact with military and industrial problems. 5. The urgent necessity of strengthening the nation and compensating in part for the losses of war by the development of the industries through research. 6. The recognition by far-sighted industrial leaders of their obligations to pure science, and their desire to assist in providing adequately for its future support and development. 7. The importance of taking immediate advantage of the present opportunity to promote the interests of science and research. The proposed scheme of international organization is suggested as a means of utilizing the above facts to the advantage of science and technology, and for the mutual welfare of the nations of the entente. It is based on plans for the national organization of research, which must be presented first. 3. Establishment of national research organizations.-The national organization in each contracting State should be headed by the corresponding national academy of sciences, because of its close connection with the Government, its inclusion of the entire realm of the mathematical, physical, and biological sciences, and its previous international activities in the interest of science as a whole. In view of the limited membership or scope of the several national academies, and the importance of including in the organization the most active leaders of research of each country, whether academy members or not, the following procedure is recommended: Let each national academy establish a research council, resting upon the charter of the academy and thus sharing in its national prestige and its relationship to the Government. These councils should be organized with the cooperation of the leading national societies interested in the promotion of research in the mathematical, physical, and biological sciences, and their applications in engineering, medicine, agriculture, and other useful arts. The membership of such research councils should comprise representatives of three principal groups: The heads and leading investigators of the scientific and technical services of the Government, both military and civil; active research workers in educational institutions and research foundations; and leaders of research in engineering, medicine, agriculture, and the industries. This membership should change from time to time in order to bring in fresh stimulus and ideas from all parts of the country, and to secure the advantages of cooperation with men of the widest range of interest. The council should have the active support of the best-known leaders of industry, whose indorsement of its purposes would weigh more heavily with the general public than that of men not identified with practical affairs. Such an organization, in direct contact with the military and economic problems of the Government and the needs of science and research in educational institutions, in the industries, and in connection with many aspects of the public welfare, should be far more effective than any body more narrowly conceived. Necessities resulting from the war will force extensive efforts to overcome losses sustained in every field. So long as they are opposed by dangerous enemies, the nations of the Entente must develop their methods of defense by means of scientific research. We can no longer afford to depend solely upon foreign sources of supply, but must utilize research in order to meet our many needs for nitrates, dyestuffs, and other essential commodities. The burdens of heavy taxation must be lightened by reducing the cost of manufactured articles through research. The yield of our cultivated fields must be increased by the most scientific methods. The conditions of labor must be improved by every means that research affords. The supply of scientific investigators, sadly depleted by the war, must be made good by developing research in educational institutions. Pure science, fundamentally important to the State and not appealing directly to superficial thinkers, must be aided as never before. 105363°-19-2 In support of all these activities, the common efforts of all who realize the importance of research, in science and in its applications, should be strongly united. Separate and unconnected movements to promote research in any field, carried out independently by men primarily concerned with pure science, industry, or medicine, lose many of the advantages which cooperation and mutual aid can supply. Thus the need in each country of a national research organization, federating all interests and preserving a just balance between the claims of science in its underlying branches and in its applications in the useful arts, would seem to be plainly indicated. There need be no conflict between the type of organization here proposed and such bodies as the advisory councils for scientific and industrial research, recently established as government departments in England and several of the British colonies. Indeed, a working union between the British Advisory Council and the Royal Society, with the inclusion of representatives from the Admiralty, the Ministry of Munitions, the leading scientific and technical societies, and the industries, could accomplish the purposes in view. The Advisory Council would continue to exercise its present functions, while the proposed organization, federating research interests in all fields, including munitions, medicine, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry, which do not appear to lie within the scope of the advisory council, would provide the means of securing the widest cooperation and the means of utilizing in any field the principles and methods which have been developed elsewhere. 4. Establishment of an international research organization.—An international federation of such national organizations should provide the best means of meeting the general needs of science and research, and of securing the close and effective cooperation between the nations of the Entente that is essential to their future welfare. This international body should comprise representatives of the several national research organizations and ultimately of special international associations dealing with research in engineering, medicine, agriculture, and the various branches of science and technology. A general meeting should be held annually, but a group of representatives should be constantly at work in a permanent office in London or Paris, where frequent conferences on international cooperation in research for military, industrial, or general scientific purposes would be held. Each contracting country should be officially represented at this office by members of the various technical bureaus and boards, military and civil, which are also represented in its national research organization. Means would thus be provided for a constant interchange of ideas, and close contact would be secured with research in all of its phases. Without such close cooperation we can not expect in the existing emergency to match our opponents in the development of military devices or in overcoming industrial difficulties created by the war. At present, as indicated in the accompanying "Outline of plan for an interallied research council," we propose the establishment of a body especially adapted for war purposes. After the war, if it should then seem advisable, the scope of this organization may be expanded to any desired degree, even to the inclusion of history, philology, and related subjects.1 1 This memorandum was prepared in the spring of 1918 and forwarded to the academies of the Entente soon afterward. At the time of the London conference it was evident that the end of the war was close at hand. The delegates of the National Academy therefore proposed that the national research councils, as well as the international body to be formed by their federation, be organized for service under peace conditions. |