Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

The highly diversified nature of the Congress and the holding of one hundred twenty-eight section meetings in four days' time rendered necessary a large number of meeting-places centrally located. The Exposition was fortunate in having the use of the new plant of the Washington University, nine large buildings of which had been erected. Many of these buildings contained lecture halls and assembly rooms, seating from one hundred fifty to fifteen hundred people. Sixteen halls were necessary to accommodate the full number of sections running at any one time, and of this number twelve were available in the group of University Buildings; the other four were found in the lecture halls of the Education Building, Mines and Metallurgy Building, Agriculture Building, and the Transportation Building. The opening exercises, at which the entire Congress was assembled, was held in Festival Hall, capable of seating three thousand people. In the assignment of halls care was taken so far as possible to assign the larger halls to the more popular subjects, but it often happened that a great speaker was of necessity assigned to a smaller hall. Two of the halls also proved bad for speaking owing to the traffic of the Intramural Railway, and there was lacking in nearly all of the halls that academic peace and quiet which usually surrounds gatherings of a scientific nature. This, however, was to be expected in an exposition atmosphere, and was readily acquiesced in by the speakers themselves, and very little objection was heard to the halls as assigned. Every one seemed to recognize the fact that the immediate value of the meeting lay in the commingling and fellowship, and that the addresses, of which one could hear at most only one in sixteen, could not be judged in the proper light until their publication.

SUPPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC

A strong effort was made by the Organizing Committee to secure the attendance of an audience which should not only in its proportions be complimentary to the eminence of the speakers, but also be thoroughly appreciative of the addresses and conversant with the topic under discussion. Letters were therefore sent to all of the prominent scientific societies in the United States, asking that wherever possible the meetings of the society be set for the Congress week in St. Louis, and wherever this was not possible that the societies send special delegates to attend the Congress, and urge their membership to make an effort to be present. Personal letters were also sent to the leading members of the different professions and sciences, to the faculties of universities and colleges, urging them to attend, and pointing out the necessity of the support of the American scientific public.

Special invitations were also sent in the name of the Organizing Committee to the leading authorities of the various subjects under discussion in the Congress, asking them to contribute a ten-minute paper to any section in which they were particularly interested. The result of this careful campaign, in addition to the general exploitation which the Congress received, was such a flattering attendance of American scientists, as to be both a compliment to the European speakers and a benefit to scientific thought. Many societies, such as the American Neurological Association, American Philological Association, American Mathematical Society, Physical and Chemical Societies of America, American Astronomical Society, Germanic Congress, American Electro-Therapeutic Association, held their annual meetings during the week of the Congress, although the date rendered it impossible for the majority of the associations to meet at that time. The eighth International Geographic Congress adjourned from Washington to St. Louis to meet with the Congress of Arts and Science. In response to the special invitations, two hundred forty-seven ten-minute addresses were promised and one hundred two actually read.

RECEPTION OF FOREIGN GUESTS

Every effort was made by the Department of Congresses to assist the foreign speakers in their traveling arrangements and to make matters as easy and comfortable as possible. A letter of advice was mailed to each speaker prior to his departure, carefully setting forth the conditions of American travel, routes to be followed, reception committees to be met, and other essential details. The official badge of the Congress was also mailed, so that those wearing them might be easily identified by the reception committees both in New York and St. Louis. Nine tenths of the speakers came by the way of New York, and in order to facilitate the clearance of their baggage and to provide for their fitting entertainment in New York, a special reception committee was formed composed of the following members:--

F. P. Keppel, Columbia University, New York City, Chairman.
Prof. Herbert V. Abbott, New York.
R. Arrowsmith, New York.
C. William Beebe, New York.
George Bendelari, New York.
Edward W. Berry, Passaic.
J. Fuller Berry, Old Forge.
Rev. H. C. Birckhead, New York.
Dr. James H. Canfield, New York.
Rev. G. A. Carstenson, New York.
Prof. H. S. Crampton, New York.
Sanford L. Cutler, New York.
Dr. Israel Davidson, New York.
William H. Davis, New York.
Prof. James C. Egbert, New York.
Dr. Haven Emerson, New York.
Prof. T. S. Fiske, New York.
J. D. Fitz-Gerald, II, Newark.
W. D. Forbes, Hoboken.
Clyde Furst, Yonkers.
William K. Gregory, New York.
George C. O. Haas, New York.
Prof. W. A. Hervey, New York.
Carl Herzog, New York.
Robert Hoguet, New York.
Dr. Percy Hughes, Brooklyn.
Prof. A. V. W. Jackson, New York.
Albert J. W. Kern, New York.
Prof. Charles F. Kroh, Orange.
Dr. George F. Kunz, New York.
Prof. L. A. Lousseaux, New York.
Frederic L. Luqueer, Brooklyn.
R. A. V. Minckwitz, New York.
Charles A. Nelson, New York.
Dr. Harry B. Penhollow, New York.
Prof. E. D. Perry, New York.
John Pohlman, New York.
Dr. Ernest Richard, New York.
Dr. K. E. Richter, New York.
Edward Russ, Hoboken.
Prof. C. L. Speranza, Oak Ridge.
Prof. Francis H. Stoddard, New York.
Dr. Anthony Spitzka, Goodground.
Harvey W. Thayer, Brooklyn.
Prof. H. A. Todd, New York.
Dr. E. M. Wahl, New York.
Prof. F. H. Wilkens, New York.

To each foreign speaker was extended the courtesies of the Century and the University clubs while remaining in New York City. Mention should also be made of the assistance of the Treasury Department and of the courtesy of Collector of the Port, Hon. N. N. Stranahan, through whom special privileges of the Port were extended to the members of the Congress. The work of the reception committee was most satisfactorily and efficiently performed, and was highly appreciated by the foreign guests. Special acknowledgment is due Mr. F. P. Keppel, of Columbia University, for his painstaking and efficient management of the affairs of the committee in New York. Many of the speakers proceeded singly to St. Louis, stopping at various places, but the great majority went directly to the University of Chicago, where they were entertained during the week preceding the Congress by President Harper and Professor Small, of the University of Chicago. The arrivals at St. Louis were made on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th of September. Many of the participants had arrived at earlier dates, and fully twenty of the speakers were members of the International Jury of Awards for their respective countries, and had been in St. Louis since September 1, the beginning of the Jury work.

A reception committee similar to that in New York was also formed at St. Louis from the members of the University Club, and their duties were to meet all incoming trains and conduct the members of the Congress personally to their stopping-places, and assist them in all matters of detail. This committee was comprised of the following members, nearly all of the University Club, who performed their work efficiently and enthusiastically to the great satisfaction of the Exposition and to the thorough appreciation of the foreign guests:--

V. M. Porter, Chairman, St. Louis.
E. H. Angert, St. Louis.
Gouverneur Calhoun, St. Louis.
W. M. Chauvenet, St. Louis.
H. G. Cleveland, St. Louis.
Mr. M. B. Clopton, St. Louis.
Walter Fischel, St. Louis.
W. L. R. Gifford, St. Louis.
E. M. Grossman, St. Louis.
L. W. Hagerman, St. Louis.
Louis La Beaume, St. Louis.
Carl H. Lagenburg, St. Louis.
Sears Lehmann, St. Louis.
G. F. Paddock, St. Louis.
T. G. Rutledge, St. Louis.
Luther Ely Smith, St. Louis.
J. Clarence Taussig, St. Louis.
C. E. L. Thomas, St. Louis.
W. M. Tompkins, St. Louis.
G. T. Weitzel, St. Louis.
Tyrrell Williams, St. Louis.

The itinerary of the foreign speakers after leaving St. Louis at the end of the Congress took them on appointed trains to Washington, where they were given an official reception by President Roosevelt and a reception by Dr. Simon Newcomb, President of the Congress. From here they proceeded to Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., where they were given a reception by Prof. Hugo Münsterberg, and were entertained as guests of Harvard University. Thence the great majority of the speakers returned to New York, where they were the guests of Columbia University, and were given a farewell dinner by the Association of Old German Students. Many of the speakers, however, visited other portions of the country before returning to Europe.

The foreign speakers while in St. Louis were considered the guests of the Exposition Company, and were relieved from all care and expense for rooms and entertainment. Those who were accompanied by their wives and daughters were entertained by prominent St. Louis families, and those who came singly were quartered in the dormitory of the Washington University, which was set aside for this purpose during the week of the Congress. The dormitory arrangement proved a very happy circumstance, as nearly one hundred foreign and American scientists of the highest rank were thrown in contact, much after the fashion of their student days, and thoroughly enjoyed the novelty and fellowship of the plan. The dormitory contained ninety-six rooms newly fitted up with much care and with all modern conveniences. Light breakfasts were served in the rooms, and special service provided at the call of the occupants. The situation of the dormitory also in the Exposition grounds in close proximity to the assembly halls was highly appreciated, and although at times there were minor matters which did not run so smoothly, the almost unanimous expression of the guests of the Exposition was one of delight and appreciation of the arrangements. Special mention ought in justice to be made to those residents of St. Louis who sustained the time-honored name of the city for hospitality and courtesy by entertaining those foreign members of the Congress who were accompanied by the immediate members of their family. They were as follows:--

Dr. C. Barek
Dr. William Bartlett
Judge W. F. Boyle
Mr. Robert Brookings
Mrs. J. T. Davis
Dr. Samuel Dodd
Mr. L. D. Dozier
Dr. W. E. Fischel
Mr. Louis Fusz
Mr. August Gehner
Dr. M. A. Goldstein
Mr. Charles H. Huttig
Dr. Ernest Jonas
Mr. R. McKittrick Jones
Mr. F. W. Lehmann
Dr. Robert Luedeking
Mr. Edward Mallinckrodt
Mr. George D. Markham
Mr. Thomas McKittrick
Mr. Theodore Meier
Dr. S. J. Niccolls
Dr. W. F. Nolker
Dr. S. J. Schwab
Dr. Henry Schwartz
Mr. Corwin H. Spencer
Dr. William Taussig
Mr. G. H. Tenbroek
Dr. Herman Tuholske
Hon. Rolla Wells
Mr. Edwards Whitaker
Mr. Charles Wuelfing
Mr. Max Wuelfing.

DETAIL OF THE CONGRESS

The immense amount of detail work which devolved upon the Department in the matter of preparing halls for the meetings, receiving guests, providing for their comfort, issuing the programmes, managing the detail of the receptions, banquets, invitations, etc., providing for registration, payment of honorariums, and furnishing information on every conceivable topic, rendered necessary the formation of a special bureau which was placed in charge of Dr. L. O. Howard of Washington, D. C., as Executive Secretary. Dr. Howard's long experience as Secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science rendered him particularly well qualified to assume this laborious and thankless task. By mutual arrangement the Director of Congresses and the Executive Secretary divided the field of labor. The Director had, in addition to the general oversight of the Congress, special supervision of the local reception committee, the entertainment of the guests, official banquets and entertainments, and all financial details. The Executive Secretary took entire charge of the programme, assignment of rooms in the dormitory, care and supervision of the dormitory, assignment of halls for speakers, registration books and bureau of information. Dr. Howard arrived on September 1 to begin his duties, and remained until September 30.

WEEK OF THE CONGRESS

The opening session of the Congress was set for Monday afternoon. September 19, at 2.30 o'clock in Festival Hall. The main programme of the Congress began Tuesday morning. The sessions were held in the mornings and afternoons, the evenings being left free for social affairs. The list of functions authorized in honor of the Congress of Arts and Science were as follows:--

Monday evening, September 19, grand fête night in honor of the guests of the Congress, with special musical programme about the Grand Basin and lagoons, boat rides and lagoon fête; this function was unfortunately somewhat marred by inclement weather. It was the only evening free in the entire week, however, for members of the Congress to witness the illuminations and decorative evening effects.

Banquet given by the St. Louis Chemical Society at the Southern Hotel to members of the chemical sections of the Congress.

Tuesday evening, September 20, general reception by the Board of Lady Managers to the officers and speakers of the Congress and Officials of the Exposition.

Wednesday afternoon, September 21, garden fête given to the members of the Congress at the French National Pavilion by the Commissioner-General from France. The gardens of the miniature Grand Trianon were never more beautiful than on this brilliant afternoon, and the presence of the Garde Républicaine band and the entire official representation of the Exposition, lent a color and spirit to the affair unsurpassed during the Exposition period.

Wednesday evening, reception by the Imperial German Commissioner-General to the officers and speakers of the Congress and the officials of the Exposition, at the German State House. The magnificent hospitality which characterized this building during the entire Exposition period was fairly outdone on this occasion, and the function stands prominent as one of the brilliant successes of the Exposition period.

Thursday evening, September 22, Shaw banquet at the Buckingham Club to the foreign delegates and officers of the Congress. Through the courtesy of the trustees of Shaw's Garden and of the officers of Washington University, the annual banquet provided for men of science, letters, and affairs, by the will of Henry B. Shaw, founder of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, was given during this week as a compliment to the noted foreign scientists who were the guests of the city of St. Louis.

Friday evening, September 23, official banquet given by the Exposition to the speakers and officials of the Congress and the officials of the Exposition, in the banquet hall of the Tyrolean Alps.

Saturday evening, September 24, banquet at the St. Louis Club given by the Round Table of St. Louis, to the foreign members of the Congress. The Round Table is a literary club which meets at banquet six times annually for discussion of topics of interest to the literary and scientific world.

Banquet given by the Imperial Commissioner-General from Japan to the Japanese delegation to the Congress and to the Exposition officials and Chiefs of Departments.

Dinner given by Commissioner-General from Great Britain to the English members of the Congress.

OPENING OF THE CONGRESS

The assembling of the Congress on the afternoon of September 19, in the magnificent auditorium of Festival Hall which crowned Cascade Hill and the Terrace of States, was marked with simple ceremonies and impressive dignity. The great organ pealed the national hymns of the countries participating and closed with the national anthem of the United States. In the audience were the members of the Congress representing the selected talent of the world in their field of scientific endeavor, and about them were grouped an audience drawn from every part of the United States to promote by their presence the success of the Congress and to do honor to the noted personages who were the guests of the Exposition and of the Nation. On the stage were seated the officials of the Congress, the honorary vice-presidents from foreign nations, and the officials of the Exposition.

At the appointed hour the Director of Congresses, Dr. Howard J. Rogers, called the meeting to order, and outlined in a few words the object of the Congress, welcomed the foreign delegates, and presented the members, both foreign and American, to the President of the Exposition, Hon. David R. Francis.

The President spoke as follows:--

What an ambitious undertaking is a universal exposition! But
how worthy it is of the highest effort! And, if successful,
how far-reaching are its results, how lasting its benefits!
Who shall pass judgment on that success? On what evidence,
by what standards shall their verdicts be formed? The
development of society, the advancement of civilization,
involve many problems, encounter many and serious
difficulties, and have met with deplorable reactions which
decades and centuries were required to repair. The proper
study of mankind is man, and any progress in science that
ignores or loses sight of his welfare and happiness, however
admirable and wonderful such progress may be, disturbs the
equilibrium of society.

The tendency of the times toward centralization or
unification is, from an economic standpoint, a drifting in
the right direction, but the piloting must be done by
skillful hands, under the supervision and control of
far-seeing minds, who will remember that the masses are
human beings whose education and expanding intelligence are
constantly broadening and emphasizing their individuality. A
universal exposition affords to its visitors, and these who
systematically study its exhibits and its phases, an
unequaled opportunity to view the general progress and
development of all countries and all races. Every line of
human endeavor is here represented.

The conventions heretofore held on these grounds and many
planned to be held--aggregating over three hundred--have
been confined in their deliberations to special lines of
thought or activity. This international congress of arts and
sciences is the most comprehensive in its plan and scope of
any ever held, and is the first of its kind. The lines of
its organization, I shall leave the Director of Exhibits,
who is also a member of the administrative board of this
congress, to explain. You who are members are already
advised as to its scope, and your almost universal and
prompt acceptance of the invitations extended to you to
participate, implies an approval which we appreciate, and
indicates a willingness and a desire to coöperate in an
effort to bring into intelligent and beneficial correlation
all branches of science, all lines of thought. You need no
argument to convince you of the eminent fitness of making
such a congress a prominent feature of a universal
exposition in which education is the dominant feature.

The administrative board and the organizing committee have
discharged their onerous and responsible tasks with signal
fidelity and ability, and the success that has rewarded
their efforts is a lasting monument to their wisdom. The
management of the Exposition tenders to them, collectively
and individually, its grateful acknowledgments. The
membership in this congress represents the world's elect in
research and in thought. The participants were selected
after a careful survey of the entire field; no limitations
of national boundaries or racial affiliations have been
observed. The Universal Exposition of 1904, the city of St.
Louis, the Louisiana territory whose acquisition we are
celebrating, the entire country, and all participating in or
visiting this Exposition are grateful for your coming, and
feel honored by your presence.

We are proud to welcome you to a scene where are presented
the best and highest material products of all countries and
of every civilization, participated in by all peoples, from
the most primitive to the most highly cultured--a marker in
the progress of the world, and of which the International
Congress of Arts and Science is the crowning feature.

May the atmosphere of this universal exposition, charged as
it is with the restless energies of every phase of human
activity and permeated by that ineffable sentiment of
universal brotherhood engendered by the intelligent sons of
God, congregating for the friendly rivalries of peace,
inspire you with even higher thoughts--imbue you with still
broader sympathies, to the end that by your future labors
you may be still more helpful to the human race and place
your fellow men under yet deeper obligations.

Director Frederick J. V. Skiff was then introduced by the President as representing the Division of Exhibits, whose untiring labors had filled the magnificent Exposition palaces surrounding the Festival Hall with the visible products of those sciences and arts, the theory, progress, and problems of which the Congress was assembled to consider.

Mr. Skiff spoke as follows:--

The division of exhibits of the Universal Exposition of 1904
has looked forward to this time, when the work it has
performed is to be reviewed and discussed by this
distinguished body. I do not, of course, intend to convey
the idea that the international congress is to inspect or
criticise the exhibitions, but I do mean to say that the
deliberations of this organization are contemporaneous with
and share the responsibility for the accomplishments of
which the exhibitions made are the visible evidences.

The great educational yield of a universal exposition comes
from the intellectual more than from the mechanical
processes. It is the material condition of the times. It is
as well the duty of the responsible authorities to go yet
further and record the thoughts and theories, the
investigations, experiments, and observations of which these
material things are the tangible results.

A congress of arts and science, whose membership is drawn
from all educational as well as geographical zones, not only
accounts for and analyzes the philosophy of conditions, but
points the way for further advance along the lines
consistent with demonstration. Its contribution to the hour
is at once a history and a prophecy.

The extent to which the deliberations and utterances of this
congress may regulate the development of society or give
impulse to succeeding generations, it is impossible to
estimate, but not unreasonable to anticipate. The plans of
the congress matured in the minds of the best scholars; the
classification of its purpose, the scope, the selection of
its distinguished participants, gave to the hopes and
ambitions of the management of the Exposition inspiration of
a most exalted degree. At first these ambitions were--not
without reason--regarded as too high. The plane upon which
the congress had been inaugurated, the aim, the broad
intent, seemed beyond the merits, if not beyond the
capacity, of this hitherto not widely recognized
intellectual centre. But the courage of the inception, the
loftiness of the purpose, appealed so profoundly to the
toilers for truth and the apostles of fact, that we find
gathered here to-day in the heart of the new Western
continent the great minds whose impress on society has
rendered possible the intellectual heights to which this age
has ascended and now beckon forward the students of the
world to limitless possibilities.

While international congresses of literature, science, art,
and industry have been accomplished by previous expositions,
yet to classify and select the topics in sympathy with the
classification and installation of the exhibits material is
a step considerably in advance of the custom. The men who
build an exposition must by temperament, if not by
characteristic, be educators. They must be in sympathy with
the welfare of humanity and its higher destiny. The
exhibitions at this Exposition are not the haphazard
gatherings of convenient material, but the outline of a plan
to illustrate the productiveness of mankind at this
particular time, carefully digested, thoroughly thought out,
and conscientiously executed. The exhibit, therefore, in
each of the departments of the classification, as well as in
the groups of the different departments, are of such
character, and so arranged as to reflect the best that the
world can do along departmental lines, and the best that
different peoples can do along group lines. The congresses
accord with the exhibits, and the exhibits give expression
to the congresses.

Education has been the keynote of this Exposition. Were it
not for the educational idea, the acts of government
providing vast sums of money for the up-building of this
Exposition would have been impossible. This congress
reflects one idea vastly outstripping others, and that is,
in the unity of thought in the universal concert of purpose.
It is the first time, I believe, that there has been an
international gathering of the authorities of all the
sciences, and in that respect the congress initiates and
establishes the universal brotherhood of scholars.

A thought uncommunicated is of little value. An unrecorded
achievement is not an asset of society. The real lasting
value of this congress will consist of the printed record of
its proceedings. The delivery of the addresses, reaching and
appealing to, as must necessarily be the case, a very
limited number of people, can be considered as only a method
of reaching the lasting and perpetual good of civilization.

In just the degree that this Exposition in its various
divisions shall make a record of accomplishments, and lead
the way to further advance, this enterprise has reached the
expectations of its contributors and the hopes of its
promoters. This congress is the peak of the mountain that
this Exposition has builded on the highway of progress. From
its heights we contemplate the past, record the present, and
gaze into the future.

This universal exposition is a world's university. The
International Congress of Arts and Science constitutes the
faculty; the material on exhibition are the laboratories and
the museums; the students are mankind.

That in response to invitation of the splendid committee of
patriotic men, to whom all praise is due for their efforts
in this crowning glory of the Exposition, so eminent a
gathering of the scholars and savants of the world has
resulted, speaks unmistakably for the fraternity of the
world, for the sympathy of its citizenship, and for the
patriotism of its people.

In reply to these addresses of the officials of the Exposition, the honorary Vice-Presidents for Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, and Japan made brief responses in behalf of their respective countries.

Sir William Ramsay of London spoke in the place of Hon. James Bryce, extending England's thanks for the courtesy which had been shown her representatives and declaring that England, particularly in the scientific field, looked upon America as a relative and not as a foreign country.

France was represented by Professor Jean Gaston Darboux, Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, who spoke as follows:--

MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,--My first word will be
to thank you for the honor which you have been so courteous
as to pay my country in reserving for her one of the
vice-presidencies of the Congress. Since the time of
Franklin, who received at the hands of France the welcome
which justice and his own personal genius and worth
demanded, most affectionate relations have not ceased to
unite the scientists of France and the scientists of
America. The distinction which you have here accorded to us
will contribute still further to render these relations more
intimate and more fraternal. In choosing me among so many of
the better fitted delegates sent by my country, you have
without doubt wished to pay special honor to the Académie
des Sciences and to the Institut de France, which I have the
honor of representing in the position of Perpetual
Secretary. Permit me therefore to thank you in the name of
these great societies, which are happy to count in the
number of their foreign associates and of their
correspondents so many of the scholars of America. In like
manner as the Institut de France, so the Congress which
opens to-day seeks to unite at the same time letters,
science, and arts. We shall be happy and proud to take part
in this work and contribute to its success.

Germany was represented by Professor Wilhelm Waldeyer, of the University of Berlin, who replied as follows:--

MR. PRESIDENT, HONORED ASSEMBLAGE,--The esteemed invitation
which has been offered to me in this significant hour of the
opening of the Congress of Arts and Science to greet the
members of this congress, and particularly my esteemed
compatriots, I have had no desire to decline. I have been
for a fortnight under the free sky of this mighty city--so I
must express myself, since enclosing walls are unknown in
the United States--and this fact, together with the
hospitality offered me in such delightful manner by the
Chairman of the Committee on Congresses, Mr. Frederick W.
Lehmann, has almost made me a St. Louis man. Therefore I may
perhaps take it upon myself to greet you here.

I confess that I arrived here with some misgiving--some
doubts as to whether the great task which was here
undertaken under most difficult circumstances could be
accomplished with even creditable success. These doubts
entirely disappeared the first time I entered the grounds of
the World's Fair and obtained a general view of the method,
beautiful as well as practical, by which the treasures
gathered from the whole world were arranged and displayed. I
trust you, too, will have a like experience; and will soon
recognize that a most earnest and good work is here
accomplished.

And I must remark at this time that we Germans may indeed be
well satisfied here; the unanimous and complete recognition
which our coöperation in this great work has received is
almost disconcerting.

What can be said of the whole Exposition with reference to
its extent and the order in which everything is arranged, I
may well say concerning the departments of science,
especially interesting to us. In this hour in which the
Congress of Arts and Science is being opened, we shall not
express any thanks to those who took this part of the work
upon their shoulders--a more difficult task indeed than all
the others, for here the problem is not to manage materials,
but heads and minds. And as I see here assembled a large
number of German professors--I, too, belong to the
profession--of whom it is said, I know not with how much
justice, that they are hard to lead, the labors of the
Directors and Presidents of the Congress could not have
been, and are not now, small. Neither shall we to-day
prophesy into what the Congress may develop. The greater
number of speakers cannot expect to have large audiences,
but even to-day we can safely say this: the imposing row of
volumes in which shall be given to posterity the reviews
here to be presented concerning the present condition, and
future problems of the sciences and arts as they appear to
the scientific world at the beginning of the twentieth
century, will provide a monumental work of lasting value.
This we may confidently expect. The thanks which we to-day
do not wish to anticipate in words, let us show by our
actions to our kind American hosts, and especially to the
directors of the World's Fair and of this Congress. With
exalted mind, forgetting all little annoyances which may and
will come, let us go forward courageously to the work, and
let us do our best. Let us grasp heartily the open hand
honestly extended to us.

May this Congress of Arts and Science worthily take part in
the great and undisputed success which even to-day we must
acknowledge the World's Fair at St. Louis.

For Austria Dr. Theodore Escherich, of the University of Vienna, responded as follows:--

In the name of the many Austrians present at the Congress I
express the thanks of my compatriots to the Committee which
summoned us, for their invitation and the hospitality so
cordially extended....

I congratulate the authorities upon the idea of opening this
Congress. How many world-expositions have already been held
without an attempt having been made to exhibit the spirit
that has created this world of beautiful and useful things?
It was reserved for these to find the form in which the
highest results of human thought--Science--presented in the
persons of her representatives, could be incorporated in the
compass of the World's Fair. The conception of this
International Congress of all Sciences in its originality
and audacity, in its universality and comprehensive
organization, is truly a child of the "young-American
spirit."...

After this Congress has come to a close and the collection
of the lectures delivered, an unparalleled encyclopedia of
human knowledge, both in extent and content, will have
appeared. We may say that this Fair has become of epochal
importance, not alone for trade and manufactures, but also
for science. These proud palaces will long have disappeared
and been forgotten when this work, a _monumentum aere
perennius_, shall still testify to future generations the
standard of scientific attainment at the beginning of the
twentieth century.

Short acknowledgments were then made for Russia by Dr. Oscar Backlund, of the Astronomical Observatory at Pulkowa, Russia, and for Japan by Prof. Nobushige Hozumi, of the Imperial University at Tokio, Japan.

The last of the Vice-Presidents to respond to the addresses of welcome was Signor Attilio Brunialti, Councilor of State for Italy, who after a few formal words in English broke into impassioned eloquence in his native tongue, and in brilliant diction and graceful periods expressed the deep feeling and profound joy which Italy, the mother of arts, felt in participating in an occasion so historic and so magnificent. Signor Brunialti said in part:

I thank you, gentlemen, for the honor you have paid both to
my country and myself by electing me a Vice-President of
this great scientific assembly. Would that I could thank you
in words in which vibrate the heart of Rome, the scientific
spirit of my land, and all that it has given to the world
for the progress of science, literature, and art. You know
Italy, gentlemen, you admire her, and therefore it is for
this also that my thanks are due to you. What ancient Rome
has contributed to the common patrimony of civilization is
also reflected here in a thousand ways, and a classical
education, held in such honor, by a young and practical
people such as yours, excites our admiration and also our
astonishment. By giant strides you are reviving the activity
of Italy at the epoch of the Communes, when all were
animated by unwearying activity and our manufactures and
arts held the first place in Europe. I have already praised
here the courageous spirit which has suggested the meeting
of this Congress--a Congress that will remain famous in the
annals of science. Many things in your country have aroused
in me growing surprise, but nothing has struck me more, I
assure you, than this homage to science which is pushing all
the wealthy classes to a noble rivalry for the increase of
education and mental cultivation.

You have already large libraries and richly endowed
universities, and every kind of school, where the works of
Greece and Rome are perhaps even more appreciated and
adapted to modern improvements than with us old classical
nations. Full of energy, activity, and wealth, you have
before you perpetual progress, and what, up to this, your
youth has not allowed you to give to the world, you will
surely be able to give in the future. Use freely all the
treasures of civilization, art, and science that centuries
have accumulated in the old world, and especially in my
beloved Italy; fructify them with your youthful initiation
and with your powerful energy. By so doing you will
contribute to peace, and then we may say with truth that we
have prepared your route by the work of centuries; and like
unto those who from old age are prevented from following the
bold young man of Longfellow in his course, we will
accompany you with our greetings and our alterable
affection.

By my voice, the native country of Columbus, of Galileo, of
Michelangelo and Raphael, of Macchiavelli and Volta, salutes
and with open arms hails as her hopeful daughter young
America,--thanking and blessing her for the road she has
opened to the sons of Italy, workmen and artists, to
civilization, to science, and to modern research and
thought.

The Chairman of the Administrative Board, President Nicholas Murray Butler, of Columbia University, was prevented by illness in his family from being present at the Congress, and in place of the address to have been delivered by him on the idea and development of the Congress and the work of the Administrative Board, President William R. Harper, of the University of Chicago, spoke on the same subject as follows:

I have been asked within a few hours by those in authority
to present to you on behalf of the Administrative Board of
this International Congress a statement concerning the
origin and purpose of the congress. It is surely a source of
great disappointment to all concerned that the chairman of
the board, President Butler, is prevented from being
present.

Many of us recall the fact that at the Paris Exposition of
1889 the first attempt was made to do something systematic
in the way of congresses. This attempt was the natural
outcome of the opinion which had come to exist that so
splendid an opportunity as was afforded by the coming
together of leaders in every department of activity should
not be suffered to pass by unimproved. What could be more
natural in the stimulating and thought-provoking atmosphere
of an exposition than the proposal to make provision for a
consideration and discussion of some of the problems so
closely related to the interests represented by the
exposition?

The results achieved at the Paris Exposition of 1889 were so
striking as to lead those in charge of the World's Columbian
Exposition in Chicago, 1893, to organize what was called the
World's Congress Auxiliary, including a series of
congresses, in which, to use the language of the original
decree, "the best workers in general science, philosophy,
literature, art, agriculture, trade, and labor were to meet
to present their experiences and results obtained in all
those various lines of thought up to the present time."
Seven years later, in connection with the Paris Exposition
of 1900, there was held another similar series of
international congresses. The general idea had in this way
slowly but surely gained recognition.

The authorities of the Universal Exposition at St. Louis,
from the first, recognized the desirability of providing for
a congress which should exceed in its scope those that had
before been attempted. In the earliest days of the
preparation for this Exposition Mr. Frederick J. V. Skiff,
the Director of the Field Columbian Museum, my nearest
neighbor in the city of Chicago, took occasion to present
this idea, and particularly to emphasize the specific point
that something should be undertaken which not only might add
dignity and glory to the great name of the Exposition, but
also constitute a permanent and valuable contribution to the
sum of human knowledge. After a consideration of the whole
question, which extended over many months, the committee on
international congresses resolved to establish an
administrative board of seven members, to which should be
committed the responsibility of suggesting a plan in detail
for the attainment of the ends desired. This Board was
appointed in November, 1902, and consisted of President
Nicholas Murray Butler, of Columbia University, New York;
President R. H. Jesse, of the University of Missouri;
President Henry S. Pritchett, of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology; Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress;
Mr. Frederick J. V. Skiff, of the Field Columbian Museum,
Chicago; Frederick G. Holls, of New York City, and the
present speaker.

This Board held several meetings for the study of the
questions and problems involved in the great undertaking.
Much valuable counsel was received and considered. The Board
was especially indebted, however, to Prof. Hugo Münsterberg
of Harvard University for specific material which he placed
at their disposal--material which, with modification, served
as the basis of the plans adopted by the Board, and
recommended to the members of the Exposition.

At the same time the Administrative Board recommended the
appointment of Dr. Howard J. Rogers as the Director of
Congresses, and nominated Prof. Simon Newcomb of the United
States Navy to be President of the Congress, and Professors
Hugo Münsterberg of Harvard University and Albion W. Small
of the University of Chicago to be Vice-Presidents of the
Congress; the three to constitute the Organizing Committee
of the Congress. This Organizing Committee was later
empowered to visit foreign countries and to extend personal
invitations to men distinguished in the arts and sciences to
participate in the Congress. The reception accorded to
these, our representatives, was most cordial. Of the 150
invitations thus extended, 117 were accepted; and of the 117
learned savants who accepted the invitation, 96 are here in
person this afternoon to testify by their presence the
interest they have felt in this great concourse of the
world's leaders. I am compelled by necessity this afternoon
to omit many points of interest in relation to the origin
and history of the undertaking, all of which will be
published in due time.

After many months of expectancy we have at last come
together from all the nations of the world. But for what
purpose? I do not know that to the statement already
published in the programme of the Congress anything can be
added which will really improve that statement. The purpose,
as it has seemed to some of us, is threefold:

In the first place, to secure such a general survey of the
various fields of learning, with all their "subdivisions and
multiplication of specialties," as will at the same time set
forth their mutual relations and connections, and likewise
constitute an effort toward the unification of knowledge.
This idea of unity has perhaps been uppermost in the minds
of all concerned with the work of organizing the Congress.

In the second place, to provide a platform from which might
be presented the various problems, a solution of which will
be expected of the scholarship of the future. This includes
a recognition of the fundamental principles and conception
that underlie these mutual relations, and therefore serve
necessarily as the basis of all such future work. Here again
the controlling idea is that of unity and law, in other
words, universal law.

In the third place, to bring together in person and spirit
distinguished investigators and scholars from all the
countries of the world, in order that by contact of one with
another a mutual sympathy may be promoted, and a practical
coöperation may be effected among those whose lifework leads
them far apart. Here, still again, unity of result is sought
for.

As we now take up the work of this convention, which already
gives sure promise of being notable among the conventions
that have called together men of different nations, let us
confidently assure ourselves that the great purpose which
has throughout controlled in the different stages of its
organization will be realized; that because the Congress has
been held, the nations of the earth will find themselves
drawn more closely together; that human thought will possess
a more unified organization and human life a more unified
expression.

Following these addresses of welcome and of response came the first paper of the specific programme, designed to be introductory to the division, department, and section addresses of the week. This address, which will be found in full in its proper place, on pages 135 to 147 of this volume, was given by Dr. Simon Newcomb, President of the Congress and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, whose labors for fifteen months were thus brought to a brilliant conclusion.

At the close of Dr. Newcomb's address the assembly was dismissed by a few words of President Francis, in which he placed at the disposition of the members of the Congress the courtesies and privileges of the Exposition, and expressed the hope and belief that their presence and the purpose for which they were assembled, would be the crowning glory of the Universal Exposition of 1904.

On Tuesday, September 20, the seven division addresses and the twenty-four department addresses were given, all the speakers being Americans: Royce, in Normative Science; Wilson, in Historical Science; Woodward, in Physical Science; Hall, in Mental Science; Jordan, in Utilitarian Science; Lowell, in Social Regulation; and Harris, in Social Culture, treating the main divisions of science and their applications, each dwelling particularly on the scope of the great field included in his address and the unification of the work therein. The forty-eight department speakers divided the field of knowledge, one address in each department giving the fundamental conceptions and methods, the other the history and development of the work of the department during the last century.

With Wednesday the international participation began, and in the one hundred twenty-eight sections into which the departments were divided one half of the speakers were drawn, so far as circumstances permitted, from foreign scientific circles. With the exception of the last two sections, Religious Influence Personal, and Religious Influence Social, the work of the Congress closed on Saturday afternoon. These two sections having four speakers each were placed, one on Sunday morning and one on Sunday afternoon, in Festival Hall, and passes to the grounds given upon application to any one desiring to attend. Large numbers availed themselves of the privilege, and the closing hours of the Congress were eminently suitable and worthy of its high success. At the end of the afternoon session in Festival Hall, Vice-President of the Congress, Dr. Albion W. Small, reviewed in a few words the work of the week, its meaning to science, its possible effect upon American thought, and then formally announced the Congress closed.

OFFICIAL BANQUET

The official banquet given by the Exposition to all participants, members, and officials of the Congress, on Friday evening, at the Tyrolean Alps banquet hall, proved a charming conclusion to the labors of the week. No better place could be imagined for holding it, within the grounds of an exposition, than the magnificently proportioned music and dining hall of the "Alps." A room 160 feet by 105 feet, capable of seating fifteen hundred banqueters; the spacious, oval, orchestral stage at the south end; the galleries and boxes along the sides of the hall done in solid German oak; the beautiful and impressive mural decorations, the work of the best painters of Germany; the excellence of the cuisine, and the thoroughly drilled corps of waiters, rendered the physical accessories of a banquet as nearly perfect as possible in a function so extensive.

The banquet was the largest held during the Exposition period, eight hundred invitations being issued and nearly seven hundred persons present. The music was furnished by the famous Garde Républicaine Band of France, as the Exposition orchestra was obliged to fill its regular weekly assignment at Festival Hall. The decorations of the hall, the lights and flowers, the musical programme, the galleries and boxes filled with ladies representing the official and social life of the Exposition, and the distinguished body of the Congress, formed a picture which appealed to the admiration and enthusiasm of every one alike. No attempt was made to assign seats to the banqueters outside the speakers' table, and little coteries and clusters of scientists, many of whom were making acquaintances and intellectual alliances during this week which would endure for a lifetime, were scattered about the hall, giving an interest and an animation to the scene quite beyond the powers of description. In one corner were Harnack, Budde, Jean Réville, and Cuthbert Hall, chatting as animatedly as though their religious theories were not as far apart as the poles; in another, Waldeyer, Escherich, Jacobi, Allbutt, and Kitasato formed a medical group, the counterpart of which would be hard to find unless in another part of this same hall; still again were Erdmann, Sorley, Ladd, Royce, and Creighton as the centre of a group of philosophers of world renown. So in every part of the picture which met the eye were focused the leaders of thought and action in their respective fields. The _tout ensemble_ of the Congress was here brought out in its strongest effect, as, with the exception of the opening exercises at Festival Hall at which time many had not arrived, it was the only time when the entire membership was together. The banquet coming at the close of the week was also fortunate, as by this time the acquaintances made, and the common incidents and anecdotes experienced, heightened the enjoyment of all.

The toastmaster of the banquet and presiding officer, Hon. David R. Francis, was never in a happier vein than when he assumed the gavel and proposed the health of the President of the United States and the rulers of all nations represented at the board.

President Francis said:--

MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ARTS AND SCIENCE:

On the façade at the base of the Louisiana Monument, which
is the central feature of this Exposition picture, is a
group of Livingston, Monroe, and Marbois. It represents the
signing of the treaty, which by peaceful negotiation
transferred an empire from France to the United States. Upon
the inscription are the words of Livingston, "We have lived
long and accomplished much, but this is the crowning act of
our lives."

It is that transfer of an empire which this Exposition is
held to commemorate. And paraphrasing the words of
Livingston, permit me to say that I have presided over many
dinners, but this is the crowning act of my career.

In opening the deliberations of the International Congress
of Arts and Science, I made the statement that a Universal
Exposition is an ambitious undertaking. I stated also that
the International Congress of Arts and Science is the
crowning feature of this Exposition. I did not venture the
assertion then which I have the presumption to make now,
that the most difficult task in connection with this
Universal Exposition was the assembling of an International
Congress of Arts and Science. I venture to make the
statement now, because I feel that I am justified in doing
so by the success which up to the present has attended your
deliberations. Any congregation of the leaders of thought in
the world is a memorable occasion. This is the first
systematic one that has ever been attempted. Whether it
proves successful or not, it will be long remembered in the
history of the civilized countries that have participated in
it. If it be but the precursor of other like assemblages it
will still be long remembered, and in that event it will be
entitled to unspeakable credit if it accomplishes anything
toward the realization of the very laudable objects which
prompted its assembling.

The effort to unify all human knowledge and to establish the
inter-relations thereof is a bold conception, and requires
the courage that characterizes the people who live in the
western section of the United States. If it be the last
effort of the kind it will still be remembered, and this
Universal Exposition, if it had done nothing else to endear
it to cultured people of this and other countries, will not
be forgotten. The savants assembled by the call of this
Exposition have pursued their respective lines of thought
and research, prompted by no desire other than one to find a
solution of the problem which confronts humanity. By
bringing you together and making an effort to determine and
establish the relations between all lines of human
knowledge, we have certainly made an advance in the right
direction. If your researches, if the results of your
studies, can be utilized by the human race, then we who have
been the instruments of that great blessing will be entitled
to credit secondary only to the men who are the discoverers
of the scientific knowledge whose relations we are
endeavoring to establish. The Management of the Universal
Exposition of 1904 salutes the International Congress of
Arts and Science. We drink to the perpetuation of that
organization, and I shall call upon its distinguished
President, Professor Newcomb, to respond to the Sentiment.

Dr. Newcomb in a few words thanked the members of the Congress for their participation, which had made possible the brilliant success of the enterprise, portrayed its effect and the influence of its perpetuation, and then extended to all the invitation from the President of the United States to attend the reception at the White House on the following Tuesday.

In responding to these toasts the senior Honorary Vice-President, Hon. James Bryce, of Great Britain, spoke in matchless form and held the attention of the vast hall closely while he portrayed in a few words the chief glories of England in the field of science, and the pride the English nation felt in the glorious record made by her eldest daughter, the United States. Mr. Bryce spoke extemporaneously, and his remarks cannot be given in full.