Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

For Germany, Commissioner-General Lewald responded in an eloquent address, in which, after thanking the Exposition and the American Government for the high honor done the German nation in selecting so large a percentage of the speakers from German scientific circles, he enlarged upon the close relations which had existed between German university thought and methods and American thought and practice, due to the vast number of American students who had pursued their post-graduate courses in the universities of Germany. He dwelt upon the pride that Germany felt in this sincerest form of tribute to German supremacy in scientific thought, and of the satisfaction which the influence in this country of German-trained students afforded. He described at length the great exhibit made by German universities in the education department of the Exposition, and pointed to it as demonstrating the supremacy of German scientific thought and accurate methods. Dr. Lewald closed with a brilliant peroration, in which he referred to the immense service done for the cause of science in the last fifty years of German history and to the patronage and support of the Emperor, not only to science in general, but to this great international gathering of scientific experts, and drank to the continued cordial relations of Germany and America through its university circles and scientific endeavors.

For the response from France, Prof. Gaston Darboux was delegated by Commissioner-General Gerald, who was unable to be present on account of sickness. In one of the most beautiful and polished addresses of the evening, Professor Darboux spoke in French, of which the following is a translation:--

GENTLEMEN,--Graciously invited to respond in the name of the
delegates of France who have accept the invitation of the
American Government, I consider it my duty in the first
place to thank this great nation for the honor which it has
paid to us, and for the welcome, which it has extended to
us. Those of you who are doing me the honor to listen, know
of that disagreeable feeling of isolation which at times the
traveler in the midst of a strange people experiences;--that
feeling I know only from hearsay. We have not had a moment
of time to experience it. They are accustomed in Europe to
portray the Americans as exclusively occupied with business
affairs. They throw in our faces the famous proverb,
'Business is Business,' and give it to us as the rule of
conduct for Americans. We are able to testify entirely to
the contrary, since the inhabitants of this beautiful
country are always seeking to extend to strangers a thousand
courtesies. Above all, we have encountered no one who has
not been anxious to go out of his way to give to us, even
before we had asked it, such information as it was necessary
for us to have. And what shall I say of the welcome which we
have received here at the hands of our American
confrères,--Monsieur the President of the Exposition,
Monsieur the Director of Congresses and other worthy
co-laborers? The authorities of the Exposition and the
inhabitants of St. Louis have rivaled each other in making
our stay agreeable and our ways pleasant in the heart of
this magnificent Exposition, of which we shall ever preserve
the most enchanting memory.

We should have wished to see in a more leisurely manner, and
to make acquaintance with the attractions without number
with which the Exposition literally swarms (men of letters
and men of science love at times to disport themselves) and
to study the exhibits classified in a method so exact in the
palaces of an architecture so original and so impressive.
But Monsieur Newcomb has not permitted this. The Congress of
which he is the illustrious President offers so much in the
way of attractions,--of a kind a little rigorous it is
true,--and so much of work to be accomplished, that to our
very great regret we have had to refuse many invitations
which it would have been most agreeable to accept. The
Americans will pardon us for this, I am sure; they know
better than any one else the value of time, but they know
also that human strength has some limits, especially among
us poor Europeans, for I doubt whether an American ever
knows the meaning of fatigue.

Messieurs, the Congress which is about to terminate
to-morrow has been truly a very great event. It is the first
time, I believe, that there has been seen assembled in one
grand international reunion that which our great minister,
Colbert, had in mind, and that which we have realized for
the first time in our Institut de France,--the union of
letters, science, and arts. That this union shall maintain
itself in the future is the dearest wish of my heart.

Science is a unit, even as the Universe. The aspects which
it presents know neither boundaries of states nor the
political divisions established between peoples. In all
civilized countries they calculate with the same figures,
they measure with the same instruments, they employ the same
classifications, they study the same historic facts,
economics, and morals. If there exists among the different
nations some differences in methods, these difference are
slight. They are a benefit at the same time as well as a
necessity. For the doing of the immense amount of work of
research imposed on that part of humanity which thinks, it
is necessary that the subjects of study should not be
identically the same, or better, if they are identical, that
the difference between the points of view from which they
are considered in the different countries contribute to our
better knowledge of their nature, their results, and their
applications. It is necessary then that each people preserve
their distinctive genius, their particular methods which
they use to develop the qualities they have inherited. In
exactly the same way that it is important in an orchestra
that each instrument play in the most perfect manner, and
with the timbre which accords with its nature, the part
which is given to it, so in science as in music, the harmony
between the players is a necessary condition, which each one
ought to exert himself to realize. Let us endeavor then in
scientific research to execute in the most perfect manner
that part of the task which fate has devolved upon us, but
let us endeavor also to maintain that accord which is a
necessary condition to the harmony which will alone be able
in the future to assure the progress of humanity.

Gentlemen, in this international reunion it would not be
fitting that I dwell upon the services which my country has
been able to render to science; and on the other hand it
would be difficult for me to say to you exactly what part
America is called upon to take in this concert of civilized
nations; but I am certain that the part will be worthy of
the great nation which has given to itself a constitution so
liberal and which in so short a space of time has known how
to conquer, and measure in value, a territory so immense
that it extends from ocean to ocean. I lift my glass to the
honor of American science; I drink to the future of that
great nation, for which we, as well as all other Frenchmen,
hold so much of common remembrance, so much of close and
living sympathy, and so much of profound admiration. I am
the more happy to do this in this most beautiful territory
of Louisiana, which France in a former age ceded freely to
America.

Perhaps the treat of the evening was the response made in behalf of the Empire of Japan by Professor Hozumi, of the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokio.

Unfortunately this response was not preserved in full, but Professor Hozumi dwelt with much feeling on the world-wide significance of the Congress and the common plane upon which all nations might meet in the pursuit of science and the manifold applications of scientific principles. He paid a beautiful tribute to the educational system of the United States and to the great debt which Japan owed to American scholars and to American teachers for their aid in establishing modern educational principles and methods in the Empire of Japan. The impetus given to scientific study in Japan by the Japanese students trained in American universities was also earnestly dwelt upon, and the close relations which had always existed between Japanese and American students and instructors feelingly described. In the field of science Japan was yet young, but she had shown herself a close and apt pupil, and her period of initiative and original research was at hand. In bacteriology, in medicine, in seismology, oceanography, and other fields, Japan has made valuable contributions to science and established the right to recognition in an international gathering of this nature. It was with peculiar and grateful pride and pleasure that the Japanese Government had sent its delegation to this Congress of selected experts in response to the invitation of the American Government. Near the close of his address Professor Hozumi made a gracious and happy allusion, based upon the conflict with Russia, in which he said that of all places where men meet, and of all places sunned by the light of heaven, this great Congress, built on the high plane of the brotherhood of science and the fellowship of scholars, was the only place where a Japanese and a Russian could meet in mutual accord, with a common purpose, and clasp hands in unity of thought. This chivalrous and beautiful idea, given here so imperfectly from memory, brought the great assembly to its feet in rounds of cheers. In closing, Professor Hozumi expressed the earnest belief that the benefits of science from a gathering of this nature would quickly be felt, by a closer coöperation in the application of theory and practical principles and a simultaneous advance in all parts of the world.

The closing response of the evening for the foreign members was made for Italy by Signor Attilio Brunialti, whose brilliant eloquence at many times during the week had won the admiration of the members of the Congress. Under the inspiration of this assemblage he fairly surpassed himself, and the following translation of his remarks but poorly indicates the grace and brilliant diction of the original:--

I have had the good fortune to be present in this wonderful
country at three international Congresses, that of science,
the peace parliament, and the geographic. I wish to record
the impression they have excited in my mind, already so
favorably inclined by your never-to-be-forgotten and
gracious reception. You must, please, allow me to address
you in my own language, because the Latin tongue inspires
me, because I wish to affirm more solemnly my nationality,
and also, because I cannot express my feelings well in a
language not familiar to me. My country, the land of
Columbus, of Galileo, the nation that more than all others
in Europe is an element of peace, is already in itself the
synthesis of the three Congresses. And I can call to mind
that this land is indebted to geography for the fact of its
being made known to the world, because the immortal Genoese
pointed it out to people fighting in the old world for a
small territory, and opened to mortals new and extensive
countries destined to receive the valiant and the audacious
of the entire world and to rise like yours to immortal
glory.

Thus the poet can sing,--

L'avanza, l'avanza
Divino straniero,
Conosci la stanza
Che i fati ti diero;
Se lutti, se lagrime
Ancora rinterra
L'giovin la terra.

Thus Columbus of old could point out to men--who run down
each other, disputing even love for fear that man may become
a wolf for man--the vast and endless wastes awaiting
laborers, and give to man the treasures of the fruitful
land. 'Tis in the name of peace that I greet modern science
in all its forms, and I say to you chemists: "Invent new
means of destruction;" and to you mechanics and
shipbuilders: "Give us invulnerable men-of-war and such
perfect cannons, that your own progress may contribute to
make war rarer in the world." Then will men, amazed at their
own destructive progress, be drawn together by brotherly
love, by the development of common knowledge and sympathy,
and by the study of geography be led to know that there is
plenty of room for every one in the world to contribute to
progress and civilization.

Americans! these sentiments are graven in your country; in
point of fact, it is a proof of the harmony that reigns in
this Congress between guests come from all parts of the
world, that I, an Italian, am allowed to address you in my
own language on American ground, near the Tyrolean Alps,
greeted by the music of the Républicaine French Garde,
united in eternal bonds of friendship by the two great
goddesses of the modern world,--Science and Peace.

The last speaker of the evening was Hon. Frederick W. Lehmann, Chairman of the Exposition Committee on Congresses, who in eloquent periods set forth the ambition of the city of St. Louis and the Exposition of 1904 in creating a Congress of intellect on the same high plane that had characterized the educational ideals of the Exposition, and the intense satisfaction which the officials of the Congress felt in its brilliant outcome, and the possibilities which it promised for an unequaled contribution to scientific literature.

At the close of these addresses the members of the Congress and the spectators in the gallery sang, in full chorus and under the lead of the Garde Républicaine Band, the various national anthems, closing with "The Star Spangled Banner."

PUBLICATION OF THE REPORT

In accordance with the recommendation of the Administrative Board to the Committee on Congresses, the Executive Committee appointed Dr. Howard J. Rogers, Director of Congresses, editor of the proceedings of the Congress of Arts and Science. The Congress records were removed from St. Louis to Albany, New York, the home of the Director, from which place the publication has been prepared. Upon collecting the papers it was found that they could be divided logically, and with a fair degree of similarity in size, into eight volumes, each of which should cover a definite and distinct portion of the programme. These are as follows:--

Volume 1. History of the Congress, Scientific Plan of the Congress,
Philosophy, Mathematics.
Volume 2. Political and Economic History, History of Law, History
of Religion.
Volume 3. History of Language, History of Literature, History of
Art.
Volume 4. Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Sciences of the Earth.
Volume 5. Biology, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology.
Volume 6. Medicine, Technology.
Volume 7. Economics, Politics, Jurisprudence, Social Science.
Volume 8. Education, Religion.

The details and specifications of the volumes were prepared for competitive bids and submitted to twelve of the prominent publishers of the country. The most advantageous bid was received from Houghton, Mifflin & Company of Boston, Mass., and was accepted by the Exposition Company. The Administrative Board and the authorities Of the Exposition feel deeply pleased at the result, inasmuch as the imprint of this firm guarantees a work in full accord with the high plane upon which the Congress has been conducted.

It was determined to print the entire proceedings in the English language, inasmuch as the Congress was held in an English-speaking country and the vast majority of the papers were read in that language. The consent of every foreign speaker was obtained for this procedure. It was found, after collecting, that the number of addresses to be translated was forty-four. The translators were selected by the editor upon the advice of the members of the Administrative Board and Organizing Committee, and great care was taken to find persons not only thoroughly trained in the two languages and possessing a good English style, but also persons who were thoroughly conversant with the subject on which the paper treated. Many of the translators were suggested by the foreign speakers themselves. As a result of this careful selection, the editor feels confident that the original value of the papers has been in no wise detracted from, and that both in form and content the translations are thoroughly satisfactory.

It will be found that some addresses are not closely related to the scheme of the Congress. Either through some misunderstanding of the exact purpose of the Congress, or through too close devotion to their own particular phase of investigation, some half-dozen speakers submitted papers dealing with special lines of work. These, while valuable and scholarly from their standpoint, do not accord with a series of papers prepared with a view to general relations and historical perspective. The exceptions are so few, however, as not seriously to interfere with the unity of the plan.

In the arrangement of the papers the order of the official programme is followed exactly, with the exception that, under Historical Science, Departments 3, 4, and 8, covering History of Politics, Law, and Religion, are combined in one volume; and Departments 5, 6, and 7, covering History of Language, Literature, and Art, are combined in the succeeding volume. In volume one, the first chapter is devoted to the history of the Congress, written by the editor, in which is set forth the plain narrative of the growth and development of the Congress, as much for the benefit of similar undertakings in the future as for the interest of those participating in this Congress. The second chapter contains the scientific introduction, written by Prof. Hugo Münsterberg of Harvard University, First Vice-President of the Congress and Member of the Organizing Committee. This is written for the purpose of giving in detail the principles upon which the classification was based, and the relations which the different sections and departments held to each other.

Each paper is prefaced by a very short biographical note in categorical form, for the purpose of insuring the identity of the speaker as long in the future as the volumes may exist. Appended to the addresses of each department is a short bibliography, which is essential for a general study of the subject in question. These are in no wise exhaustive or complete, but are rather designed to be a small, valuable, working reference library for students. The bibliographies have been prepared by eminent experts in the departments of the Congress, but are necessarily somewhat uneven, as some of the writers have gone into the subject more thoroughly than others. The general arrangement of the bibliographies is: 1. Historical books and standard works dealing with the subject. 2. General books for the whole department. 3. Books for sections of departments.

Appended also to the addresses of each department and sections are résumés of the ten-minute addresses delivered by invitation at the meeting of the department or section. Many of these papers are of high value; but inasmuch as very few of them were written in accord with the plan of the Congress, and with the main thought to be developed by the Congress, but deal rather with some interesting and detached phase of the subject, it has been deemed best not to print them in full, but to indicate in brief the subject and the treatment given it by the writer. Those which do accord with the plan of the Congress are given more extensive treatment.