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THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION By W. W. Campbell The searchfor the truth in theleading departments of knowledge, especiallyin the domain of fundamentalscience, and chieflyin astronomy,has made desirableand necessary-many international societiesor committeesfor cooperation in research. These organi- zationsreached considerable numbers late in thenineteenth century and earlyin the twentieth.In astronomy,for example, there were the AstronomischeGesellschaft, the Committeeon the Carte du Ciel,the International Union for Cooperation in SolarResearch, the InternationalGeodetic Association, and many somewhatsimilar but less formallyconstituted bodies or committeesdealing with transitof Venusphenomena, with celestial photography, with the fundamentaldetermination of star positions,with astronomical ephemerides,with the reformof the calendar,etc. In the sciencesother than astronomyand seismology,inter- national organizationsfor cooperationin research have been relativelyfew, but the usefulnessof such bodies of investigators has been abundantlyestablished. The warof 1914-18,brought on by thegovernments of Germany and Austria-Hungary- with the sympathyand supportof their subjects- and the inhumanityand barbaritywith which the war was conducted,destroyed the usefulnessof nearlyall of the inter- nationalorganizations referred to. The scientistsof the allied and associatednations were unable to subscribeto the Prussianview that mightis rightin internationalrelations, and, with very few exceptions,they were of the opinionthat personalrelationships withthe scientists of the central nations should not be resumed1,at ^'Inasmuchas the San FranciscoChronicle of September27th misquoted and exaggerated mystatement on thissubject made to thefaculty and studentsof the Universityof Californiaon September26th, it seemsdesirable to quotefrom the written address what I reallydid say on that occasion: "More thana yearago the scientistsof Franceunanimously declared that they would tabe no partin scientificassociations which should include the Germanscientists, at least until 'the centralnations shall have repudiatedthe internationalpolitical methods which have roused 250 PUBLICATIONS OF THE least until the offendinggovernments and peoples shall have renouncedtheir past, and apparentlypresent, political methods. It shouldnot be overlookedor forgottenthat most investigators in purescience in thecentral nations are officialsof their governments as trulyas are theirdiplomats, their soldiers, and theirsailors. The greatmajority of Germanprofessors, for example, were appointed, promoted,and in case of necessitydisciplined, by theirKultus Ministerium,a definitedepartment of theirgovernment. In orderto study the questionsarising from the unfortunate internationalsituation and to seek a practicablesolution, there met in London in October,1918, under the auspicesof the Royal Society,thirty-six delegates representing the nationalacademies or othersimilar societies of nine allied and associatedgovernments. In brief,it was unanimouslydecided to withdrawfrom the very few internationalsocieties concerned, in accordancewith the statutes or rulespeculiar to each case, and to formnew associations. A formalstatement of the reasonswhich governed this momentous decision,as preparedand unanimouslyadopted by the conference, was reprintedin thesePublications, 30, 332-3, 1918; it is worthy of a secondreading. The conferenceappointed a commissionto preparea generalplan forthe proposed international organizations. This commissionmade progressat its meetingin Paris in Nov- ember,191 8. The Americandelegates to the London conferencehad pro- posed thatall theaffected organizations relating internationally to one and the same subject,to astronomy,for example, should be succeededby a singlesociety, so formulatedas to servethe purposes of all the associationsfrom which they . should withdraw. This policywas adopted. It was laterdecided that representatives of the varioussciences should meet in Brussels in July, 1919, to create international unionsrepresenting many differentsciences, and to completethe organizationof the International Research Council, whose principal functionsrelate to the promotionof researchin any and all of its the indignationof the civilizedworld.' This sentimentwas widespreadthruout the allied and associatednations. (See Declarationof InteralliedLondon Conference,C. R. Académiedes Sciencesfor October 21, 1018,and Pubi. A. S. P., XXX, 332-3,1018.) Areany ofus inclinedto criticizethe Frenchdecision? Let himwhose war sufferingshave equalledthose of the French throwthe firststone! I knowof a fewAmerican and Britishscientists who say we shouldrenew personalrelationships with the scientistsof the centralnations as soon as peace shall have been concluded;just as if theterrible war had notoccurred, just as ifthe central nations had inflicted a merefootball game upon the allied nations. I have beenunable to avoidnoticing that, of these veryfew scientists wh.o would immediately renew personal relations with the Germans,not one had a son whowas in a Germanpoison-gas attack!" ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC 251 aspectsin anymembership country, and especiallyto thecoordinat- ingof the proposed unions representing the several sciences. Altho the Councilwould in formbe the parentand higherorganization, its realoffice would be to serveand not to rule. The NationalAcademy of Sciences in each country,or its nearest equivalent,was requestedto arrangefor the sendingof delegates to the Brusselsmeeting. . The Americandelegation was organized underthe auspices of the National Research Council, acting for the Academy. The Council'sprocedure to thisend was mostinterest- ing,and worthyof carefulnotice and appreciation.It was vitally concernedthat the Americandelegations should be trulyrepre- sentativeof theirrespective sciences in thiscountry; in astronomy, forexample, no investigatorand no institution,if up to standard, shouldfind the avenue to appropriaterepresentation closed. The astronomicaldelegation would be chosenby a subsidiaryorgani- zation knownas the AmericanSection of the (proposed)Astro- nomicalUnion, and theAmerican Section, at least forthe present occasion,would be constitutedas follows: 5 membersfrom the National Academy of Sciences, 18 membersfrom the American Astronomical Society, 3 membersfrom the American Mathematical Society, 3 membersfrom the American Physical Society, i memberfrom the U. S. Naval Observatory, i memberfrom the U. S. CoastSurvey. The AmericanSection thus constitutedheld its firstmeeting in theoffice of theNational Research Council, Washington, D. C, on March8, 1919. Abouttwenty of thethirty-one members of the Sectionwere present. Mr. W. W. Campbellwas appointedper- manentchairman of the Section,with Messrs. C. G. Abbot,E. W. Brown,Frank Schlesinger, and JoelStebbins as theother members of theexecutive committee. The Sectiongave assentto theactions of the London Conferenceand formallyapproved the proposal thatthose nations which had been neutralthruout the war should be admittedinto the InternationalXstronomical Union on the conclusionof peace. The Section did not considerseriously or extensivelythe formof organizationwhich would promisethe greatestusefulness for the proposed Astronomical Union, but con- cerneditself largely with the technicalwork of theUnion in which theAmerican astronomers would be chieflyinterested. The Execu- tive Committeewas instructedto appointsub-committees of the AmericanSection which should prepare reportsupon nineteen 252 PUBLICATIONS OF THE prominentdivisions of astronomicalresearch, for presentation at a latermeeting of the Section. The Brusselsdelegation was selected inpart, and theExecutive Committee was authorizedto completeit. The delegationwas eventuallycomposed as. follows: W. W. Campbell,Lick Observatory,Chairman; W. S. Adams, MountWilson Observatory; Benjamin Boss, Dudley Observatory, Albany; Major Philip Fox, DearbornObservatory, Eyanston, at thattime with the American Expeditionary Forces in France;S. A. Mitchell,McCormick Observatory, Virginia; Frank Schlesinger, AlleghenyObservatory, Pittsburgh; C. E. St. John,Mount Wilson Observatory;F. H. Seares, Mount Wilson Observatory;Joel Stebbins,University of Illinois, Secretary. The AmericanSection met again in the officeof the National ResearchCouncil on June23rd and 24th,to receiveand act upon the reportsof the nineteensub-committees, to considerquestions of policy,and to instructthe delegationwhich would represent the Sectionat Brussels. The reportsof the sub-committees,pre- sentingthe aspectsof theirsubjects which are now prominentin theminds of astronomers,and suggestingprocedure for the imme- diatefuture, were of a highorder of excellence, and thediscussions,, conductedwith enthusiasm and frankness,were extremely interest- ingand valuable. A jointmeeting with the American Section of the proposed Inter- nationalGeophysical Union (Major Wm. Bowie, Chairman)was held on theafternoon of June 23rd. Under the directauspices of the National Research Council,, the Americandelegation to the meetingsof the International ResearchCouncil at Brusselswas appointed,with W. W. Campbell as Chairman. Othermembers were the scientificattachés in the AmericanEmbassies at Paris,London, and Rome, and the chair- man of the Americandelegations representing the sciencesother thanastronomy. The delegationof astronomers,accompanied by Mrs. Campbell, sailed fromNew York on June 30th and reached London on July 7th. The next ten days were devotedprofitably and with unusualpleasure to renewingold acquaintancesand makingmany newones, to learningof progress in astronomyand relatedsciences in Great Britainmade duringthe war period,to discussingwith ourBritish colleagues the many problems coming up forconsidera- tion at the Brusselsmeeting, etc. The Presidentand Councilof ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC 253 the Royal AstronomicalSociety had mostkindly cabled to Wash- ingtona requestthat the membersof the Americandelegation attendand addressa special meetingof the Societyon the after- noonof July nth. This invitationwas accepted. At themeeting, under the presidencyof ProfessorFowler, each memberof our astronomicaldelegation, and likewiseDr. L. A. Bauer of the Geophysicaldelegation, addressed the Societyinformally on the astronomicalsubject which at this timeespecially interested him. This meetinghad beenpreceded by a receptionin therooms of the Society,which gave opportunityto meet many Britishmen and womenwhose names had long been familiar. Last, but far from least,the Royal AstronomicalSociety Club entertainedthe Ameri- cans in attendanceat a dinnerimmediately following the meeting of the Society. The dinnerwas delightfullypresided over by Pro- fessor Glaisher of Trinity College, Cambridge,who was ably assistedin makingthe introductionsby Messrs. Dyson, Turner, Newall, and others. All membersof the Americandelegation respondedto toasts. The delegationwas cordiallyreceived at luncheonin the cele- brated GreenwichTower Room by the AstronomerRoyal and Lady Dyson,and it was apparentthat we wereconstantly in their thoughtsduring our stayin England. The Americanswere graciouslyinvited to spend the week-end withfriends at Cambridge,Oxford, and elsewhere. Opportunitiesto observethe equipmentand workof the Royal Observatory,of the observatoriesat Cambridgeand Oxford,and of the laboratoryof ProfessorFowler in South Kensingtonwere providedby membersof theirstaffs. In commonwith many Britishcolleagues, the Americandele- gation journeyedfrom London to Brusselson July 17th. The proceedingsbegan on the followingmorning, at a meetingof the InternationalResearch Council, at whichall delegateswere present, withAlbert, King of the Belgians,occupying the royalbox.. The openingof the sessionhad been delayeda fewminutes while the king,in an adjoiningroom, received the chairman of thedelegation fromeach of the principalallied countries. The number of accrediteddelegates exceeded two hundred: one hundredand one fromBelgium, two fromCanada, twenty-sevenfrom America, forty-fivefrom France, eighteen from Great Britain,fifteen from Italy,one from New Zealand,one from Poland, two from Rumania, and twofrom Serbia. 254 PUBLICATIONS OF THE

Each weekday fromJuly i8th to July28th inclusive was occu- withsessions of the InternationalResearch Council or of the pied ' affiliatedorganizations representing the individual sciences, togetherwith meetings of executiveand othercommittees. The workof thefirst seven days relatedchiefly to the constructionand adoptionof constitutions. The electionof officers and theappoint- ing of committeestook place on the eighthand ninthdays. At the finalsession of the ResearchCouncil a formalinvitation was extendedto thescientists of thecountries which had remained neutralin thewar to participatein thework of the Counciland of the internationalunions representing the severalsciences. Picard of France was elected presidentof the International ResearchCouncil, and Schusterof GreatBritain was electedgen- eral secretary.Other elected members of the executivecommittee are Hale of America,Lecointe of Belgium,and Volteràof Italy. These fiveconstitute the administrative Bureau of theCommittee. The completionof the executivecommittee was held in abeyance untilthe more precise relationships of the Council and theaffiliated unionsshall have been determined.It is probablethat the com- mitteewill consist -of at leasttwelve members. The cityof Brussels was selectedas the legal homeof the Council. The mostdifficult question confronting the InternationalAstro- nomicalUnion related to its composition.Should it be organized as a great astronomicalsociety, comprehending all divisionsof astronomicalscience in a somewhatgeneral or indefinitemanner, or shouldit consistof workingcommittees, each committeecon- cernedwith some definiteline of astronomicalresearch? Should there,for example, be a greatdivision of the Unionrelating to the solar system,or, on the contrary,several comparativelysmall committeesoccupying themselves respectively with such definite subjectsas solarrotation, eclipses, solar radiation, etc.? The latter plan was adopted. To start with, thirty-twocommittees were established. These vary in size in accordancewith the require- mentsand stateof theproblem concerned. The committeeon the Carte du Ciel and thecommittee on MeridianAstronomy are rela- tivelylarge, with more than a dozenmembers each, whereas other committees,such as thoseon LunarNomenclature, on SolarRadia- tion,on AstronomicalEphemerides, etc., are relativelysmall, with not more than half a dozen memberseach. The separatecom- mitteesare workingbodies. They are intendedto be essentially ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC 255 completein themselves.The Unionas a wholewill meet in general everythree years in differenteducational centers of theworld, but it is expectedthat the members of a givencommittee will find many occasionsbetween general meetings when conferences by letteror otherwisemay profitably occur. Committeereports will doubtless aim to representthe view of the committees as to thecurrent status of theirsubjects, and to presentsuggestions for furtherunder- takings. In otherwords, it is anticipatedthat each committee shallmake known, thru its reportpresented at a generalmeeting of the Union,those aspects of its subjectwith which the workersin thatsubject can mostprofitably acquaint and busy themselves. Each committeehas powerto add to its numbers,by favorable vote of two-thirdsof the presentmembership of the committee, subjectto approvalby the ExecutiveCommittee of the Union. It is providedin the Constitutionthat the committeesshall automaticallygo out of existenceat the close of each triennial meetingof the Union. This offersthe opportunity for reorganizing upon thebasis of thosewho work. Monsieur Baillaud, Director of the Paris Observatory,was electedFirst Presidentof the InternationalAstronomical Union, and ProfessorAlfred Fowler, of South Kensington,London, Gen- eralSecretary. Lecointe of Belgium, Ricco ofItaly, Dyson of Great Britain,and Campbellof America, were selected as fourof thefive Vice-Presidents.The President,the Vice-Presidents,and the GeneralSecretary compose the ExecutiveCommittee. It was decidedthat the next meeting of theAstronomical Union shouldbe heldat Rome in 1922. Certainof theworking committees, such as thoseon eclipses,on time, etc., held meetingsin Brussels promptlyfollowing their formation.It was deeplyregretted that the workof organization was so time-consumingas to preventnearly all of the committees fromholding first meetings. The earnestnessand enthusiasmwith which the workof organi- zation was conducted,and the unanimitywith which decisions werefinally made, are the satisfactoryindications that the Union willmeet efficiently itspurpose of promoting astronomical research, thruthe coordinatedefforts of the astronomersin manycountries. The Constitutionof the InternationalAstronomical Union will be publishedin thisjournal as soonas practicablefollowing receipt of theofficial copy. 256 PUBLICATIONS OF THE

The InternationalGeophysical Union, organized simultaneously by strongdelegations from the largercountries, is composedof divisions concernedwith seismology,vulcanology, terrestrial magnetism,the form and dimensionsof the Earth,etc. Otherunions relate to chemistry,biology, physics, bibliography, etc. All of the meetingswere held in the splendidbuilding of the BrusselsAcademy of Sciences. The personalside of the Brussels meeting, as on all suchoccasions, was valuable. In additionto chanceor informalgroupings of dele- gates at the hotel wherethe greaternumber lived, therewere delightfulhospitalities in thehomes of leading scientists of Brussels, and formalreceptions by Mayor Max and the Councilof Brussels and by Ministersof the BelgianState. A receptionat the Royal Observatoryby Directorand Madame Lecointeshould be specially mentioned. The membersof the Observatorystaff provided full opportunityfor the large number of guests to see themany interest- ing featuresof the institution. The twoSundays in Brusselswere utilized by manydelegates to visitLouvain, Dinant, and otherplaces made famousby Kultur. Followingthe workin Brussels,en route to London or.Paris, several membersof the Americanand British parties visited togetherthe Bruges and Zeebruggeregion, and the Ypres and Sommebattlefields, under the splendidconductorship of Colonel F. J. M. Stratton,astronomer in the CambridgeAs trophy sical Observatory,who had servedmore than fouryears in the thick of the war, chieflyin the Ypres and Sommeareas. Not many visitorsto the battlefieldswill be privilegedto see them,as we saw them,by virtueof Stratton's enthusiasmand knowledge. A fewmembers of the American party went to Paris,where they werehospitably received by Directorand Madame Baillaud of the Observatory,and others. Many interestingsubjects engaged their attentionat the Observatory,at the EiffelTower (underGeneral Feme's enthusiasticand able leadership),at the Academy of Sciences,and at theBureau of Longitudes. It was,of course, not possible for us to forget,on any ofour days in England, Belgium,and France,that our colleagueshad but recentlyemerged from the dark valley of war; and we were con- stantlyimpressed by the courageand the dignitywith which they had bornesuffering and werenow facing the problems of the future.