The Academy--its charter, its functions and relations to government.

Eight years' service as President of the Academy during a period which was almost exactly coterminous with the period of active preparedness for World War II, the war years, and the initial interval of transition to the postwar era could hardly help giving me as the chief executive officer a vivid insight into Academy operations in a time when its service functions and obligations were paramount. This experience did little however, except by inference, to give me familiarity with the administration of the Academy in ordinary times. Nor did it afford much opportunity for constructive thinking on what might or should be done to enhance and strengthen the Academy in the full discharge of its unique opportunities in the structure of American science and its advancement. To be sure, the kaleidoscopic succession of urgent problems of the hectic war years presented many ideas, some of which were doubtless meritorious. There was never time to develop them, however, and even had there been it would probably have been a futile waste of time since in the abnormal atmosphere of war any conclusions would necessarily have been based on the assumption of a clairvoyance as to the future which men do not possess. Now that the troubles and exciting incidents of those eight years are a thing of the past and are fading into the background of personal history, they and the conclusions that can be drawn from them for the benefit of the future are beginning to take their proper place and proportions. In what follows I am venturing therefore to discuss a few of the things which seem to me important items in our understanding and development of the Academy. There are numerous other items of importance which occur to me but which seem of lesser importance and somewhat incidental. Many of you may, and probably will, disagree with my conclusions since no two of us have had the same background of experience or the same point of view as to just what the Academy is or should aspire to be. If you do disagree I will not quarrel with you nor get unduly perturbed at our divergences, since the strength and virility of the Academy is grounded in just such divergences. The Charter.-Whatever the Academy is or whatever any of us might wish it to be, there is one basic factor we cannot overlook or change if we would without a revolutionary alteration in the whole structure. Further, it is an alteration which we members of the Academy alone are powerless to make-it would require the concurrence of Congress and the President of the United States.