The Presidential Address of the Endocrine Society--endocrinology: orphan and Cinderella Science.

Dr. Rawson, Ladies and Gentlemen: Life is full of strange facts. One of the strangest, I suppose, is that although I am deeply conscious of the honor of addressing this gathering, the prospect of having to do so has taken a dreadful toll of my 17-hydroxys and my catecholamines. What to do has been the problem. I was struck by one very appealing thought. It had the advantage of great originality and was one that you, as a captive audience, would have endorsed with unrestrained enthusiasm. The thought was to be the first holder of this office not to make a presidential address. The remission of symptoms of perturbation was wonderful but temporary. What disturbed me was the thought of all those people from Harvard who would be at this banquet through no choice of their own. Let me now assure them that with such a good showing, payment of their salaries next year will no longer remain a problem. The gnawing consciousness of the standards set by my predecessors on these occasions accentuated my private agony. One commented that he had sought deliverance in vain through an act of God. In the past few weeks, I found myself viewing the advent of an atomic holocaust in an entirely different light. The stockpiles of these horrendous weapons were reported to be plentiful and the prospects were excellent for such a thorough job that this meeting might have been postponed indefinitely. What happens?—brinksmanship declines. Then for a short spell I gained some encouragement