work of the Ohio Archæological Society in caring for it properly, are
matters for pride and congratulation, and evidences of the highest
type of civilization. The society is clearing away the dense
undergrowth so as to display the works and the trees upon them; is
guarding and repairing the walls at points where injury has occurred
by "washing"; has sunk a well in the "old fort," with fine water; and
built a pavilion for visitors. Here lunch was served to the party, and
addresses given by archæologists present and officers of the
Archæological Society.
On Thursday a large number of the geologists spent most of the day in
examining moraines and glacial phenomena near Lancaster, and in the
evening nearly the entire association was taken by special train to
see the gas-wells in the same neighborhood, at Sugar Grove, which were
lighted and "blown off" for their benefit. The city of Columbus itself
is to a considerable extent supplied with natural gas.
Turning to the proceedings of the meeting, there may be noted in the
character of the papers certain tendencies which are independent of
the association and belong to the general line of thought of the
present, and doubtless yet more of the future. The papers presented
may be roughly grouped into two classes: those relating to technical
details, and those involving or seeking practical results and
applications. Of course, there is no conflict between these two lines
of thought and work--the latter, to be really attained being dependent
upon the former--but there is this tendency distinctly shown, to
consider scientific questions in their bearing on the welfare or the
needs of humanity. Naturally, this aspect appeared more clearly in
some of the sections than in others, but no one who looks over the
titles in the daily programmes can fail to note it. The whole work of
Section I (Social and Economic Science) is of this character, and it
is marked in Sections G (Botany), D (Mechanics and Engineering), and
H (Anthropology). It would be impossible to mention all the papers
bearing upon such relations; a very few only can here be noted, even
of those that were important. In Section I no more suggestive title
has ever been presented to such a body than that of Miss Cora A.
Benneson, of Cambridge, Mass., on Federal Guarantees for Maintaining
Republican Government in the States. Miss Benneson is a graduate in
law, and has already achieved distinction in her profession in
subjects relating to questions of government. In Section G, Prof. H.
A. Weber, the secretary, read a paper on Testing Soils for the
Application of Commercial Fertilizers--the outcome of twelve years'
intercourse with farmers' institutes and many more years of
experimentation--aiming to avoid unwise and unprofitable use of
fertilizers on soils to which they are not adapted, and to provide
ready and accurate methods of determination as to the needs and the
capacities of soils. Sections D and I united to hear a paper before
the former, by Principal Morrison, of the Manual Training High School,
of Kansas City, Mo., on Thermal Determinations in Heating and
Ventilating Buildings, with special reference to schools. These are
merely given as instances. Agriculture, electrical appliances,
educational methods, and social conditions, all received important
attention.
Another paper of great practical moment was read before Section C by
Prof. H. W. Wiley, chemist to the United States Department of
Agriculture, and Mr. H. W. Krug, on New Products from Maize Stalks.
Careful analyses of the pith and stalks of corn, and important
suggestions as to their great utility in various ways, were presented.
Some of these were very surprising, not only pointing out the value of
these substances as fodder, when properly prepared and used, but in
the realm of war as well as in peace, for protecting the sides of
naval vessels as a light and most effective armor, and in the
manufacture of smokeless powder of a superior quality. Professor Wiley
claimed that from these hitherto almost waste products of American
farms immense results may be obtained.
Very naturally, the recent war and questions connected with it called
forth some striking contributions. Prof. William S. Aldrich, of the
University of Illinois, addressed Section D and a large proportion of
members from other sections on Engineering Experiences with Spanish
Wrecks, and the story of the Maria Teresa. Professor Aldrich was
connected with the United States repair-ship Vulcan, and described the
remarkable character of that vessel--an entire novelty in naval
warfare--with her complete outfit of engineering tools and machinery,
even to brass and iron furnaces of large capacity. Never before, he
said, had such castings been made on board ship, or a foundry operated
on the ocean. The effects of the American rapid-fire guns on Admiral
Cervera's ships were fully described and illustrated, and the paper
closed with a vivid and detailed account of the floating of the Maria
Teresa, her repairing by the crew of the Vulcan through five weeks of
most difficult work, and the unsuccessful attempt to bring her to
Norfolk, ending in her abandonment and loss. The public lecture of
Wednesday evening was by Prof. C. E. Monroe, of Washington, D. C., on
the Application of Modern Explosives, very fully illustrated. Detailed
accounts were given of the manufacture of gun cotton and various
recent forms of high explosives and smokeless powders. In regard to
the use of the latter, Professor Monroe emphasized the fact that
France and Germany had adopted smokeless powders in 1887, and Italy
and England a year or two later, and characterized as "unpardonable"
the fact that our own service was unprovided with any such material
when we began the war with Spain. He further discussed recent and very
important experiments in the matter of throwing from ordinary guns
shells charged with high explosives, especially that known as Joveite,
with which tremendous effects have been produced in penetrating the
heaviest plating.
Very different in character was the interesting and pleasing programme
carried out by the Section of Botany in memory of two eminent workers
in bryology who were long identified with Columbus--Dr. William S.
Sullivant and his colaborer, Prof. Leo Lesquereaux, who was eminent
also in fossil botany. Wednesday was set apart as "Sullivant day," and
was marked by an extensive display of portraits, books, and specimens,
and a series of memorial addresses, with notes on the progress of
bryology. Twelve North American species of mosses have been named for
Dr. Sullivant, and specimens of all these, with drawings made by him,
were loaned for this occasion from his collection, now at the museum
of Harvard University. Sets of duplicates of these species, from the
herbarium of Columbia University, were prepared and presented as
souvenirs to the botanists in attendance. Some members of Dr.
Sullivant's family were present, and naturally felt a very deep sense
of gratification at such a tribute to his name and fame.
The address of the retiring president, Prof. F. W. Putnam, had a
special interest in that it was the last official appearance of one
who has been for so many years closely and prominently identified with
the association as its permanent secretary, and whose presence and
personality have seemed an essential element in every meeting.
Professor Putnam, in opening, paid an especial tribute to the late Dr.
D. G. Brinton, of Philadelphia, a former president and leading member
of the association, devoted to the same branch of research with
himself--North American ethnology--although holding different theories
therein. Professor Putnam dealt with the prehistoric peoples of this
continent, and argued for distinct racial types as expressed in the
remains that they have left, and for resemblances as due to
intercourse and mingling of tribes, and not to autochthonous
development of arts and customs as the result of corresponding stages
of evolution without contact or outside influence--the view maintained
by Dr. Brinton.
There is not space here to dwell further upon many valuable papers and
discussions. The Section of Geology had a full and interesting
session, in which glacial phenomena, especially as displayed in Ohio,
bore a considerable part. One of the papers had a very wide and
painful interest for all Americans--that of Mr. E. H. Barbour, on the
Rapid Decline of Geyser Activity in the Yellowstone Basin. Careful and
extended comparison of the present state of the geysers and hot
springs with that to be seen a few years ago shows that these
wonderful and impressive phenomena have greatly decreased in both the
amount and the frequency of their manifestations, and Mr. Barbour
warned all who desire to witness anything of their grandeur to visit
the region without delay, as the indications point to their speedy
cessation as probable if not inevitable.
In reference to the future of the association, it is gratifying to
observe that the various special societies, whose relations to the
association were considered in the article by the present writer a
year ago, have not only continued to hold their summer sessions in
connection with that of the association, but have shown a very cordial
spirit of co-operation, and that some others are proposing to
affiliate in a similar way. This is as it should be; but there is in
it also the suggestion of a broader and more definite relationship of
all these special societies to each other through the medium of the
association. The tendency is apparently toward affiliation and
co-operation among them, and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science could have no more fitting or useful function
than as a sort of federative or representative body for all the
others.
The next meeting is to be held in New York, two months earlier than
usual--at the end of June. Both the place and the time were determined
by the Paris Exposition. It was thought best to arrange the meeting so
that it might easily be attended by the large number of scientists
from all over the country who will be going abroad next summer. This
plan is doubtless wise, although it is much to be regretted that the
time--the last week in June--will cut off from attendance almost all
the members who are teachers in public schools, who will be just then
in the pressure of their closing days and examinations. The peculiar
circumstances of the year, however, justify what would otherwise be a
most unfortunate time. New York will do her best, and give the
association a welcome worthy of the great metropolis of America.
SKETCH OF DR. WILLIAM PEPPER.
BY LEWIS R. HARLEY.
Philadelphia has long been regarded as the home of medical science in
America. Here was founded the first medical school in the United
States, among whose alumni are numbered some of the most brilliant
names in the profession. The spirit of scientific research has always
been most active in Philadelphia. Here Franklin made his experiments
in electricity, and Rittenhouse observed the transit of Venus; while
Rush, Morgan, Williamson, and Physick gave the city a name abroad as a
great medical center. Each generation has contributed something to her
fame as the abode of scientific culture.
In recent times no name has been so closely associated with the
intellectual progress of the city as that of the subject of this
sketch. Dr. William Pepper was reared in a scientific atmosphere. His
father, William Pepper, the elder, was born in Philadelphia, January
21, 1810. He graduated with first honors at Princeton in 1829. He
afterward studied medicine for a time with Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, and
in 1832 graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He
then spent two years in study in Paris, and in 1834 he entered upon
his profession in Philadelphia, where he rose rapidly in reputation.
He was physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital for twenty-six years. In
1860 he was elected Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine
in the University of Pennsylvania. He held this position until the
time of his death, October 15, 1864. Dr. Pepper had two sons, who
became distinguished in the medical profession. The eldest son,
George, was born April 1, 1841, and died September 14, 1872. He
graduated from the college department of the University of
Pennsylvania in 1862, and completed the course in the Medical School
in 1865. He served with distinction in the civil war, and died at the
beginning of a successful professional career. Another son, Dr.
WILLIAM PEPPER, the subject of this sketch, was born in Philadelphia,
August 21, 1843.
Dr. Pepper received his educational training solely in the city of his
birth, having graduated from the college department of the University
of Pennsylvania in 1862, in the same class with Provost Charles C.
Harrison, Thomas McKean, Dr. Persifor Fraser, and many other men
prominent in university circles. He graduated from the Medical School
in 1864, and at once began the practice of medicine. His connection
with the University of Pennsylvania began in 1868, when he was
appointed lecturer on morbid anatomy. From 1870 to 1876 he was
lecturer on clinical medicine. In 1876 Dr. Pepper was given a full
professorship of clinical medicine, in which he continued until 1887,
when he succeeded Dr. Alfred Stillé in the chair of the Theory and
Practice of Medicine.
During this early period of his career Dr. Pepper labored with
untiring zeal in the practice of his profession, and he also became
eminently successful as a teacher. In 1877 he set forth his views on
higher medical education in an address at the opening of the one
hundred and twelfth course of lectures in the University Medical
School.[45] At that time a very low standard existed in the medical
schools of our country, and Dr. Pepper, in his address, urged the
following reforms:
1. The establishment of a preparatory examination.
2. The lengthening of the course to at least three full years.
3. The careful grading of the course.
4. The introduction of ample practical instruction of each student
both at the bedside and in laboratories.
5. The establishment of fixed salaries for the professors, so that
they may no longer have any pecuniary interest in the size of their
classes.
[Footnote 45: Higher Medical Education. The True Interest of the
Public and of the Profession. By William Pepper, M. D., LL. D.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1894.]
It was a source of gratification to Dr. Pepper that he lived to see
all these reforms in medical education adopted. On the extension of
the medical course to four years he subscribed $50,000 toward a
permanent endowment of $250,000. As early as 1871 he began to urge the
establishment of a university hospital, the subject being first
discussed in a conversation with Dr. H. C. Wood and Dr. William F.
Norris. An appeal was made to the public, and Dr. Pepper was made
chairman of a finance committee. By May, 1872, a splendid site and
$350,000 for building and endowment had been secured. Dr. Pepper was
selected as chairman of the building committee, and work on the
hospital was pushed so rapidly that it was ready for patients on July
15, 1874.
When Dr. Charles J. Stillé resigned the provostship of the university
in 1881, Dr. Pepper was elected as his successor. The executive
abilities which he had displayed in connection with the founding of
the new hospital made him the natural choice of the trustees. Although
his private practice had increased to immense proportions, besides
being occupied with his duties as a clinical professor, Dr. Pepper
accepted the provostship. To the duties of this office he devoted the
best years of his life. The extent of his practice and the demands
made upon his time by the university would have appalled an ordinary
man, but his capacity for labor appeared to be without limit, his
working day often exceeding eighteen hours. His administration was
characterized by the unification of the various schools of the
university, besides the founding and equipment of several new
departments. In one of his annual reports Dr. Pepper defined the broad
policy of the university in the following appropriate language: "The
university is truly the voluntary association of all persons and of
all agencies who wish to unite in work for the elevation of society by
the pursuit and diffusion of truth."[46] In other words, Dr. Pepper
regarded the functions of the university as not simply an institution
of instruction, but also of research. To this end every effort was
made to open up new fields of investigation and to widen the scope of
the university. During his provostship thirteen new buildings were
erected, and the following departments, or schools, were organized:
1. The Department of Finance and Economy.
2. The Department of Philosophy.
3. The Department of Veterinary Medicine.
4. The Department of Biology.
5. The Department of Physical Education.
6. The Department of Archæology and Paleontology.
7. The Department of Hygiene.
8. The Graduate Department for Women.
9. The School of Architecture.
10. The School for Nurses in the University Hospital.
11. The Veterinary Hospital.
12. The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology.
[Footnote 46: Report of the Provost of the University of
Pennsylvania, from October, 1892, to June, 1894. Philadelphia,
1894.]
Dr. Pepper took particular interest in the Department of Archæology
and Paleontology connected with the university. For a number of years
he was president of its board of trustees, while it was largely
through his efforts that the Babylonian Exploration Fund was
formed.[47] It was Dr. Pepper's ambition to have at the university
well-equipped laboratories that would offer an opportunity for
original investigation in medical science. The establishment of the
Laboratory of Hygiene, in 1892, was the first step in this direction,
soon to be followed by Dr. Pepper's gift of the Laboratory of Clinical
Medicine. This laboratory was founded in memory of his father, the
late Dr. William Pepper. The gift is unique in that it is made for the
purpose of promoting and stimulating original research, and improving
the methods of diagnosing and treating the diseases of human beings.
Another field of work in the laboratory is that of giving advanced and
special instruction to men who have already obtained the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. At the opening of the laboratory in 1895 Dr.
William H. Welch, of Johns Hopkins University, said, "To the small
number of existing clinical laboratories the William Pepper Laboratory
of Clinical Medicine is a most notable addition, being the first
laboratory of the kind in this country, and it is not surpassed by any
in foreign countries."[48]
[Footnote 47: See the article on Science at the University of
Pennsylvania, in Popular Science Monthly for August, 1896.]
[Footnote 48: Proceedings at the Opening of the William Pepper
Laboratory of Clinical Medicine, December 4, 1895. Philadelphia,
1895.]
Dr. Pepper realized more and more every year that the vast extent of
the university interests demanded the undivided activity of its head.
In 1894 he resigned the office of provost, stating at the time that,
as it became necessary for him to choose between administration work
and medical science, his devotion to the latter determined his choice.
His administration was an eventful one, during which the university
evolved from a group of disconnected schools to a great academic body.
In 1881 its property in land amounted to fifteen acres, while in 1894
it controlled fifty-two acres in a continuous tract. In 1881 the
university property was valued at $1,600,000; in 1894 it exceeded
$5,000,000. The teaching force in 1881 numbered 88 and the students in
all departments 981; in 1894 the former were 268, and the attendance
had reached 2,180, representing every State in the Union, as well as
thirty-eight foreign countries.
Dr. Pepper became well known as an author on medical subjects. He
founded the Philadelphia Medical Times, and was its editor for two
years. In 1885 he edited a System of Medicine by American Authors, a
work that has been considered a leading authority on medical subjects.
He also edited a book of medical practice by American authors, and,
with Dr. J. F. Meigs, issued a work on Diseases of Children. He was
Medical Director of the Centennial Exposition in 1876, and for his
services he received from the King of Sweden the decoration of Knight
Commander of the Order of St. Olaf.
Dr. Pepper showed an unbounded interest in behalf of any movement that
would benefit the community in general. He was one of the first to
realize the advantage that would accrue to Philadelphia should she
become a museum center. The Philadelphia Commercial Museum was
established in October, 1893, with Dr. Pepper as president of the
board of trustees. The old offices of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company were leased, and exhibits were secured from the Latin-American
countries, Africa, Australia, Japan, and India, forming the largest
permanent collection of raw products in existence. Referring to the
great value of the museum, Dr. Pepper spoke as follows in his address
of welcome at the first annual meeting of the advisory board:
"It would seem clear, however, that no method of studying industries
and commerce can be scientific and complete which does not include the
museum idea as now comprehended. The museum aims to teach by object
lesson the story of the world, past and present. The Biological Museum
presents the objects of human and comparative anatomy, arranged
scientifically and labeled so fully as to constitute the best
text-book for the study of those subjects. The Museum of Natural
History does the same in its field. The Museum of Archæology shows the
progress of the race from the most archaic times, the different types
of human beings, their mode of living, their forms of worship, their
games, their weapons, their implements, the natural products which
they used for subsistence, in their industries, and in their arts, the
objects of manufacture or of art which they produced, and the manner
in which they disposed of their dead.
"The natural products and manufactured articles, which constitute the
material of commerce, come necessarily into such a scheme, and the
long-looked-for opportunity of establishing a commercial museum upon a
truly scientific basis presented itself when, at the close of the
Columbian Exposition at Chicago, it was possible, through the
enlightened liberality of the municipal authorities of Philadelphia
and the invaluable services of Prof. W. P. Wilson, to secure vast
collections of commercial material, which was so liberally donated to
the Philadelphia museums by nearly all the foreign countries of the
globe."
It was Dr. Pepper's idea to have the University Museum and the
Commercial Museum situated near each other, on the plan of the South
Kensington Museum. To this end the City Councils, in 1896, passed an
ordinance giving over to the trustees of the Commercial Museum sixteen
acres of land for the erection of suitable buildings. When all the
plans are carried out the city will have unrivaled facilities for the
study of civilization, past and present.