Honorary membership in a famous society, or honorary degrees, have great
value if wisely awarded. Both are highly prized, form an excellent
stimulus to continued work, and as they are both priceless, and without
price, they in no way diminish the capacity for work. I recently had
occasion to compare the progress in various sciences of different
countries, and found that the number of persons elected as foreign
associates of the seven great national societies of the world was an
excellent test. Eighty-seven persons were members of two or more of
these societies. Only six are residents of the United States, while an
equal number come from Saxony, which has only a twentieth of the
population. Of the six residents here, only three were born in the
United States. Not a single mathematician, or doctor, from this country
appears on the list. Only in astronomy are we well represented. Out of a
total of ten astronomers, four come from England, and three from the
United States. Comparing the results for the last one hundred and fifty
years, we find an extraordinary growth for the German races, an equally
surprising diminution for the French and other Latin races, while the
proportion of Englishmen has remained unchanged.
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