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Alternative Title
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Lawrence Bruner Letters, 1897
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Creator
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Lawrence Bruner
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Identifier
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081210-1897-059d
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Transcription
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NOT SNUBBED AT TORONTO
Dr. Bessey Says Americans Were Treated Cordially by British Scientists.
NEBRASKA BOY MAKES SENSATION
Paper of Herbert J. webber Reports a Remarkable Discovery—Englishmen Most Cordial to Economic Side of Science.
Dr. C. E. Bessey has somewhat astonished on his arrival home from Toronto to see in the Associated press dispatches that three Ohio scientists gave out that they had been snubbed at the meeting of the British association for the advancement of science. Dr. Bessey said yesterday to a Journal reporter that he felt it was only due to the British scientists to say that his own experience and that of all those present whom he knew was just the reverse of that charged by the Ohio professors. He could not imagine what could have happened to the disgruntled gentlemen.
"Really," said the professor, "it was not the place of the Englishmen to be hospitable to the Americans. The British association came over here with their meeting. The Americans were entertaining them. If the American association should meet in England, we would expect the English to show hospitality, not ourselves.
"But in the association proceedings the Englishmen showed themselves more than fair in giving Americans place. There were of course three times as many from the United States as from England and counting Canadians as Americans, five times as many Americans as English. The presidents and secretaries of the different sections, selected two years in advance and in England, were of course mostly English. But the sectional committees, which met daily and passed on the papers to be read, were more than half made up of Americans. I was one of the first to be appointed on the botanical section committee. I went to the first meeting and instead of being greeted with a nod and 'Why don't you come earlier?' as would have been the case with a lot of Americans, they all rose and I was introduced to all present, they expressing pleasure at my coming. It was so with all the other Americans who afterwards came to the committee. Nothing could have been more cordial. Mr. Webber, formerly of Lincoln and the university, was one of the younger botanists and not much known. But when his excellent and original paper had been read, they said 'We must have him on the committee,' and here you see his name on the daily bulletin of the second or third day.
"They managed the social part differently from us. They had little blanks and you could fill out one, saying you would like to be invited to Goldwin Smith's garden party, for instance. Everyone coud not be invited, for there were fifteen hundred scientists in Toronto, so for these garden parties and other social affairs the application method was used to find out just who wished to attend which affair. I was invited to a little gathering of botanists at the Queen's hotel one evening in the most cordial manner and made to feel I was welcome. So I feel that it is due the association to say that I did not see any evidence of snubbing Americans.
"One thing that surprises me very much," continued Professor Bessey, "was that the English scientists received the economic side of science so very cordially. The American association does not. I once heard the president of our association read something that leaned toward agricultural botany and the members turned up their noses decidedly. So we have had to organize a separate organization for science ap-
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Rights
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