American Geographical Society American Geographical Society Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1941), pp. 320-326 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/210214 . Accessed: 09/05/2014 09:28 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Geographical Review. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Transcript
American Geographical Society
American Geographical SocietySource: Geographical Review, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1941), pp. 320-326Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/210214 .
Accessed: 09/05/2014 09:28
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toGeographical Review.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The December Meeting and Presentation of Medals for 1940. The regular monthly meeting of the American Geographical Society was held on December 20,
I940, at the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, Mr. Henry, Vice-President, in the chair. The Society's medal awards for I940 (see Geogr. Rev., Vol. 31, I94I, p. I42) were presented.
The meeting was opened by Mr. H. Stuart Hotchkiss, member of the Council of the Society, who spoke as follows:
"We have the very pleasant duty this evening of honoring two distinguished scientists. In recognition of especial distinction in exploration or geographical research the Society awards four gold medals. The oldest of these are the Cullum Geographical Medal and the Charles P. Daly Medal, which will be presented tonight. The other two are the David Livingstone Centenary Medal, awarded only for work done in the southern hemisphere, and the Samuel Finley Breese Morse Medal, which has been awarded only once, to Sir Hubert Wilkins in I928.
" In all, eighty-seven medal awards have been made since the first Cullum Medal was presented to Admiral Peary in I896. Of these eighty-seven, it is natural that more should have gone to Americans than to persons of other nationalities. Thirty- four medals have been bestowed on Americans. The British come next with twenty, and then the Scandinavians with nine, the French with eight, Latin Americans with six, and the Germans with five. Awards have also been made to two Italians, one Russian, one Yugoslav, and one Czech. Thus you see that our medalists are indeed a cosmopolitan group. This group includes such universally known explorers as Nansen and Peary, Stefansson and Wilkins. It also includes many of the leading geographical scholars of recent times, such men as the American William Morris Davis, the Englishman Herbert J. Fleure, the Frenchman Emmanuel de Martonne, and the German Albrecht Penck.
"When a medal has been awarded to a foreigner, the presentation ceremony has often been performed in the country where he lives, by the American Ambassador or Minister stationed there. For this reason we do not always have the great pleas- ure that we enjoy tonight of welcoming our new medalists at meetings of the Society.
"Our guests of honor this evening are men from opposite sides of the American continent: Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, Curator of Oceanic Birds at the American Museum of Natural History here in New York, and Professor Carl Ortwin Sauer, Chairman of the Department of Geography at the University of California at Berkeley.
"Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege to present to you and to the Fellows of the American Geographical Society Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, to whom the Council of the Society has awarded the Cullum Geographical Medal for I940, and Professor Carl 0. Sauer, to whom the Council of the Society has awarded the Charles P. Daly Medal for I940."
The presentations of the medals were then made by Mr. Henry, who eulogized briefly Dr. Murphy's contributions to geography and oceanography through his studies of bird life in its environmental aspects and Professor Sauer's studies in the fields of land classification, land utilization, and conservation, and in the historical and ethnographical geography of Mexico.
Following the presentations, addresses were delivered by Dr. Murphy on "Con- servation and Scientific Forecasts" and by Professor Sauer on "The Personality of Mexico." Dr. Murphy's address will shortly appear in Science, and Professor Sauer's address will be published in the July number of the Geographical Review.
The January Meeting. The Annual Meeting of the Society was held on January 2I, I94I, at the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th
320
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Street, President Redmond in the chair. Mr. Redmond briefly outlined some of the salient features of the Annual Report of the Council for I940, published in full in this number of the Geographicai Review. Professor Lawrence M. Gould of Carleton College then delivered a lecture on "Antarctica," an interpretation of the geography of Antarctica, enlivened by humorous anecdotes and comments on the speaker's experiences on the First Byrd Expedition. Dr. Gould presented three maps showing possible political, structural, and climatic regions into which Antarctica might be divided; but he stressed the difficulty of establishing any satisfactory subdivisions into natural regions owing to the uniformity of climate throughout the continent. He then went on to describe physical features of the Ross ice barrier and of the Queen Maud Mountains with their glaciers. He made it clear that the deposits of coal discovered by his party in the Queen Maud Mountains are not likely to become of commercial value because of their remoteness and low quality.
The February Meeting. The regular monthly meeting of the Society was held on February i8, I94I, at the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, President Redmond in the chair. Professor Douglas Johnson, head of the Department of Geology of Columbia University, spoke on the " Military Geography of the European Conflict." Professor Johnson began his lecture by describing the physical barriers of Europe and their significance after the World War. He then showed how, one by one, the territorial acquisitions of Germany have strengthened her defenses. Illustrating his points with lantern slides showing various types of topographic defenses and block diagrams, the lecturer stressed particularly the physical obstacles of the northern Balkan States and the strategic importance of the river gorges of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia as avenues of possible invasion of Turkey and Greece. Professor Johnson concluded his lecture by describ- ing the natural defenses of Great Britain, ranging from the floodable areas of the east coast to the chalk cliffs of the Channel, which would have to be overcome if a sea-borne invasion were to be successful.
Changes in the Council. At the annual meeting of the Council of the Society held on January i6, I94I, the resignation from the Vice-Presidency of Mr. Philip W. Henry and the resignations from the Council of Mr. Hamilton Fish Kean, Recording Secretary, and Mr. Arthur Curtiss James, Councilor, were accepted with regret. Mr. Henry remains as a member of the Council. Three new Councilors were elected: Mr. Thomas D. Cabot of Boston, Mass.; Mr. George Lister Carlisle of Norfolk, Conn.; and Dr. Richard Upjohn Light of Kalamazoo, Mich. At the regular meeting of the Council held on February 20, I94I, Professor Nicholas J. Spykman of Yale University was elected to membership in the Council.
Memorial to Mr. Cross. At a meeting of the Council on December 4, I940, the following memorial was adopted:
Mr. W. Redmond Cross died unexpectedly on November 6, I940. He was an active member of the Council for twenty-two years, a Vice-President of the Society since I93I, and Chairman of the Council since I939. In addition to his general interest in geography and his skill as a collector and student of old maps, Mr. Cross contributed unselfishly to the affairs of the Society because of his wide experience in business and his enthusiastic support. He was an active member of many of the standing and special committees of the Council, particularly those dealing with financial matters, and through the years of depression, when the Society, in common with similar institutions, was in a difficult position, he cheer- fully assumed new and greater burdens.
The Council, with a deep sense of the loss which it has sustained in the death of a tried and trusted friend, adopts this memorial in recognition of Mr. Cross's high qualities and the great services he rendered to the Society.
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Memorial to Mr. A. A. Brooks. At a meeting of the Council on February 20, I94I,
the following memorial was adopted:
From I9I6 through I940 Arthur A. Brooks was associated with the American Geographical Society as editorial assistant. Many of the Society's publications, including the Geographical Review, have benefited substantially from the expert, scholarly work that he devoted to them. His indexes to the Bulletin of the Ameri- can Geographical Society, the Geographical Review, and other works are models of clarity and accuracy, indispensable tools in geographical study. On questions of English style as well as on other larger matters he was a helpful and patient coun- selor to members of the Society's staff, and his integrity and gentle, kindly disposi- tion won for him the admiration and the affection of those with whom he was associated.
Gift to the Society. The Society has recently received a gift of several hundred books, maps, and letters from the Pierrepont family of Brooklyn. The correspond- ence dates from the decade I85I-I86I and is addressed to Henry E. Pierrepont, Esq., one of the founders of the Society and a member of its Council. Such material is a welcome addition to the Archives, since it draws together from scattered sources the threads that weave the fabric of the Society's history. Also welcome are the early European guides, the New York State and federal publications, and the maps, which include "Connecticut from Actual Survey, made in i8ii, by, and under the Direction of Moses Warren and George Gillet, and by them compiled," I8I2, "First Actual Survey of the State of North Carolina . by . . . JonL Price, John Strother," i 8o8, and Randel's "The City of New York," I 82 I.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCII
January I6, I94I
To the Fellows of the Society:
Throughout much of the world the war and the spread of totalitarian doctrines have played havoc with geographical studies, as with many other scientific activities. In Europe geographical societies and research institutions have been obliged either to close their doors or greatly to curtail their work, and in many places geography itself has been degraded into an instrument of propaganda. Clearly it is even more important now than in less troubled times that the American Geographical Society should steadfastly carry forward its broadly conceived and unbiased program of publication and research.
During I940, sheets of our great Millionth Map of Hispanic America were fur- nished in large quantities to agencies of the government concerned with national defense, and sets of the map were distributed by the Department of State to all the United States diplomatic missions in Latin America. Furthermore, the knowledge and experience that our professional staff has gained and the published and unpub- lished materials that have been accumulated in connection with our research pro- gram have made it possible for us to undertake certain special tasks in response to needs created by the present crisis. In the course of the year we issued a striking colored map illustrating the geographical background of the war in Europe and completed a publication dealing with critical economic conditions and strategic relationships in the Caribbean area. At the request of the federal government we have undertaken to prepare a new map of Latin America in three large sheets, a project on which work is now under way. In recent months the Society has also been consulted frequently by officials and others in regard to the geography of specific areas of international concern in the Western Hemisphere.
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The geographical basis of history-and of history in the making-is well illustrated in the public's acceptance of the geographical expression "Western Hemisphere" in its relation to the rapidly moving events of the day. The need for definition of the term was promptly met in a map and comment, "The Geography of the Monroe Doctrine and the Limits of the Western Hemisphere," by Colonel Lawrence Martin, in the Geographical Review for July, 1940. Colonel Martin points out that the hemisphere includes a part of Antarctica of particular interest to the United States; why this is so he explains in a later contribution, "Antarctica Discovered by a Connecticut Yankee, Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer." In the defense of the Western Hemisphere the Hawaiian Islands assume an important role; their political geography is examined by two members of the faculty of the University of Hawaii. The geographical background of a base of extraordinary strategic importance on the other side of the Pacific is described in a paper on Singapore; and another article traces the recent rapid economic development of the " Outer Provinces of the Nether- lands Indies," where " new wealth has brought external political dangers." A discussion of "American Raw-Material Deficiencies and Regional Dependence," a theme of crucial importance, has provoked much animated discussion.
Wherever one turns today, the political aspect of place is apparent, as a few more examples from the Review for I940 will suggest. A survey of the fisheries of the North American continent shows that our I30,000 fishermen and their 38,ooo motor- ized vessels provide " a second line of naval defense." An examination of " Bolivia's Water-Power Resources" directs attention to a great potential asset in relation to the exploitation of the country's mineral wealth. An answer is sought to the question "whether the concentration of people of German ancestry in the south of Brazil constitutes a danger to the peace and security of the Brazilian nation"; and a case study of Brazil's immigration problem is offered in a paper on a new settlement of some 300 families in Sao Paulo, in which the nationalities represented are Lithu- anian, German, Polish, Rumanian, Austrian, Russian, Japanese, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Czechoslovakian, Portuguese, Swiss, Hungarian, and Yugoslav! The implications in such titles as "The World's Petroleum," "The Australian Iron and Steel Industry as a Functional Unit," and "Suez Canal Problems" are clear enough.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Early in the year the Society published the scholarly volume "Inner Asian Fron- tiers of China," by Owen Lattimore, which a recent reviewer has described as "the most stimulating book on the Far East in a decade" (C. M. Wilbur, in Pacific Affairs, December, 1940). Editorial work was completed on two publications to appear early in 194I: Dr. Richard U. Light's volume "Focus on Africa" and "The European Possessions in the Caribbean Area," a booklet by R. R. Platt, J. K. Wright, and J. C. Weaver, all of the Society's staff, and Johnson E. Fairchild of Hunter College. During the summer a revised and improved edition of "Environment and Conflict in Europe: Eighteen Basic Maps" was published and a monograph entitled "A Series of Population Maps of the Colonies and the United States, I625-
I790," by H. R. Friis, appeared in mimeographic form. A new booklet describing the activities of the Society was issued in December.
LIBRARY AND MAP COLLECTION
During the year there were added to the Society's collections 7IO books, 437 pam- phlets, 926 complete volumes of periodicals, 2686 maps, 28 atlases, io8i photographs, I5 portraits, I26 lantern slides, 640 large glass negatives, and 726 stereopticon views. The collections now number IIO,I27 volumes of books and periodicals, 20,706
The Society gratefully acknowledges the gifts of materials and funds for the collections received in I940-gifts too numerous to list individually in this report. As the present budget permits the purchase of only essential current publications, it is through gifts alone that we are enabled to fill gaps in our library and map col- lection and to acquire some of the significant older materials now flooding the market at reasonable prices. Any books, maps, photographs, lantern slides, or other works of geographical interest donated to the Society will be received with deep appreciation.
Our monthly bibliography, Current Geographical Publications, is becoming of constantly increasing importance. The third volume was completed during the year, and an index was issued for the second volume. A photograph supplement initiated with the October number will make available the pictorial material in geographical and related publications.
There was a marked increase in the use of the collections by outsiders, including scholars from distant points who worked here for extended periods. One of the government departments has acquired the special research catalogue-some I40,000
card entries-in microfilm.
DEPARTMENtr OF HISPANIC AMERICAN RESEARCH
During the year I3 new sheets of the Map of Hispanic America on the scale of I:I,OOO,OOO (the Millionth Map) were published, bringing the number of published sheets at the close of the year to IOI, out of a total of I07. Of the remaining 6 sheets, 3 are now in process of final drawing. The sheets published in I940 are: North B-I9, Rio Meta; B-2o, Roraima; E-I8, Kingston-Port-au-Prince; F-I3, Guadala- jara; and F-I8, Santiago de Cuba; South E-20, Sucre; E-22, Paranahyba; E-23, Bello Horizonte; F-2o, Rio Pilcomayo; F-2I, Rio Apa; F-24, Victoria; H-2I, Uru- guayana; and I-2I, Buenos Aires.
At the request of the office of the Coordinator of Cultural and Commercial Rela- tions with Latin America the Society has undertaken the publication of a map of Latin America in three large sheets on the scale of I:5,000,000. The map will be based on the sheets of the Millionth Map supplemented by material acquired since their publication, including data that are being secured for the Society by the De- partment of State. A projection especially adapted for this and other small-scale maps of the Americas has been developed by Messrs. 0. M. Miller and W. A. Briese- meister of the Society's staff (see Geogr. Rev., Vol. 31, 1941, pp. 100-104),
DEPARTMENTS OF MATHEMATICAL GEOGRAPHY AND OF
EXPLORATION AND FIELD RESEARCH
Further progress was made during the year by the Department of Mathematical Geography in the development of a stereoscopic plotting instrument. The Depart- ment of Exploration and Field Research carried out a preliminary analysis of the results of the Wood Yukon Expedition of I939 and brought nearly to completion the compilation of a map of a part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia from high-oblique air photographs taken on the Cabot Colombian Expedition of I939.
EXHIBITS
The exhibition of materials of geographical interest at the Society's house was open to the public until September, I940, and may still be inspected by Fellows and their guests. As the Society's part in the commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of the invention of printing from movable type, a special exhibit was prepared of books and maps illustrating certain critical steps in the development of geography in this country, and a brief descriptive catalogue, " Milestones in Ameri-
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
can Geography," was issued. A replica of the Society's exhibit showing the sheets of the Millionth Map for equatorial South America mounted on a spherical surface has been installed in the Science Museum of the St. Paul (Minn.) Institute. The Society also prepared for display at the Eighth American Scientific Congress, held in Washington in May, an exhibit of the 94 sheets of the Millionth Map then pub- lished, joined together and mounted on five large panels.
CO6PERATION IN OTHER ENTERPRISES
During I940, as for many years past, members of the staff took an active part in the work of other scientific organizations: Dr. J. K. Wright and Mr. C. B. Hitchcock as representatives of the Society on the National Research Council; Mr. R. R. Platt as a member of the Federal Board of Surveys and Maps, the U. S. Board on Geo- graphical Names, and the Committee on Cultural Relations with Latin America; Mr. 0. M. Miller as a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Photogrammetry and the Committee on Standardization in the Field of Photography of the American Standards Association; Miss E. T. Platt as chairman of the Museum Group of the Special Libraries Association, New York Section; and Mr. W. A. Wood as first vice-president of the American Alpine Club.
The Society was represented by staff members at the following out-of-town meet- ings: Eighth American Scientific Congress, Washington, at which a paper by Mr. Platt was read; Association of American Geographers, Baton Rouge; joint session of Section E of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia, at which Miss Platt read a paper.
The Staff collaborated again in supplying material for the Handbook of Latin American Studies and for the new edition of the Union List of Serials and contributed a survey of current travel literature to the American Year Book. As in former years, material was sent to France for inclusion in the Bibliographie Geographique Inter- nationale, but unfortunately this fundamental annual bibliography has, so far as we now know, become a war casualty.
AWARD OF HONORS
At a meeting of the Council on October 24, I940, the Cullum Geographical Medal for I940 was awarded to Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy of the American Museum of Natural History and the Charles P. Daly Medal for I940 to Professor Carl Ortwin Sauer of the University of California. Presentation of the medals was made at the regular monthly meeting of the Society on December 20, I940.
LECTURE PROGRAM
The speakers and titles on the Society's program of lectures delivered at the regular monthly meetings during the year were as follows: January 23, "The Balkans: A Study in Geography and Politics," by Dr. Samuel Van Valkenburg; February 20,
"The Geography of the Chinese Conflict," by Mr. Owen Lattimore; March I3, " Patrol to the Northwest Passage," by Mr. Richard Finnie; April 23, " The American Alpine Club Karakoram Expedition, I938," by Dr. Charles S. Houston; November I9, " New Stars and New Galaxies," by Dr. Harlow Shapley; December 20, " Conser- vation and Scientific Forecasts," by Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, and "The Personality of Mexico," by Professor Carl Ortwin Sauer. The meetings during the winter and spring were held in the auditorium of the American Museum of Natural History; those in November and December, in the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building.
A "Fellows' Day" was held at the house of the Society on January 5, I940.
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
With profound regret we record the death of Dr. John H. Finley on March 7, I940;
of Mr. Paul Tuckerman on September 9, I940; and of Mr. W. Redmond Cross on November 6, I940. Dr. Finley served as President of the Society from I925 to I934
and subsequently as Honorary President. Mr. Tuckerman and Mr. Cross both served as Vice-President and as chairman of the finance and other important com- mittees of the Council, and Mr. Cross was Chairman of the Council from I939 until his death. The loss to the Society of these devoted friends is indeed severe.
SPECIAL ELECTIONS
At a meeting of the Council on January I8, I940, Dr. Charles Seymour, president of Yale University, was elected Councilor of the class of I943.
The Council during the year I940 has elected the following Fellows to the status of membership indicated: Benefactor: William A. Rockefeller; Patron: Thomas D. Cabot, Richard U. Light; Life Fellow: Mrs. W. A. Wood, R. W. Drury.
FELLOWS
The number of Fellows at the close of the year was 32II, of whom II were Bene- factors, 7 Patrons, 20I Life Fellows, and I7 Sustaining Fellows. In addition, there were IO Honorary Members and 40 Corresponding Members.
REPORT OF THE TREASURER
The Council has received from the Treasurer a balance sheet of assets and liabilities as of December 3I, I940.
H. STUART HOTCHKISS, Chairman
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COUNCILORS
At the Annual Meeting of the Council held on January i6, I94I, the following named gentlemen were elected to the offices designated:
Term to expire in
President ..... Roland L. Redmond .January, I942
Vice-Presidents . . . . . . . Frederic C. Walcott .January, I944 H. Stuart Hotchkiss .. . . . January, I943
Domestic Corresponding Secretary William Hale Harkness . . . . January, I944 Foreign Corresponding Secretary . William A. Rockefeller . .. . January, I942 Recording Secretary . . . . . . Carl C. Shippee ... . . .. January, I943 Treasurer.. .... Henry Parish . .. .... January, I942
Isaiah Bowman Thomas D. Cabot . . . . . January, I944 JF. Trubee DavisonJ
Councilors . . . . . . . . . F.TueDaio Richard U. Light . January, I943 George L. Carlisle | . January, 1942 Philip W. Henry )
Chairman of the Council for 194I: H. Stuart Hotchkiss
This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 09:28:59 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
