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Show SCIENTISTS PROBE M00TESTK Speakers at Meeting of American Association Choose Topic. CRITICISE TREATIES Former Argentina Minister Would Abrogate Cramping Cramp-ing Agreements. PHILADELPHIA, Dee. 2!!. A wide range of subjects, including "tlia craving crav-ing for the supernatural" and "Ameri-eau "Ameri-eau economic and social problems aris-ijig aris-ijig out of the European war," were discussed at the numerous meetings of scientists held here today in conneetiqn Trith tho meeting of the American Association As-sociation for the Advancement of Science. Sci-ence. ; How sex is controlled by diet and fatherless offspring produced in the rotifer, a lower organism, was described at a meeting of tho American ' Society of Zoologists by Dr. David D. Whitney of Wesieyan university. Dr. J. Chundor Bose, of the University Univer-sity of Calcutta, who tame from India to attend the convention, demonstrated at a meeting of tho botanical society of America some of his experiments with the nerve centers of plants, tic showed plant nerve tissues to correspond with that of animals and demonstrated that poisons acted upon the sensitive nerve movements in the same manner as upon auimals. Dr. Williams Speaks. Dr. Tom A. Wlliams, of Washington, D. C, who discussed "tho craving for tbe supernatural," at a juint meeting of tho American Psychological association, associa-tion, and tho Southern societies of Philosophy and Psycology, declared that the condition which induces this craving may bo a physical one, as an effect on tho body juices or a microbial poisoning, poison-ing, as in the case of Do Maupassant, whose morbid feelings lie iuterpreted into a second self of supernatural order. Dr. Williams declared that the craving may also be partlv due to upbringing In spiritualistic beliefs. Dr. Y. W. Shipley, Washington University, Uni-versity, St. Louis, was elected president of the council of tho Archaeological Institute of America at a meeting of that body. At a joint meeting with the American Autbropologieal asociatiou, Allison V. Armour reported on the recovery of 2.",rt00 from the Italian government for breach of contract made by Turkey with the institute for archaeological research re-search work at Cyrone in Africa, Oy-reue Oy-reue falling into "the hands of Italy, which interrupted the excavations after the first year. He also said that Turkey and Greece would not permit tho taking out of their dominions of any articles recovered through archaeological research, re-search, and that the French had beon ; given practical monopoly of arehaeolo- ' given practical monopoly of archaeolog- ( leal research in Persia. Defends Bar! Air. ! Working in the so-called ''bad air" does not decrease efficiency, according to the results of experiments described by Professor E. L. Thorndikc, Columbia university, at the meeting of the American Psychological association. Profesor Thorndike said that the uncomfortable un-comfortable feeling caused by stnffy rooms is probably the result of the heat rather than of the carbon dioxide in the air. He said that, although efficiency effici-ency is not decreased, it docs not follow fol-low that there is no bad effect on the health if a person should habitually wo.rk in an illy ventilated room. The experiments were made with adults. Whether the efficiency of children is affected has not yet been determined. Discussing the "American Economic and Social Problems Arising out of the European War," before the social and economic science section, Charles H. Sherrill, former United .States minister to the Argentine Kepublic, advocated the abrogation of all treaties with European Eu-ropean nations that cramp aud hamper attempts to build up a. merchant marine. ma-rine. He declared for the repeal of the interstao commerce act forbidding the railroads to grant preferential rates on goods bound for the seaboard for shipment ship-ment abroad, and for that clause in the Sherman anti-trust act which forbids 'combinations" to fight for our share of the world trade. John Franklin Crowell, of New York, said the best lesson that we can learn from wars is how to remove the conditions con-ditions that cause wars. "One of the causes of war is the assumed right of one nation to tell how the ships of another nation shall float ou the hich seas," ho added. |