THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.

STATED MONTHLY MEETING, APRIL zT, 1929.

The regular stated monthly meeting of The Franklin Institute was called to order by the President, Mr. Nathan Hayward, at eight-twenty-three P.M.

The Secretary announced that the minutes of the last monthly meeting had been published in full in the April number of the Journal and moved that the minutes be approved as printed. This motion was unanimously adopted and the minutes were declared approved.

The Secretary stated the only item of business to come before the meeting was a report upon the membership acquisitions since the last meeting. He stated that two Resident and two Non-Resident members had been elected.

He announced with extreme regret the death of Dr. Samuel Rea, the former President of the Pennsylvania Railroad System and an Ilonorary Member and Franklin Medalist of the Institute.

There was no further business and the President asked Dr. Hobart A. ttare, as the representative of the Board of Directors of City Trusts, to assume charge of the meeting. Dr. Hare, as the representative of that Board, presented to Dr. Lee deForest of New York City, a member of The Franklin Institute, a John Scott Medal and premium of one thousand dollars. Dr Hare spoke as follows:

I am here to-night as a member of the Board o~ Directors of City Trusts, a Board which has the administration, among other funds, of that fund established in I816 by John Scott of.Edinburgh, Scotland. Evidently from such information as we have, John Scott was a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin. He devised to the City of Philadelphia as Trustee, the sum of $4ooo, and directed that the interest thereon should be used to reward ingenious men and women that make useful inventions, " the premium to be not more than $2o," and a medal to be known as the "John Scott Medal," to be made of bronze and to bear the inscrip- tion "To the most deserving."

In the course of time the John Scott Medal Fund increased so largely that nnder an order from the court, the Board of Directors of City Trusts is now per- mitted to increase each award to a much greater sum.

The Board of Directors of City Trusts feeling that it would be wise to have expert evidence as to those who might be worthy for such an award, appointed a Commission consisting of Mr. Samuel Vauclain, President of the Baldwin Loc- motive Works, Mr. Solomon M. Swaab, City Engineer of Philadelphia, Mr. Franeis Shunk Brown, the Vice-President of the Board of City Trusts, and the speaker, the second Vice-President, to make recommendations as to those to whom the John Scott Medal and Premium should be given.

On their recommendation, the Board of Directors of City Trusts have voted that an award should be made to Dr. Lee DeForest, Electrical Engineer of New York City, for his invention of the audion which is used in radio and long distance communication, the more so as he is one of the pioneers in the development of wireless telegraphy and telephony in America. Indeed it may be said that his development of the audion made possible long distance telephoning and the

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708 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND THE ARTS. [J. F. I.

audion is, furthermore, the detector amplifier of the present radio apparatus. The device which Dr. DeForest developed acts as a valve which controls the flow of electrons from the hot cathode or filament to the anode or plate. It is, further- more, interesting to note that his invention proved the key to the synchronization which has rendered possible the talking motion picture.

In order that the Board of Directors of City Trusts might be enabled to honor Dr. DeForest in the presence of those who also hold him in high regard, The Franklin Institute has been graciously pleased to permit this award to be made at this meeting.

Representing the Board of Directors of City Trusts, the administrator of the John Scott Medal Fund, I, therefore, take pleasure in presenting the medal and premium to Dr. DeForest.

Dr. deforest responded and made graceful expression of his recognition of the honor which had been done him and of his gratitude for the same. He spoke briefly in outline of the past development of the radio as based upon the audion, and ventured certain predictions as to the likely development of the future.

The President of the Institute then reassumed the Chair and presented as the speaker of the evening Dr. W. F. G. Swann, Director of the Bartol Research Foundation of The Franklin Institute. Dr. Swann made a "Repor t of the Year's Activities of the Bartol Research Foundation." He spoke as fully as time per- mitted of the many and important investigations which are being carried on in the Bartol Laboratories, and gave a convincing summary of the researches which have been completed or are in process at this time.

The meeting adjourned at ten-twenty P.M. HOWARD MCCLENAHAN,

Secretary.

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

(Abstract of Proceedings of Stated Meeting held Wednesday, April 3, I929.)

HALL OF THE INSTITUTE, PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 1929.

DOCTOR THOMAS D. COPE in the Chair. The following report was presented for final action:

No. 2906: Literature.

This report, recommending the award of the Louis Edward Levy Medal to Mr. L. J. R. Holst, Consulting Engineer and Vice President, of Brock and Wey- mouth, Inc., Philadelphia, for his paper on "Topography from the Air," published in the October, I929 issue of the Journal of The Franklin Institute, was adopted.

The following report was presented for first reading¢

No. 2905: Work of Doctor Chevalier Jackson. This report recommended the award of the Elliott Cresson Medal to Doctor

Chevalier Jackson, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, " I n consideration of his researches on the mechanical principles involved in the removal of foreign bodies from the respiratory and food passages and of his designing of many instruments