Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
I. The Executive Committee met at the call of the Chairman at ten a.m., Friday, September 23, 1932, at the office of the American Institute of Physics Incorporated, 11 East 38th Street, New York, N. Y.
Present: Chairman Compton, Messrs. Davey, Fletcher, Jones, Palmer, and Pegram, and Director Barton and Treasurer Buffum.
II. The minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee on May 14, 1932 were read and approved.
III. The Chairman made an informal statement as to a conference of the officers on August first as guests of Mr. Buffum. Following this conference a report of progress had been sent to Mr. Garvan, President of the Chemical Foundation, a copy of which report is to be sent to each member of the Board.
IV. The Director reported that bids for printing the journals had been received from three firms, the Lancaster Press, the George Banta Publishing Company and the Mack Printing Company, and these bids were being carefully studied though this study was not yet complete. It was agreed to discuss this subject later in the meeting.
V. Journal of Chemical Physics
Mr. Buffum called the attention of the committee to an announcement in the current number of Chemical News stating that the Journal of Physical Chemistry would hereafter be published by the firm of Williams and Wilkin of Baltimore with a new constitution of its editorial board. In the same issue of Chemical News there appeared a short announcement of the Institute’s new Journal of Chemical Physics. There was a general discussion of the efforts that had been made to have the officials of the American Chemical Society understand that the Institute had projected its new Journal of Chemical Physics to meet a definite need not at all satisfied by the Journal of Physical Chemistry and the facts of the situation had been clearly understood by the Editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry as the result of a conference between him, the Manager of the Chemical Foundation and the Director of the Institute of Physics. Mr. Barton read to the Committee his memorandum of that conference which was held on February 18, 1932, which memorandum the Editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry had stated to Chairman Compton to be substantially correct.
Chairman Compton reported on a conference with President-elect Lamb of the American Chemical Society as the result of which President Lamb seemed to react very favorably toward the project of a new journal to fill the new place which the Journal of Chemical Physics is to occupy. Mr. Buffum reported also on a conference with President Lamb in August at which President Lamb’s attitude was entirely sympathetic. Chairman Compton stated that he had written on August 11th to Secretary Parsons of the American Chemical Society asking the cooperation of the Chemical Society in so far as its members would be interested in the new journal and that he would probably confer further with Mr. Parsons in October. The Chairman stated also that he had requested Professor Bancroft to serve on the Board of Editors of the new journal but that Professor Bancroft declined on the ground that he was not and never could be a chemical physicist. Mr. Barton reported that he had written to Mr. Howe, Editor of the American Chemical Society, announcing the new journal.
Mr. Barton reported a list of appointees as associate editors of the Journal of Chemical Physics including three from England, as follows:
- D. H. Andrews, Johns Hopkins University
- E. U. Condon, Princeton University
- Farrington Daniell, University of Wisconsin
- Wheeler P. Davey, Pennsylvania State College
- D. M. Dennison, University of Michigan
- Karl S. Herzfeld, Johns Hopkins University
- T. R. Hogness, University of Chicago
- E. R. Jette, Columbia University
- F. G. Keyes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- G. B. Kistiakowsky, Harvard University
- E. O. Kraemer, Du Pont Company
- C. H. Kunsman, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C.
- V. K. LaMer, Columbia University
- W. M. Latimer, University of California
- A. C. G. Mitchell, New York University
- W. A. Noyes Jr., Brown University
- Linus Pauling, California Institute of Technology
- C. P. Smythe, Princeton University
- H. F. Taylor, Princeton University
- F. G. Donnan, University of London
- R. H. Fowler, Cambridge University
- C. N. Hinchelwood, Oxford University
At this point Professor Harold C. Urey, Editor of Chemical Physics, joined the Committee by invitation and told of the prospects for papers for the first and subsequent issues of the journal. He stated it to be distinctly his opinion, for which he cited reasons, that the new journal would not only receive a satisfactory number of articles but that it would almost from the first receive more articles than it could afford to publish.
VI. On motion of Mr. Davey it was voted:
that the Executive Committee confirm the plan of the sub-committee on the Journal of Chemical Physics as to beginning the new journal as a monthly publication.
On motion it was voted:
that the informal report of the sub-committee on the Journal of Chemical Physics as to the constitution of the editorial board be approved.
(At this point Editor Urey was excused.)
VII. Mr. Buffum raised the question as to whether the Review of Scientific Instruments might not be sent to all subscribers to the Journal of Chemical Physics or to any of the other journals published by the Institute as an extra inducement and to enhance the advertising value of the Journal of Scientific Instruments in the same way as it is planned to send that journal to every member of each of the Societies.
On motion of Mr. Fletcher it was voted:
that the Review of Scientific Instruments be sent to every paid subscriber to any journal published by the Institute.
VIII. On motion it was voted:
To approve the recommendation of the sub-committee on the Journal of Chemical Physics that an honorarium of $1000.00 a year be allowed to Mr. Urey as Editor on the understanding that the honorarium is partly to meet the expenses of his attendance at meetings of the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society and such other meetings as it may be of advantage to the journal for him to attend.
IX. Mr. Buffum made an informal report as Treasurer stating that on account of the large deficit of the Physical Review, about $7500, he had been obliged in order to meet current expenses to draw upon funds of the Institute not authorized to be expended in this way. He stated that if the American Physical Society could pay its indebtedness to the Institute the matter could be cleared up.
On motion it was voted:
that the American Physical Society be requested to clear up the deficit on its publications as of May 1, 1932 the date when the business management was taken over by the Institute.
X. On motion it was voted:
that the action of the Treasurer as reported above in using funds of the Institute to meet current bills for publication be approved.
XI. On motion it was voted:
that the following resolution for the use of the bank in which the funds of the Institute are deposited be adopted:
“RESOLVED: that the funds of this Corporation shall be deposited in the FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND TRUST COMPANY OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, subject to withdrawal by check, draft, note or order of the Corporation signed by its treasurer. | |
And the said Bank is hereby authorized to pay such checks, drafts, notes or orders, and also to receive the same for the credit of or in payment from the payee or any other holder when so signed without inquiry as to the circumstances of their issue of the disposition of their proceeds, whether drawn to the individual order of or tendered in payment of individual obligation of any officer of this Company or otherwise. | |
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the treasurer be authorized to borrow on account of this Corporation from and discount with the FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND TRUST COMPANY OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, and for that purpose to make, execute and deliver promissory notes of this Corporation, to endorse and deliver any negotiable instrument which may belong to this Corporation to the said Bank, and to execute and deliver all instruments of assignment and to transfer with or without seal which may be required to carry this resolution into effect, | |
SEAL | (signed) George B. Pegram, Secretary |
Attest: Karl T. Compton, President | |
September 23, 1932.” |
The Committee took a recess for luncheon at one-twenty and resumed business at the Princeton Club at two-twenty p.m.
XII. On motion it was voted:
that the fiscal year of the American Institute of Physics Incorporated be the calendar year, January first to December 31st.
XIII. On motion it was voted:
that the meeting of the Board of Governors tentatively set for October 8th be postponed and that the meeting be called for nine o’clock, Saturday, November 19th unless unforeseen circumstances should make that date inadvisable.
XIV. On motion of Mr. Davey it was voted:
that the decision as to the bids from printers for the publications of the Institute be left with power to a committee consisting of the officers including the Adviser on Publications and that this committee be empowered to negotiate further with printers.
XV. The Committee adjourned at two-forty p.m.