Gentlemen of the Association:—As vessels of various lines and nationalities dip their colors in graceful recognition when they pass each other on the high seas, so those who represent any single department of human knowledge may well accept every occasion for the manifestation of friendly courtesies toward such as are the acknowledged representatives of learning in other spheres, however remote or foreign in outward appearance. For, as it is one and the same ocean which washes the shores of islands and continents far distant from each other, and binds them into a physical unity otherwise unattainable, so this vaster ocean of human knowledge, with its cosmic commerce of thought and attainment, makes friends of all who traverse its magnificent ranges, whatever cargo they may carry, and whatever be the port toward which they are hastening.