GSW: 1949
MEETING MINUTES
January 3,
1949
A
special joint meeting of the Washington Academy of Sciences and Geological
Society of Washington was held in the Interior Department Auditorium, Monday
evening January 3, 1949, at 8:00 P.M., with James S. Williams, president of the
Geological Society of Washington presiding.
Professor
Hans Cloos,
Attendance:
165
At
10:00 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
Donald
H. Dow
Secretary
671st
Meeting
January 12,
1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 671st meeting of the Society was held in the
Assembly hall of the Cosmos Club,
Wednesday evening, January 12, 1949, at 8:00 o'clock, President James Steele
Williams presiding.
The
minutes of the 670th meeting and the special meeting at which Professor Hans
Cloos addressed the Society were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to memberahip of: G. Edward Manger, William J.
Dempsey, Miss Elizabeth King, John K. Hartsock, R. Andrew Nelson, Thomas W.
Stern,
Mrs.
Janet Fletcher, Miss Kyoko Onoda, Miss M. Nancy Girhard, Miss M. Eleanor
Thompson, Miss Cynthia E. A. Boudreau, Miss Ruth Kreher, Miss Janet Cook, Miss
Katharine Lutz, Miss Priscilla Patton, Miss Ruth Krautwurst, Miss Madeline
Klaphaak, Mrs. Florence Jhung Lee, Miss Marion C. Jaster, Harry M. Ryder,
Maurice Deul, Zalmon S. Altschuler, Edward Dwornick, Stewart R. Wallace, Miss
Jane Titcomb, Catharine Savige, Miss Claire Bates (U. S. Geological Survey) and
William Allen, U. S. National Museum.
Regular
Program:
Gordon
G. Lill, Earth sciences program of Office of Naval Research. Discussed by Chayes and Coates
H.
R. Joesting, Fred Keller, Jr., and Elizabeth King, Interpretation of
aeromagnetic survey of central
H.
D. Miser, Quartz-crystals in
Attendance:
114
At
9:55 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed
Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
672d Meeting
January 26, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 672d meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, January 26, 1949, at 8:00 o'clock,
President James Steele Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 671st meting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of: Jack E.
Smedley, Miss Ruth N. Burns, Samuel G. Lasky, Miss Elaine Watson, Mrs. Henry L. Berryhill, Jr. (U. S. Geological Survey); Major Finn E. Bronner, U. S. Army; David Nicol,
Arthur L. Bowsher (U. S. National Museum)
Informal Communications
W. T. Pecora called attention to the announcement of the
forthcoming Civil Service Commission examination for Geologists P-1 and P-2.
J. R. Balsley commented on W. D. Johnston' s discussion of the
paper presented by H. R. Joesting at the preceding
meeting.
Regular program
Clyde Wahrhaftig, Frost action in subarctic badlands sculpture.
Ernst Cloos, What is the Appalachian
basement? Discussed by Mr. and Mrs. Stose, Pecora, Goldman, Davies, and Schopf.
Attendance 132
at 9:40 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
673d Meeting
February 9, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 673d meeting of the Society was held in the assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, February 9, 1949 at 5:00 o'clock,
President James Steele, Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 672d meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of: Miller
Ellis, John B. McIntyre, Wiliiam A. Fischer, Judith
Weiss (U. S. Geological Survey); Theodore E. White, Smithsonian Institution.
.Informal Communications:
A memorial to Miss Grace Wilmarth
was presented by Julia Gardner.
A memorial to Stephen R. Capps was presented by P. S. Smith.
Louis Ray requested ideas on origin of highly polished pebbles
from high-level gravels of Ozark .uplift, from Coldwater quadrangle,
Regular Program:
John B. Mertie - Charting 5, 6, and
7 variables on the boundaries of hypertetrahedra.
Discussed by Chayes.
Norman D. Newell - Geology of Lake Titicaca and vicinity.
Attendance 94
At 9:50 P.M. the meeting adjourned..
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
674th Meeting
February 23, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 674th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, February 23, 1949, at 8:00 o'clock
President James Steele Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 673d meeting were read and approved.
The. Secretary announced the election to membership of: Hatten S. Yoder, Geophysical Laboratory;
The President introduced Dr. T. K. Huang, Chief Geologist of
the Chinese Geological Survey.
The President presented a brief memorial to Dr. Bailey Willis,
charter member and former officer of this Society.
Informal Communication: "On the probable error of a
chemical analysis," by William G. Schlecht.
Statistical formulas sometimes are: used for calculating
"probable error" and the like for chemical analyses, without an
understanding of the special assumptions of normality and randomness contained
in these formulas. Several recently
published studies were discussed, giving evidence that the errors in most
chemical analytical procedures are neither normally distributed nor random. The
most important errors in chemical analysis depend for their estimation on an
intimate knowledge of the processes involved; a sound judgment of the errors in
a particular procedure with a particular material depends on the analyst's
theoretical understanding of the process and practical experience with it. The speaker recommended a discussion of these
matters published by G.E.F. Lundell in "The
Chemical Analysis of Things as They are," Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 5, pp.
221-225, 1933. The value of critical
statistical study of experiments was stressed, but it was urged that when "statistical"
formulas are used, it should be with the collaboration of professional
statisticians. A reliable guide to
statistical procedures is "Statistical Methods in Research and Production,
with Special Reference to the Chemical Industry," edited by Owen L.
Davies, Oliver & Boyd, London,"1947.
Discussed by J. P. Marble, Joseph M. Cameron.
Informal Communication by Charles Milton: Specimens of bezoar stones, gastroliths, enteroliths, hair-balls, and related objects were shown,
with discussion of their chemical and mineralogical composition. A so-called
"egg" from the stomach of a deer was cut open and found to be
composed of a pecan surrounded by a half-inch shell of.calcium
phosphate. Discussed by Coats, Goldman,
and Byers.
Regular Program:
Alwin Williams - New Aspects of Ordovician
history of the Welsh Paleozoic geosyncline. Discussed
by Paige, Schopf, and Marble.
Frank M. Byers - Types of geothermal activity in the
Attendance: 84
At 9:35 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
675th Meeting
March 9, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 675th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, March 9, 1949, at 8:00 P.M., President
James Steele Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 674th meeting were read and approved.
.The Secretary announced the election to membership of George Gryc, Alan N. Kover, . A.
Williams Postel, Miss Celia Hendron,
Rob Roy Mac Gregor, George Brown (
The President reminded the Society that speakers should submit
abstracts more promptly to the Secretary for publication in the Proceedings of
the Washington Academy of Sciences.
Informal Communications:
Dr. J. Bridge called attention to the symposium on the mineral
resources of southeastern
Regular Program:
W. E. Davies, Geology of the caverns of
A. R. V. Arellano, Soil criteria applied to dating ancient
human finds in
Glen F. Brown, Relation of some geologic structures in
Attendance 142
At 9:50 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
676th Meeting
March 23, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 676th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of e Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, March 23, 1949, at 8:00 o'clock, President
James Steele Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 675th meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of John B.
Hanley, U. S. Geological Survey.
The President announced the passing of Dr. George B.
Richardson, former member of the Society.
The President introduced Dr. F. Dixie, Director of British
Colonial Surveys.
J. R. Balsley made an announcement about the Pick and Hammer
show.
Burton Faust extended an invitation to those present to attend
the convention of the Speleological Society in the Dodge Hotel, April 1 and 2.
Regular Program
Henry G. Ferguson - Problems of Nevada geology. Discussed by Beyers, Mr. Dixie.
Ralph J. Roberts - Geology of
S. W. Muller, Stratigraphy and structure of the Triassic rocks
of central
Attendance 105
at 9:50 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
677th Meeting
April 13, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 677th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, April 13, 1949, at 8:00 o'clock,
President James Steel Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 676th meeting were read and approved.
Regular program:
W. A. Weyl - Color of minerals. Discussed by Johnston, Pecora, Murata, Paige.
W. W. Rubey - Possible mechanism for continuous supply of
volatiles at the earth's surface. Discussed by
Attendance 130
At 9:50 P.M the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
678th Meeting
April 27, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 678th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, April 27, 1949, at 8:00 P.M. President
James Steele Williams, presiding.
The minutes of the 677th meeting were read and approved.
Informal Communications:
W. G. Pierce presented a brief description of the lignite
deposits of southeastern
Regular Program
O. F. Kotick, Exploration for oil in
Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, northern
R. E. Fellows, Notes on the geology of
J. P. Marble, Recent studies on absolute geologic time.
Discussed by Lovering.
Attendance 144
At 9:50 P. M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
679th Meeting
October 12, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 679th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, October 12, 1949, at 8:00 P.M., President
James Steele Williams presiding.
The minutes of the 678th meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of Marjorie
Arnold.
Informal Communications:
W. D. Johnston introduced R. Franco, of
F. Schairer introduced S. Theokritoff, of
R. E. Stevens read a memorial to P. G. Nutting.
W. D. Johnston read a memorial to R. E. Fellows.
J. C. Reed read a memorial to P. S. Smith which was prepared
by F. H. Moffit.
Regular Program:
H. E. Rothrock -
S. Zerfoss - Recent developments in
single crystal growth of synthetic minerals. Discussed by Murata, Fahey.
E. J. Aberdeen - Geology of Aso-San
Crater,
Attendance 127
At 10:10 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Donald H. Dow]
Secretary
680th Meeting
October 26, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 680th meeting of the society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, October 26, 1949, at 8:00 P.M.,
Vice-President E. T. McKnight presiding.
The minutes of the 679th meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced
the election to membership of the following: Carl O. Alexis, Rachel M. Barker, Edward C. T. Chao, Alfred Clebsch, Jr.,
Preston Cloud, William Cobban, George V. Cohee,
William N. Harben, Thor N. V. Karlstrom,
Daniel B. Krinsley, Marie B. Lambert, Alice M. Lynch,
Selma Moses, Ernest H. Muller, Troy Pewe, George Rozanski, Martin Russell, Raymond A. Saplis,
John H. Wells, Jr. (U. S. Geological Survey); John Doerr,
National Park Service.
Informal Communications
A. memorial to Whitman Cross was presented by C. S. Ross.
Regular program
D. J. Cederstrom, Ground-water
problems in
C. W. Tomlinson (President, A.A.P.G.), Odd geologic structures
of southern
Discussed by Miller.
W. H. Bradley, Natural-flotation of sand. Discussed by Insley,
Paige, Ray,
Attendance 145
At 10:03 P. M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
681st Meeting
November 9, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 681st meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, November 1949, at 8 P. M., Secretary
Donald H. Dow, presiding.
The minutes of the 680th meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of the
following: Delos E. Flint, Dorothy Ann Taylor, Russell A. Brant, Andrew Brown,
E. S. Larsen, Jr., Anna Hietanen-Makela, Charles
Christ, Elaine Zworykin Knudsen, Theodore Woodward, Margaret Jean Hough (all U.
S. Geological Survey).
Informal Communications:
A memorial to G. B. Richardson was presented by Ralph
Richards.
A memorial to W. C. Phalen was
presented by E. F. Burchard.
A memorial to O. A. Ljungstedt was
presented by G. W. Stose.
Herbert Insley called attention to a
chart of the characteristics of the earth's atmosphere.
Regular Program:
G. A. Cohee - Structural history of the Michigan Basin.
Discussed by Baver, Monroe, Carter, Joesting.
Prof. M. Hall Taylor (Columbia University) - Geology of the
Ethiopia Somaliland Region, East Africa. Discussed by Mertie,
Johnson.
Attendance 85
At 9:45 P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Delos E. Flint]
Acting Secretary
682nd Meeting
December 14, 1949
COSMOS CLUB
The 682nd meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, December 14, 1949, at 8:00 P.M.,
Vice-President Earl Ingerson presiding.
The minutes of the 681st meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to membership of: John H.
Adamson, Jr., Barbara I. Baldwin, Constantine N. Bozion,
John J. Collins, Preston E. Hotz, Romaine F. Littlefield, Erwin J. Lyons, Gwendolyn L. Werth, Alice Dowse, Garald G.
Parker, Claude M. Roberts.
Regular program
Presidential address, James Steele Williams - Boundaries
between geologic systems, illustrated by late Paleozoic examples.
Attendance 146
At 8:55.P.M. the meeting adjourned.
[signed Ralph E. Van Alstine]
Secretary
57th Annual Meeting
December 14, 1949
The 57th Annual Meeting of the Society was called to order by
President Williams at 9:15 P.M. with 109 members present.
The minutes of the 56th Annual Meeting were read and approved.
The annual report of the Secretaries was read.
The annual report of the Treasurer was presented. The Auditing
Committee composed of Ralph Imlay, Chairman, and Marjorie Hooker reported that
the books of the Treasurer were correct.
The reports of the Treasurer and Auditing Committee were then accepted.
The President's statement that there was no new business to be
considered prompted Mr. Baker to inquire about any old business, the President
retorted that it was not in accordance with the constitutional proceedings to
consider any old business.
The Committee on Excellence of Presentation of Papers,
composed of T. B. Nolan, Chairman, F. C. Whitmore, Jr., and W. T Pecora,
reported on the selection of the two best papers presented before the Society
in 1949. The first prize of $25 was awarded posthumously to R. E. Fellows and
the second prize of $10 was awarded to J. R. Ballsley.
Mr. Bradley received honorable mention. The report of the Committee was
accepted.
The Society then proceeded to the election of officers for the
year 1950 from the following nominations proposed by the Nominating Committee:
President - L. H. Adams, Director of Geophysical Laboratory
First Vice-President - A. A. Baker, Josiah Bridge (one to be
elected)
Second Vice-President - W. F. Foshag,
J. Brookes Knight (one to be elected)
Secretary - L. G. Henbest, W. G. Pierce (one to be elected)
Treasurer - C. M.
Warshaw
Members of the Council - (one year term) W. Eckstein, P. L.
Killeen,
F. C. Whitmore Jr. (three to be elected)
(two year term) A. L. Bowsher, R. E.
Fleming, Harry Tourtelot, Alvin Van Valkenburg, H. S. Yoder (three to be elected)
Vice-President, Washington Academy of Sciences - J. S.
Williams.
It was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously that the
nominations for President be closed. It was moved, seconded, and passed that L.
H. Adams be elected unanimously.
Tellers to count the ballots were Gryc,
Chairman, Lathram, and Kover.
It was moved, seconded, and passed that nominations for First
Vice President be closed, and Josiah Bridge was elected.
The retiring President attempted to present an informal
communication on one of the points made in his presidential address but
subsided when Mr. Baker reminded the Society that such papers are not followed
by discussion periods.
It was moved, seconded, and passed that nominations for Second
Vice-President be closed, and W. F. Foshag was
elected.
It was moved, seconded, and passed that nominations for
Secretary be closed, and L. G. Henbest was elected.
The nominations for Treasurer were closed and the Secretary
was instructed to cast a unanimous ballot for C. M. Warshaw.
The nominations for one-year members of the Council were
closed, and unanimous ballots were cast for W. Eckstein, P. L. Killeen, and F.
C. Whitmore, Jr.
The nominations for two-year members of the Council were
closed, and A. L. Bowsher, R. E. Fleming, and Harry Tourtelot were elected.
It was moved, seconded, and passed that nominations for
Vice-President, Washington Academy of Sciences, be closed, and J. S. Williams
was unanimously nominated for that office.
Appreciation was expressed by the retiring President for the
various Committee members that served during the past year.
It was suggested that the following topics be pursued by the
incoming Council:
1. The alphabetical arrangement of candidates, which commonly
results in their election in that order.
2. By what authority do we use the Hare system of balloting?
3. Have copies of our new constitution ever been circulated?
It was voted to dispense with the reading of the rough draft
of the minutes, and the meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M.
R. E. Van Alstine
Secretary.