Pierre Curie

by Marie Curie

The delivery of honorary degrees in American universities is accompanied by solemnities. In principle, the presence of the candidate is required, and the delivery takes place at the annual commencement, but, in some cases, special ceremonies were organized in my favor. The university ceremonies in America are more frequent than in France, and play a more important part in the university life. Especially is this true at the annual commencement, which begins with an academic procession over the grounds of the university, the procession including the officials, the professors, and graduates in academic caps and gowns. Afterwards all assemble in a hall where are announced the diplomas corresponding to the grades of bachelor, master, and doctor. There is always a musical part in the program, and addresses are delivered by the officials of the university or invited orators. These addresses are naturally devoted to dignifying the ideals and the humanitarian purposes of education; but in certain cases it seems permitted to introduced point of American humor. These ceremonies are on the whole very impressive, and certainly contribute to keep a bond between the university and the alumni. This is a favorable circumstance for those great American universities which are sustained entirely on private foundations. It is only in more recent times that most States have created universities supported by the State.

At Yale University I had the pleasure of representing the University of Paris at the inauguration of President Angell, fourteenth president of the University. I was also pleased to attend at Philadelphia a meeting of the American Philosophical Society and a meeting of the College of Physicians, and at Chicago a meeting of the American Chemical Society at which I delivered a lecture on the Discovery of Radium. The medals of John Scott, Benjamin Franklin, and Willard Gibbs have been presented to me by these societies.

Several meetings organized in my honor by the American women's organizations have particularly interested the American public. I have already mentioned the meeting of the University Women at Carnegie Hall of New York; a similar meeting was held at Chicago, where I was also received by the Association of Polish Women. I was also greeted by women's organizations in the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, and by a delegation of Canadian university women at Buffalo. In all these meetings it was impossible not to recognize the sincerity of the emotion in the women who gave me their best wishes, at the same time expressing their confidence in the future of feminine intelligence and activity. I did not feel any opposition between these feministic aspirations and the masculine opinion. As far as I could notice, the men in America approve of these aspirations and encourage them. This is a very favorable condition for the social activity of the American women which reveals itself in a strong interest in work for education, for hygiene, and for the improvement of conditions of labor. But any other unselfish purpose may rely on their support, as is proved by the success of Mrs. Meloney's plan, and by the sympathy this plan encountered in women of all social conditions.

I could not, to my deep regret, give time enough to the visit to laboratories and scientific institutes. These too brief visits were of great interest to me. I found everywhere the greatest care for developing scientific activity and for improving the facilities. New laboratories are in building, and in older laboratories very modern equipment may be found. The available room never gives that impression of insufficiency from which we suffer too often in France. The means are provided by private initiative expressed in gifts and foundations of various kinds. There exists also a National Council of Research established by private funds for stimulating and improving scientific work, and for assuring its connection with industry.

I have visited with special interest the Bureau of Standards, a very important national institution at Washington for scientific measurements and for study connected with them. The tubes of radium presented to me were at the Bureau, whose officials had kindly offered to make the measurements, and to take care of the packing and delivery to the ship.

A new laboratory has been created at Washington for researches on very low temperatures with the use of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium. I had the honor of dedicating this laboratory to its service.

I had the great pleasure of meeting in their laboratories several very important American scientific men. The hours I spent in their company are among the best of my travel.

The United States possesses several hospitals for radiumtherapy. These hospitals are generally provided with laboratories for the extraction of radium emanation which is sealed up in small tubes for medical use. These institutions own important quantities of radium, have a very good equipment, and treat a great number of patients. I have visited some of them, and this made me feel more deeply, if possible, the regret of not having in France even one national institute capable of rendering the same services. I hope that this lack will be filled in the near future.

The industry of radium has been started in France, but it is in America that it has had its greatest development, owing to the presence of a sufficient supply of the ore carnotite.[15] I was very much interested in my visit to the most important of the factories, and I gladly recognize the spirit of initiative in this undertaking. The factory owns a collection of documentary films which enable one to appreciate the effort made each day in collecting the ore scattered in the immense fields of Colorado, in carrying and concentrating this ore originally very poor in radium. On the other hand, the means of extraction of radium are still the same which have been described in earlier chapters.

The greatest courtesy was paid me in my visit to the radium plant and laboratory. I found the same reception at a factory of mesothorium which presented me with some material, and where the officials expressed the desire to help in my scientific work.