The Eye of the West African Negro

J. GRAHAMN SCOTT pension for retired workers are needed.k is not necessary lo emphasise the great-honour of being a member of this institute.The-nomination of.outstanding foreign' .ophthalmologistsas cor- responding members of the institute would stress its international character.There is no time or space here to deal with Jinguistic difficulties, but we stress the fact that all the governments of the United Nations accepted -English, as the secon-d language.The know- ledge of English or of Basic English will spread to a hitherto unknown extent.Or an artificial language will link the nations.But these difficulties are practically inconsiderable.I remember the American assistants of Elschnig's clinio in Prague 20 to 30.years ago.Most of them spoke English only, but they had no difficulty with our Czech patients.These so-called difficulties will 'be negligible in the near future when isolationism will be obsolete.And. finally, the population of the city in which this central institute id erected will feel rightly proud and fortunate.I do not doubt that.theold system-being no system.at allwith its laissez faire, leaving all to chance without offering a fair chance to all, produced.manygreat men.We shall improve the selection of the able and we shall imnprove the cpnditions of training.In this way we can expect very good --.results.The fact that the path we tread is a new one is no reason to reftute the 'idea, especially 'in these times when progress goes forward at an increasing pace.* 'On reading the proofs r want to add that Joseph Needham explained-his idea of international scientific collaboration recently (Nature, Nov. 25, 1944), in a very interesting article from which concrete-proposals emerge.