78 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Dr. Walter A. Taylor is again your Treasurer. Dr. Paul G. I. Lauffer and Dr. Sophie L. Plechner are your new directors Ladies and Gentlemen consider yourselves officially installed in your re- spective offices as of tomorrow morning. And now may I present your new President for 1958 who will take over completely after tonight's affair--James H. Baker. President's Luncheon Address* By James H. Baker I AM GRATEFUL to all those who elected me president of this still growing and imposing society. The honor carries with it a trust and a duty. I am thankful to you for the honor and conscious of both trust and duty. With your indulgence, I would like to present a few comments on what has been accomplished up to now and to tell you what I hope to do during the next year. May I go back and refresh your memories, for a few moments, as to why this SOCIETY was born. There must have been sound reasons or else we would not have prospered in all directions as we have in the relatively short period of thirteen years. The primary and paramount reason was: To elevate and promote the professional stature of the cosmetic chemist. I believe that all other rea- sons are subordinate to this. The dissemination of scientific work pertinent to our field by means of papers at our semiannual gatherings, seminars, chapter meetings and through the JOUR•^L, together with the opportunity to exchange personal ideas and fraternize, are merely means of elevating and promoting our stature in the scientific world. Those of us who worked in this industry during the nineteen thirties and early forties, know that the professional stature of a cosmetic chemist was well-nigh nil. We were more or less frowned upon by the learned chem- ical groups, even though our chemical education and training was parallel to other chemists. In fact, we are called upon to broaden our scope of scientific knowledge to such an extent that we nmst today understand and discuss intelligently additional fields, such as: Dermatology, Toxicology, Skin Allergies, * Presented at the December 10, 1957, Meeting, New York City.

PRESIDENT'S LUNCHEON ADDRESS 79 Physiology of Skin and Hair, Bacteriology, Packaging, Production, Equip- ment and Labeling Laws--to name just a few! Has the SOCIETY succeeded in its primary purpose? I think you will all agree that it has--but this must be a continuous job. Our membership is 633 at present the scientific papers presented before our semiannual meetings and seminar are well publicized throughout the realm of science. Our JouR•^L, issued regularly six times a year, has dignity, distinction and respect. It is the only journal to my knowledge published in two different countries with consecutive pagination. The Medal Award, now ten years old, is a renowned and treasured prize in its field the Special Award, al- though only three years old, has already taken on international aspects. All these activities, honors and duties of the SOCIETY go to create, pro- mote and elevate the professional stature of the cosmetic chemist. We must keep it on the same high plane and keep publicizing our activities to maintain the stature we now enjoy. We tend to forget that these benefits are the result of careful planning, expenditure of untold time and energy, together with the exercising of wis- dom akin to that of Solomon. Whenever the SOCIETY has been confronted with serious problems, or approaches the "crossroads," the final decision has been beneficial to the members. This is due to the caliber of men, together with their committees, who have preceded me. I hope my effm ts will be as successful as theirs because we still have a few problems to solve. Now, we are confronted with international relations as related by Presi- dent Strianse in his talk last month before both the Chicago and New York chapters. Just what the answer will be to this tough and important prob- lem, I do not know. However, to allay any fears that a hasty or unwise action may result, I assure you that I will call upon that foresight, wisdom and guidance of all our former presidents, if necessary, to resolve this knotty problem. So, in relation to this matter, please do not be fearful that this regime will make any such weighty decision without much consul- tation with those who have been so instrumental in bringing success to the SOCIETY. It is my hope to start an active group in California. Such a chapter would give us "national distribution"--so to speak--with the New York Chapter, Chicago Chapter and California Chapter. This would also serve as a means of increasing our membership considerably--as a means of fur- ther disseminating our scientific literature and to help the cosmetic chemist reach a higher professional status. Such a group cannot be formed "over- night," but I plan to start the "ball rolling" and it will, most likely, be up to my capable successor to culminate this work. However, at our meeting next fall, I hope to be able to tell you that such a chapter does exist. A membership directory or roster of the SOCIETY will be published in the JouR•^L. Such an up-to-date directory would add a personal touch and