Proceedings of the Societies

THE FRIST of the tri-annual congresses to be held outside Switzerland took place in London, September Ist to 8th, at the Royal College of Physicians. The theme was ‘Success and failure in analysis with special reference to the shadow and creativity’. As the appended list of titles shows, all the papers read had a bearing on this theme. This had not always been the case in the past. The first two papers in this issue were selected from among those ready for publication as good examples of the range, both in perspective and in detail.

The structure of the congress and its organization differed from previous occasions in that a maximum amount of time was allowed for discussion of the three papers read in the mornings, and these were well attended. Most participants declared themselves satisfied with these arrangements and some constructive criticisms, mainly concerning the size of the discussion groups and the quality of amateur translations, will no doubt be put to use at the next congress.

In addition to an official social programme, the London group had arranged private hospitality and there was plenty of opportunity for members and senior students from different countries to get to know one another or strengthen existing friendships. The attendance figure (over 200) was well above those of previous congresses and an increase in the numbers of our Italian and French colleagues was particularly noticeable and will have to be taken into consideration in the future.

The congress took place under the presidency of Dr Joseph B. Wheel-wright, San Francisco. Dr Gerhard Adler, London, was elected president at the delegates’ meeting. Dr A. Guggenbühl-Craig, Zürich, was re-elected vice-president and Dr H. Dieckmann, Berlin, became the newly-elected second vice-president.

As chairman of the Congress Organizing Committee, I should like to take this opportunity to thank the members of that committee and all those mem