ABSTRACT
SINCE the American Statistical Association was founded in 1839 no year has brought such stirring changes in American statistics as the year now closing. The war forced a rapid expansion in the scope of federal statistics and the creation of new statistical agencies. What is more significant, the war led to the use of statistics, not only as a record of what had happened, but also as a vital factor in planning what should be done. The war also brought an unprecedentedly large number of statisticians into government employ. Probably there are few professional societies that have had so considerable a proportion of their membership engaged in war work as this association.
