3i8 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ment depends chiefly on efficiency rather 

 than on favor; his position is perma- 

 nent; he has complete freedom of re- 

 search and reasonable freedom of speech 

 and conduct. Those who are dissatis- 

 fied with the conditions here should 

 make themselves familiar with what is 

 happening abroad. We have recently 

 had occasion to call attention to the 

 troubles in the Royal Engineering Col- 

 lege at Coopers Hill. Half the faculty 

 was dismissed without a hearing by a 

 board of visitors and a president, an 

 army officer without academic experi- 

 ence. At this institution it appears 

 that the professors are not even con- 

 sulted as to the curriculum. An emi- 

 nent chemist was dismissed from the 

 University of Paris, because he believed 

 that Dreyfus was not justly convicted; 

 an eminent zoologist was compelled to 

 leave the University of Zurich, because 

 he took part in temperance reforms; 

 now in Germany, supposed to be the 

 home of academic freedom, we have 

 events that could scarcely happen in 

 America. The chair of zoology at 

 Erlangen being vacant in 1897, the 

 Bavarian 'Landtag' expressed the wish 

 that the representatives of the natural 

 sciences in the Bavarian universities 

 should not be evolutionists. The asso- 

 ciate professor of zoology at Erlangen, 

 Dr. Albert Fleischmann, had pub- 

 lished in 1896, the first part of a 

 text-book of zoology based, like 

 all recent works, on the theory of 

 evolution. But when the second part 

 was published in 1898, there was a re- 

 markable conversion; a special chapter 

 on the theory of evolution was added, 

 declaring the theory to be absurd. The 

 author was promoted to the professor- 

 ship of zoology, and has now published 

 a book, entitled : 'The Theory of Evolu- 

 tion: Popular Lectures on the rise and 

 fall of a scientific hypothesis, delivered 

 before students of all the faculties.' 

 The book is not addressed to scientific 

 men, but to the laity and clergy to 

 whom the author owes his chair at the 

 University of Erlangen. 



SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL 

 ENDOWMENTS. 



Two gifts of great importance to 

 science have been made during the past 

 month. Mr. Andrew Carnegie has 

 created a fund of $10,000,000 for the 

 Scottish Universities, and Mr. J. D. 

 Rockefeller has established in New 

 York an Institute for Medical Research. 

 Mr. Rockefeller, in the endowment of 

 the University of Chicago, has enjoyed 

 the honorable distinction of having 

 made the largest gift for public pur- 

 poses, but even his great benefaction 

 has now been surpassed by Mr. Car- 

 negie. 



The fund for the Scottish Universi- 

 ties has been transferred to trustees, 

 in whose wisdom there will be perfect 

 confidence, and no unwise restrictions 

 have been placed on their power. At 

 present, however, the income will be 

 divided between paying the fees of stu- 

 dents at the Scottish Universities, and 

 strengthening the equipment and teach- 

 ing staff. The scientific and medical 

 departments, and modern languages 

 and history, are designated as the sub- 

 jects on which the money is to be spent. 

 The Scottish Universities, like our own 

 institutions, have always been close to 

 the people, a very large percentage en- 

 joying the benefits of a college training. 

 An annual income of $500,000, devoted 

 to higher education, will mean much 

 for a comparatively small population. 



Mr. Rockefeller's gift of $200,000 for 

 an Institute for Medical Research is 

 comparatively small. It is, however, 

 intended for current expenses, and an 

 endowment will doubtless be provided 

 when required. The institute will be 

 situated in New York City, but a build- 

 ing will not be erected at present, re- 

 search being conducted in existing 

 laboratories. The board of directors, 

 with Dr. W. H. Welch of the Johns 

 Hopkins University as president, guar- 

 antees the conduct of the institute in 

 accordance with the highest scientific 

 standards. It is most fortunate that 

 we should now be on the way to share 



