WORK OF THE NATURALIST IN THE WORLD. 69 



pear to me to offer more than very finite possibilities. Discov- 

 ery can not always go on with its present rapidity. We live in 

 the golden age of research. We are surrounded on every side by 

 discoveries so easy that they seem to beg for our attention. But 

 as each one is made and its result added to the known, the 

 unknown is equally diminished. It diminishes daily, and the 

 store of easy discoveries lessens so fast that the time is not very 

 distant when investigators of moderate abilities will no longer 

 enjoy such opportunities as they have now. If we consider the 

 whole of science, we have a sense of boundlessness ; but each part 

 has its end, and its end is not far away. It will not be long be- 

 fore nearly everything easily known will be known. It would 

 be presumptuous to assume that, even when the whole knowable 

 has become known, there will not still be problems which the 

 human intellect can apprehend but not solve. As to-day, so here- 

 after, the naturalist's final thought must be reverent submission. 



III. The Influence of the Naturalist on Mankind. The 

 influence and utility of natural science need neither defense nor 

 explanation to a generation which has witnessed the establish- 

 ment of the theory of natural selection and of the germ theory of 

 disease ; nor need we argue for the pre-eminence of original re- 

 search, but there are certain principles for which we stand indi- 

 vidually and collectively. I think that it will be profitable to 

 review and to formulate some of these. 



We stand for the value of good intellectual work and for the 

 recognition of the value of proper training. We do not admit 

 that scientific work requires a peculiar mind, but only the cultiva- 

 tion of those fundamental faculties of observation and induction 

 which every one should possess and use. On the other hand, we 

 claim that in addition to the development and disciplining of 

 these faculties the naturalist must have his special professional 

 training, and that without it he is not qualified for his profes- 

 sional work. In upholding this standard we not only serve the 

 cause of science, but we serve the whole country. It is safe to 

 say that the greatest evil in the social life of the United States is 

 the habitual disregard of competency a disregard which prevails 

 not only with the people at large, but also among the most highly 

 educated men. Democracy is the belief that every man is the 

 equal of his betters. Americans are loath to admit that training 

 and experience make experts, and that experts are better than 

 others for their special work. The spoils system of the office- 

 seekers is based upon the assumption that training and expe- 

 rience do not render a man more competent. When a water 

 board is established to plan a water supply, we do not appoint 

 chemists, engineers, and sanitarians, but grocers, novelists, and 

 ward politicians. It is a rare exception if among the trustees of 



