THE PROGRESS OF SVlKM'ti. 



479 



in the export (owns for $'20 to $40, 

 and it is then sold al Singapore for 

 from $50 to $75. It is said thai the 

 production of gutta-percha could be 



greatly increased by economical meth- 

 ods of extraction, and that the native 

 forests are likely to become extermin- 

 ated unless protected. It appears that 

 the example of the Dutch government, 

 which has planted a million trees in 

 Java, could be with advantage followed 

 in some parts of the Philippine Islands. 

 No rubber-producing trees have been 

 found in the islands, but there are two 

 species of vines widely distributed, both 

 of which produce a good grade of rub- 

 ber. This is collected by the Moros, 

 but naturally in a very wasteful man- 

 ner. A good deal could be accomplished 

 in conserving this natural supply, but 

 the future of the industry in the Phil- 

 ippine Islands doubtless depends on 

 following the example of India, Bur- 

 mah, the Malay States and Java, where 

 scientific work on the cultivation of 

 the trees was first taken up by the 

 governments, and private cultivation 

 was then widely and profitably intro- 

 duced. 



SCIENCE, WAR AND POLITICS. 

 It is somewhat curious to compare 

 the concentration of popular interest 

 on war and politics with the common 

 ignoring of science, when we remember 

 that the progress of science has ex- 

 erted more influence on the course of 

 history than all the armies and polit- 

 ical parties of the nations of the world. 

 The entire democratic movement of 

 modern times is directly due to the 

 applications of science, which have 

 made it possible for all to enjoy the 

 advantages that were formerly con- 

 fined to a few. Any given war or polit- 

 ical movement is due to conditions that 

 science has created. Even the popular 

 interest in such matters is only pos- 

 sible through the steam-engine, the tele- 

 graph and the printing press. The in- 

 tellectual and moral attitude of the 

 people is as directly dependent on sci- 

 ence as are their material surround- 



ings. The ideas of the origin of spe- 

 cies are more potent than the conse- 

 quences of the wars of the nineteenth 

 century in which some twelve million 

 men were killed. 



It is not exact 1 y easy to say why 

 there is more interest in a political 

 convention than in a meeting of the 

 American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, why the newspapers 

 are read by millions while a scientific 

 journal is read by thousands. The 

 community of interest, even the party 

 spirit, which the newspaper makes pos- 

 sible, has a function for society similar 

 to that of the church. But the direc- 

 tion of this interest appears to be more 

 or less artificial. If the newspapers 

 would for a time devote most of their 

 space to scientific, artistic and literary 

 matters and if people would talk and 

 think these things perhaps they would 

 prove to be as good bonds of union as 

 a murder or even a war. It may be 

 said that the results of science can not 

 be understood by the ordinary man, 

 and this is of course true; but neither 

 can he understand the plans of a mili- 

 tary campaign nor the motives of a 

 party leader. The stability of science 

 might lead to an ultimate understand- 

 ing of its great principles by large 

 groups, and there are numerous mat- 

 ters easily explained which would 

 maintain an interest if once excited. 

 For example, why is not information 

 in regard to the advance of our knowl- 

 edge of the warfare between disease 

 germs and man as full of personal 

 and dramatic interest as a foreign war. 



To a certain extent the supremacy 

 of science and art does assert itself. 

 The names of Sig. Marconi and Mme. 

 Curie and what they stand for are 

 better known in this country than the 

 names and policies of the leaders of 

 the governments of Italy and France. 

 Yet the work of the two people men- 

 tioned is by no means so important 

 and perhaps not even so interesting as 

 that of others. An even juster view 

 than that of distance is given by time. 



