THE FURTHER GROWTH OF SCIENCE 107 



By its application to transportation, steam made distance 

 insignificant and thus increased the content of individual 

 experience. The possibility of better living conditions was 

 created, although in the rush for luxuries the sum total of 

 human toil may not have been lessened. A similar revolu- 

 tionary advance, is occurring in the present generation, 

 through the medium of the electric generator and the gas 

 engine. The bearing of this material progress upon the 

 ultimate welfare of humanity, and the disastrous effects 

 of these human activities upon the exhaustible resources of 

 our planet need not be considered here. Practical men 

 believe this kind of advancement worth while, and the desire 

 for physical comforts, is likely to countenance the exploita- 

 tion of nature so long as it continues easy and profitable. 



Material progress during the past one hundred and fifty 

 years has been founded upon a progressive control of the 

 forces of physical nature. This control has been made pos- 

 sible by the knowledge of nature called science. Assuming 

 that our ant-like activities are worth while, the question 

 is no longer whether this practical side of scientific knowledge 

 is to be desired, but whether progress in those branches of 

 science which are not obviously utilitarian is necessary for 

 human welfare. Whether pure science as well as applied 

 science is a necessity rather than a luxury. This question 

 is being answered for the mass of mankind by the researches 

 in pure science, which are becoming increasingly significant 

 in connection with industry and agriculture. Commercial 

 enterprise finds itself confronted with problems which are 

 beyond the powers of the inventor of an earlier generation 

 and which can be solved only by trained scientists. The 

 technical investigator in the industrial research establish- 

 ment is confronted with problems in abstract science which 

 formerly exhibited no seeming relation to practical life. 

 The same situation obtains in institutions established for 

 the investigation of practical problems in agriculture. It is 

 becoming a commonplace to say that the nation which does 



