660 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



The Punishment of Science 



Nothing is more valuable to the State than long-continued 

 work in out-of-the-way tracts of nature, but nothing is more 

 injurious to the individual who undertakes it. He is often 

 obliged to devote years of his life to labours which, even 

 if they succeed, bring him no profit whatever, while he is 

 thus losing time which might be spent much more pro- 

 fitably for himself. It is indeed this fact which demonstrates 

 how very inefficient British methods for encouraging science 

 really are — since the State makes no effort whatever to find a 

 remedy for this principal evil. What are we to think of the 

 following case ? One of the most meritorious of such workers 

 in Britain — a man who has been toiling for years in a tract 

 which will yield no profit to himself though much profit to 

 science in general — recently sent us a valuable paper. We 

 noticed that his name was not followed by the usual letters, 

 and wrote to inquire why. His answer was that he could not 

 afford to subscribe to the learned societies, the membership 

 of which was denoted by those letters ! Can anything more 

 shameful be imagined ? In most civilised countries the State, 

 recognising the value of learned societies, gives them such 

 endowment as frees them from demanding subscriptions from 

 their members ; and indeed in some states members of 

 academies are actually paid — and rightly so, because men of ex- 

 ceptional learning are or should be of value to the whole nation. 

 But in Britain (if we may venture to call ourselves civilised) 

 this point is not recognised. Our " statesmen " and Members 

 of Parliament, whose services to the State are often sup- 

 posed to be almost nil, extract a quarter of a million pounds 

 a year out of the Exchequer, but the British Empire cannot 

 afford to pay a few pounds a year in order to relieve learned 

 societies from taxing the workers. The fault is a gross and 

 inexcusable one and is a further proof that the average intellect 

 of the mass of the British public of to-day, including that of 

 their rulers, is very much below par. 



The Progress of the War 



The war continues its predestined course, and reminds one 

 of a game of chess between a Professional Player on the one 

 side, and an Old Lady after dinner with port wine on the other 



