SCIENCE AND THE STATE 201 



universities after fifteen or more years of service without any 

 pension whatever, and that without fault or disability on their 

 part. 



Such treatment of the best educated and sometimes some of 

 the most valuable men in the community is a gross scandal. 

 It seems to be due principally to the fact that the universities 

 utilise additional funds which they may receive from private 

 subscriptions and from the Board of Education, not for con- 

 solidating and improving the position of their staffs, but for 

 starting new lectureships and professorships and for building 

 magnificent new structures in order to obtain reclame. In some 

 cases, the only persons who seem ever to enjoy increase of 

 salary and adequate pensions are, not the working teachers and 

 investigators, but the persons who hold what are called adminis- 

 trative posts, and who seem often to be selected according to 

 some extraordinary principle which ignores distinguished past 

 work as a recommendation. 



A little while ago, during the preliminary discussions of the 

 Universities and Colleges with the Advisory Committee of the 

 Board of Education as to the possibility of establishing a 

 federated superannuation system, the appointment of a small 

 committee to discuss the details was suggested ; and this com- 

 mittee issued in June 1913 a " Federated Superannuation System 

 for Universities." But the system is really very little better 

 than an ordinary insurance scheme, to which the universities 

 do not appear to subscribe as much as they ought to do. A 

 member of the system can scarcely expect to obtain a pension 

 of more than ^"200 a year on payment of premiums amounting 

 to one-tenth of his income, starting at an early age, and the 

 pensions do not appear to be guaranteed in any way by the 

 State or by the universities themselves. 



It seems to us that the proper way to obtain reform regarding 

 the whole of item 1 of the programme is for the Board of 

 Education to insist, as a condition of their grants to the 

 universities and other State-aided institutions, that such bodies 

 shall consider it to be one of the first charges upon their income 

 to make provision for adequate rises of salary and pension on 

 retirement for all members of their staff. Such action will check 

 the waste of funds just complained of upon buildings and un- 

 necessary new ventures, and will set the pace for all institutions 

 employing scientific workers. We should remember that many 



