SCIENCE AND THE STATE 205 



the world is astonished to find the prize of a service given to 

 some absolutely unknown person who has merely pleased by 

 his personal address, and who is known to be one who possesses 

 not a single ideal or idea. 



The frequency with which departments of State obtain 

 expert scientific evidence or temporary expert assistance at 

 commissions, committees, advisory boards, etc., has been 

 already referred to in our number for April last (page 605). 

 We said : " For example, a Government department wishes 

 for expert advice on some matter — it ought to form a com- 

 mission of its own, and honestly pay the expert members of 

 it. Instead of doing this the Government department goes to 

 some learned society and asks it to advise on the scientific 

 question at issue. The society is honoured by the request, 

 and obtains the advice gratis from its own members. Thus 

 the Government gets what it requires for nothing, the learned 

 body is overpowered with the honour rendered to it, and the 

 unfortunate worker is the loser." Frequently Government de- 

 partments appoint unpaid experts on their committees without 

 the smallest apparent feeling of honesty, and the experts give 

 their services under a sense of patriotism. Of course, officials 

 sa}' that this matter is ruled by the custom of the market ; 

 but such excuses do not absolve them, because they are really 

 exploiting an honourable sense of devotion to duty in the 

 expert. The country is quite rich enough to pay such men, 

 and we are especially glad to see that the British Science 

 Guild has taken up the matter, and not less to learn that 

 several high officials are in favour of a change being made. 

 We shall therefore say no more under this heading at the 

 moment. 



In order to understand items 5 and 6 of the programme, 

 we should classify the different kinds of research now being 

 done. In the first place, many investigations are the result of 

 directly paid employment ad hoc. A second class, such as many 

 researches in physics, chemistry, and engineering^lead to profit 

 by way of patentable articles. A third class, especially medical 

 and surgical investigations, give indirect but sometimes very 

 large remuneration by enhancement of practice. On the other 

 hand, it must be clearly understood that many discoveries, and 

 indeed some of the most important discoveries, are not paid 

 for, and bring no remuneration at all, while indeed some cause 



