burgess: science and after- war period 67 



too meager and if, as many expect, there is now to be a period 

 of expansion in the foreign trade of the United States involving 

 possibly the establishment abroad of numerous branches of highly 

 technical industries, the demand for such men will become 

 more urgent than ever, particularly in the case of men of scien- 

 tific training with engineering experience. 



EDUCATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS 



This brings us to the question of the education of scientific 

 men, which subject it is possible to mention but briefly. Here 

 again the interruption, disorganization, and readjustment of 

 educational training in America have been insignificant as com- 

 pared with the disturbances in education brought about by the 

 necessities of war of the European countries, but even in this 

 country experiments with intensive training and shortened courses 

 have been tried on a large scale but, it must be borne in mind, 

 for a limited period only. Our educational institutions will 

 undoubtedly be able to preserve some of the beneficial char- 

 acteristics brought out by such speeding up but for the most 

 part there probably will be little effect on the kind of training 

 our scientific men will get. 



It would appear to be highly desirable that as large a propor- 

 tion as heretofore of our scientific men pass a portion of their 

 preparative period abroad amid cultural surroundings different 

 from those in which they grew up. As a beginning it is to be 

 hoped that many of our young men now in France will be given 

 the opportunity to take advantage of the generous offer of the 

 French Government for instruction in the schools and universities 

 of France. This if carried out on a considerable scale, will 

 have far-reaching effects, the benefits of which can hardly be 

 overestimated. It is also to be hoped our universities will not 

 only encourage the coming of foreigners more than heretofore 

 but also render easier the migration of American students from 

 one American institution to another. The establishment in 

 Washington of schools framed on lines similar to the "Kcole des 

 Hautes Ktudes" and the "College de France," which are devoted 

 exclusively to research would go far toward making more gener- 



