REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT, 1922. 5 



regions in which materials may conceivably be found which will 

 make for betterment of the industrial product or for efficiency in its 

 use. The only limits set upon this aspect of research are those imposed 

 by the requirement of fidelity to purposes for which the underlying 

 funds are invested. This permits wide range but at the same time 

 imposes restrictions. 



Without multiplying illustrations it may be permissible to compare 

 the situation in our Institution with that of the great research enter- 

 prises mentioned. One outstanding feature of our foundation is that it 

 has freedom to distribute its support widely or restrict it to any limits 

 which seem desirable. It may take up researches for which a demand 

 of the community happens to be urgent. It may consider those which 

 are of evident importance but may not be needed in human appli- 

 cation for a generation. It may select problems rather than subjects 

 and shift its emphasis from time to time as wisdom seems to warrant. 

 In a word, the characteristic of flexibility with reference to problem, 

 place, time, and method of organization, taken with freedom from the 

 requirement of early application of the result, gives an opportunity 

 somewhat different from that of other agencies. It offers the possi- 

 bility of exploration into unknown regions which may furnish excep- 

 tional treasures. That such freedom of opportunity exists means in 

 reality a responsibility for the doing of what may otherwise be difficult 

 to undertake. It suggests that mere paralleling of other researches and 

 failure to select those lines of activity for which we have exceptional 

 advantages would mean evasion of the duty which our freedom imposes. 



These considerations make it clear that with all fidelity to under- 

 takings upon which we have embarked, and with the desire to realize 

 accomplishment for all who are connected with this enterprise, we 

 should continue to make the Institution an instrument for use especially 

 in work upon problems concerning the fundamental aspects of knowl- 

 edge. We should make certain that our contribution is of service 

 by reason of its intrinsic human value, because it may serve to sup- 

 plement the work of other bodies devoting themselves to the search 

 for new and useful information, and because it aims to interpret that 

 which is fundamental. 



As desirable as it is to visualize the accomplishments of the Insti- 

 tution during the past year, we realize that our output or contri- 

 ' °ution is largely of the type which it is not possible 

 work Expressed to see, to measure, or to weigh with accuracy. Much 

 in Publications. of the influence of the institution is exerted through 



personal discussion of topics with individuals or groups of investigators. 



