466 HUMAN BIOLOGY 



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in the ameba's house disappeared when man cleaned up the 

 miasmic swamp, but it was only because the ameba had not 

 the capacity to adapt itself to modern sanitation. 



No, the only real question in a nation like ours is not 

 whether science is good for us materially, intellectually, 

 esthetically, artistically. Of course it is, for science is simply 

 knowledge and all knowledge helps. The only real question is 

 how the forward march of pure science, and of applied science 

 which necessarily follows upon its heels, can best be maintained 

 and stimulated, for, as Pasteur said, "It is this alone that 

 really leads us forward." 



The answer to that question will depend upon the nature 

 of one's whole social philosophy. If you think that social 

 progress is best brought about by a paternalistic regime of 

 some kind, by throwing upon a few elected or hereditary 

 officials the whole responsibility for social initiative of all 

 sorts, then you will say, "Let the government do it all; let it 

 establish state universities and state research laboratories 

 and state experimental projects of all kinds as it has done in 

 most countries in Europe, and let the whole responsibility for 

 our scientific progress lie in these institutions. But if you 

 believe with the makers of our nation in the widest possible 

 distribution of social responsibility, in the widespread 

 stimulation of constructive effort, in the nearest possible 

 approach to equality of opportunity, not only for rising to 

 wealth and position, but for sharing in community service, 

 if you believe with President Hoover that government 

 should only step in where private enterprise fails, that it 

 should act only as a stimulant to private initiative and a 

 check to private greed, then the industries in the United 

 States which are themselves the offspring of pure science, 

 will join in a great nation-wide movement to keep alive the 

 spirit of science all over this land of ours through keeping 

 pure science going strong in universities, its logical home, and 

 applied science going strong in the private industrial labora- 

 tories where it thrives best. No country ever had such an 

 opportunity as ours, such a widespread stimulation of 

 initiative, such a large number of citizens who had learned to 

 treat financial power as a public trust, such resources to 

 command, such results to anticipate. With our American 



