FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 17 



shall have the direct executive control, direction, and supervision of the 

 Bureau of Agriculture, the Bureau of Forestry, the Bureau of Lands, 

 matters pertaining to colonies and plantations on public lands, the Bureau 

 of Science, the Weather Bureau, and matters concerning hunting, fisheries, 

 sponges, and other sea products, and such other as may hereafter be assigned 

 to it by law. 



NECESSITY FOR RESEARCH 



Almost daily inquiries come to the Bureau of Science with 

 regard to Philippine problems. We should keep studying the 

 possible resources, the health and other problems of the Islands, 

 be prepared in so far as possible for questions as they come 

 up and have information on hand when it is needed. The won- 

 derful possibilities of this country should be studied to avoid 

 waste wherever possible. The value of a scientist is his ability 

 to work out problems without misdirected effort, rather than 

 his accumulation of facts. Experience in working with problems 

 enables a man to attack them without a waste of time, and 

 experience in the Philippine Islands enables him to adapt his 

 investigations to tropical conditions. Economic work in prac- 

 tically all scientific lines is primarily dependent on technical 

 investigations. It is not always easy to see the practical bearing 

 of certain pieces of scientific investigation, yet it is surprising 

 how often the seemingly useless and impractical will be found 

 of vital importance. Pasteur's experiments to disprove the 

 theory of spontaneous generation were not looked upon as of 

 any practical value at the time they were undertaken, yet they 

 are the basis of the modern practice of sterilization, and the 

 noun "pasteurization" perpetuates the author's name. Ge- 

 ology, the study of rocks, may seem dry and useless, yet this 

 study is necessary for the discovery and recovery of such useful 

 substances as iron, gold, coal, and petroleum. Conditions in the 

 Philippines are different from those in countries that are more 

 highly developed economically. Work done in other countries 

 is frequently not directly applicable here, and there are many 

 problems to be solved that have not been considered elsewhere. 



COMPENSATION OF SCIENTIFIC EMPLOYEES 



The question of salaries of scientific employees is difficult to 

 decide. Scientific positions should be filled by men of training 

 and ability, and the supply of able men is limited. The material 

 equipment of this institution is excellent, but material equip- 

 ment without good men is of no avail. It is not equipment so 

 much as the ability of the men that makes an institution. Medi- 



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