C. U. C. p. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



177 



The main point is that the industrial con- 

 cern will have a chance to "try out" the 

 prospective employee before making him 

 an actual part of the organization and 

 that upon the very line of work that will 

 prove his efficiency and that will furnish 

 much needed information. If the fellow 

 proves unsatisfactory the industrial con 

 cern becomes aware of it before it has 

 definitely committed itself to him and 

 there is always strong chance that the 

 information obtained through the re- 

 search will be worth while. Under ideal 

 conditions, on the other hand, the con- 

 cern will at the end of the year have a 

 worker trained to meet the exigencies of 

 the factory as well as a lot of valuable 

 information and that at a price but little 

 higher than would have been paid for 

 an ordinary helper. 



But where would the teacher come in ? 

 In all such fellowships a certain pro rata 

 should go to the college and to the 

 teacher supervising the research. The 

 college should get enough to cover the 

 expenses of having the fellow at work 

 while the teacher should obtain an hon- 

 orarium at least sufficient to cover a con- 

 sultant's fee. Again some provision 

 should be made making the teacher and 

 the fellow co-beneficiaries with the in- 

 dustrial concern if anything patentable 

 came out of the research. 



But even with these added fees, the 

 fellowship in the long run would prove 

 scarcely less expensive to the concern 

 than would a flat salary to a laboratory 

 worker. 



In conclusion let it be stated that the 

 plan of industrial fellows has been in 

 operation at the University of Nebraska 



and at the University of Pittsburgh for 

 almost ten years and that their success at 

 these institutions led to the creation of the 



Mellon Institute mentioned above. This 

 would seem to indicate that the correc- 

 tion of the weak spots in the plan is 

 merely a matter of detail. The first of 

 the possible objections is the question 

 whether the institution of a fellowship 

 by an industrial concern costing say 

 $1,200 per annum will prove a good in- 

 vestment to the beneficiary. There is of 

 course an element of chance even as 

 there is in every research, but assuming 

 at the worst that it turns out unsatis- 

 factorily as a financial venture, it will, 

 despite all hindrances," be a good invest- 

 ment in the cause of education. Finan- 

 ciers have little hesitation in contribut- 

 ing outright large sums of money to edu- 

 cational institutions. The industrial fel- 

 lowship idea serves the purpose of edu- 

 cation almost as well as an outright gift 

 and has attached to it the possibility of 

 marked financial returns. 



The other criticism is whether there 

 can be found teachers willing to act in 

 the capacity of supervisor of the re- 

 search—as the intermediary between the 

 works and the fellow. Such work is a 

 part of the routine of every enthusiastic 

 teacher and it is a well known fact a 

 man trained in research can supervise 

 the work of a dozen different fellows, 

 even as the commanding officer can di- 

 rect the operations of his subalterns. 

 There is therefore little doubt that men 

 can be found willing to do this service 

 for industry and for education, particu- 

 larly if there is held before them the 

 possibility of obtaining ultimate finan- 

 cial gain by participating in the patent 

 rights which may result from the investi- 

 gation. As said above, the fact that the 

 industrial fellowships of the past have 

 proven satisfactory alike to the capital- 

 ist, the supervisor and the fellow, is the 

 best proof that the adjustment of minor 

 defects is merely a matter of detail. 



