﻿JPEB. 
  19, 
  1922 
  brooks: 
  the 
  scientist 
  in 
  the 
  federal 
  service 
  97 
  

  

  and 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Mines. 
  Again, 
  the 
  demands 
  of 
  the 
  farmers 
  led 
  to 
  

   the 
  setting 
  up 
  of 
  scientific 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture. 
  

   The 
  value 
  of 
  a 
  better 
  knowledge 
  of 
  commercial 
  geography, 
  because 
  of 
  

   our 
  expanding 
  foreign 
  trade, 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  recognized 
  in 
  the 
  policy 
  

   of 
  the 
  Government. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  entire 
  credit 
  for 
  the 
  establishment 
  

   of 
  this 
  or 
  that 
  scientific 
  bureau 
  to 
  the 
  genius 
  and 
  persistency 
  of 
  one 
  

   man. 
  Thus, 
  Hassler 
  is 
  rightly 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  founding 
  of 
  both 
  

   the 
  Coast 
  Survey 
  and 
  the 
  Naval 
  Observatory, 
  Ellsworth 
  with 
  the 
  

   improvement 
  of 
  agriculture 
  by 
  Federal 
  agencies, 
  and 
  King 
  and 
  Powell 
  

   with 
  the 
  organization 
  of 
  Federal 
  geologic 
  surveys. 
  Many 
  other 
  ex- 
  

   amples 
  of 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  certain 
  men 
  on 
  the 
  founding 
  of 
  the 
  younger 
  

   bureaus 
  could 
  be 
  cited. 
  Government 
  science 
  owes 
  much 
  to 
  the 
  broad 
  

   concepts 
  of 
  these 
  pioneers, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  not 
  be 
  overlooked 
  that 
  they 
  

   would 
  have 
  been 
  powerless 
  to 
  accomplish 
  their 
  work 
  if 
  the 
  conditions 
  

   had 
  not 
  been 
  favorable. 
  Recognition 
  by 
  the 
  Federal 
  Government 
  

   of 
  the 
  need 
  of 
  Government 
  scientific 
  investigation 
  in 
  any 
  particular 
  

   field 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  certain 
  premises. 
  First, 
  the 
  science 
  must 
  have 
  made 
  

   sufiicient 
  progress 
  to 
  give 
  assurance 
  that 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  to 
  be 
  

   done 
  will 
  in 
  some 
  way 
  promote 
  the 
  general 
  welfare. 
  It 
  must 
  there- 
  

   fore 
  have 
  passed 
  beyond 
  the 
  realm 
  of 
  speculation, 
  and 
  its 
  results 
  must 
  

   be 
  concrete 
  rather 
  than 
  abstract. 
  Second, 
  the 
  industry 
  it 
  is 
  expected 
  

   to 
  benefit 
  must 
  be 
  of 
  enough 
  national 
  importance 
  to 
  create 
  a 
  wide 
  

   demand 
  for 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  research. 
  

  

  In 
  an 
  absolute 
  monarchy 
  this 
  or 
  that 
  investigation 
  may 
  be 
  ordered 
  

   for 
  the 
  mere 
  sake 
  of 
  advancing 
  knowledge, 
  but 
  in 
  a 
  representative 
  

   government 
  the 
  argument 
  for 
  research 
  must 
  include 
  very 
  definite 
  

   evidence 
  that 
  the 
  people 
  will 
  be 
  directly 
  benefited 
  by 
  it. 
  Once 
  an 
  

   investigation 
  is 
  established 
  and 
  concrete 
  and 
  practical 
  results 
  are 
  

   obtained, 
  plans 
  for 
  extending 
  the 
  research 
  to 
  more 
  basal 
  problems 
  

   often 
  receive 
  support. 
  

  

  The 
  sharp 
  distinction 
  attempted 
  by 
  some 
  between 
  investigations 
  

   of 
  purely 
  academic 
  problems, 
  on 
  the 
  one 
  hand, 
  and 
  investigations 
  

   of 
  problems 
  of 
  industrial 
  and 
  public 
  welfare, 
  on 
  the 
  other, 
  needs 
  con- 
  

   sideration. 
  I 
  hold 
  that 
  this 
  arbitrary 
  division 
  of 
  scientific 
  investigation 
  

   has 
  caused 
  much 
  confusion 
  of 
  thought. 
  It 
  is, 
  indeed, 
  unfortunate 
  

   that 
  no 
  better 
  designations 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  for 
  these 
  fields 
  of 
  inquiry 
  

   than 
  "pure" 
  and 
  "applied." 
  If 
  one 
  is 
  "pure" 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  that 
  the 
  

   other 
  must 
  be 
  "impure." 
  If, 
  again, 
  research 
  that 
  is 
  directed 
  toward 
  

   aiding 
  industry 
  is 
  called 
  "practical," 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  been, 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  

  

  