﻿FEB. 
  19, 
  1922 
  brooks: 
  the 
  scientist 
  in 
  the 
  federal 
  service 
  95 
  

  

  great 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  Federal 
  scientists 
  were 
  not 
  always 
  ready 
  to 
  do 
  

   more 
  than 
  their 
  full 
  share 
  in 
  meeting 
  their 
  obligations 
  to 
  the 
  public, 
  

   the 
  task 
  of 
  administering 
  Government 
  science 
  would 
  truly 
  be 
  hope- 
  

   less. 
  An 
  executive 
  who 
  is 
  taken 
  into 
  the 
  public 
  service 
  from 
  the 
  

   business 
  world 
  and 
  who 
  has 
  adopted 
  the 
  modern 
  standards 
  of 
  effi- 
  

   ciency 
  would 
  see 
  no 
  difficulties 
  in 
  administering 
  research, 
  for 
  he 
  would 
  

   meet 
  them 
  by 
  riding 
  rough-shod 
  over 
  all 
  scientists. 
  Research, 
  would 
  

   be 
  so 
  organized 
  that 
  birds 
  who 
  can 
  sing 
  and 
  won't 
  sing 
  would 
  be 
  made 
  

   to 
  sing. 
  Every 
  cog 
  in 
  the 
  administrative 
  machine 
  would 
  be 
  com- 
  

   pelled 
  to 
  do 
  its 
  proper 
  work 
  or 
  make 
  way 
  for 
  another. 
  This 
  plan 
  does 
  

   not 
  make 
  any 
  allowance 
  for 
  the 
  individual, 
  nor 
  for 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  

   brain 
  cannot 
  be 
  forced 
  to 
  originate 
  — 
  that 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  thrown 
  into 
  

   gear 
  by 
  moving 
  a 
  lever. 
  You 
  cannot 
  feed 
  brains 
  into 
  a 
  hopper 
  and, 
  

   by 
  applying 
  a 
  sufficient 
  number 
  of 
  mental 
  impacts 
  to 
  your 
  machine, 
  

   produce 
  a 
  smooth-running 
  new 
  thought 
  at 
  the 
  outlet. 
  

  

  Though 
  organization 
  and 
  personnel 
  are 
  of 
  fundamental 
  importance 
  

   to 
  every 
  research 
  institution, 
  yet 
  the 
  real 
  efficiency 
  of 
  any 
  such 
  insti- 
  

   tution 
  in 
  advancing 
  science 
  will 
  be 
  determined 
  largely 
  by 
  its 
  choice 
  

   of 
  fields. 
  The 
  sternest 
  critics 
  of 
  Federal 
  bureaus 
  have 
  dwelt 
  on 
  errors 
  

   in 
  the 
  selecJ:ion 
  of 
  problems. 
  Many 
  of 
  these 
  critics 
  hold 
  that 
  the 
  pref- 
  

   erence 
  for 
  economic 
  problems 
  indicates 
  both 
  a 
  lack 
  of 
  thoroughness 
  

   in 
  research 
  and 
  an 
  abasement 
  of 
  scientific 
  ideals. 
  It 
  is 
  strange 
  that 
  

   no 
  such 
  criticisms 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  institutes 
  of 
  medical 
  re- 
  

   search, 
  though 
  their 
  avowed 
  purpose, 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Federal 
  scienti- 
  

   fic 
  bureaus, 
  is 
  to 
  better 
  the 
  welfare 
  of 
  mankind. 
  The 
  high 
  sources 
  

   of 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  criticisms 
  justify 
  their 
  consideration. 
  

  

  Every 
  constructive 
  criticism 
  of 
  the 
  service 
  should 
  be 
  welcomed, 
  

   if 
  only 
  because 
  it 
  is 
  well 
  to 
  see 
  ourselves 
  as 
  others 
  see 
  us, 
  but 
  before 
  

   its 
  true 
  value 
  can 
  be 
  gaged 
  it 
  must 
  receive 
  proper 
  correction 
  for 
  the 
  

   personal 
  equation 
  of 
  the 
  critic. 
  Most 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  enumerate 
  the 
  

   faults 
  of 
  scientific 
  bureaus 
  fail 
  to 
  distinguish 
  between 
  the 
  faults 
  due 
  

   to 
  law 
  and 
  those 
  due 
  to 
  policy. 
  Every 
  Federal 
  scientist 
  recognizes 
  

   the 
  need 
  for 
  certain 
  changes 
  in 
  law, 
  but 
  he 
  is 
  powerless 
  to 
  bring 
  them 
  

   about. 
  

  

  Meanwhile 
  Federal 
  scientists 
  should 
  not 
  ignore 
  the 
  ominous 
  signs 
  

   that 
  the 
  skeleton 
  in 
  the 
  closet 
  of 
  Federal 
  research 
  may 
  at 
  any 
  time 
  be 
  

   exposed 
  to 
  public 
  view 
  — 
  ^that 
  the 
  deceptive 
  Government 
  investigator 
  

   may 
  be 
  unmasked. 
  Already 
  some 
  critics 
  have 
  intimated 
  that 
  Federal 
  

   science, 
  though 
  it 
  may 
  delude 
  unthinking 
  people, 
  is 
  not 
  true 
  research 
  

   but 
  something 
  else 
  not 
  yet 
  well 
  defined. 
  Classifications 
  of 
  research 
  

  

  