﻿94 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  4 
  

  

  tions 
  have 
  been 
  undermined 
  by 
  some 
  colleague, 
  and 
  the 
  whole 
  structure 
  

   tumbles, 
  becoming 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  vast 
  collection 
  of 
  misinterpreted 
  

   facts. 
  There 
  is 
  indeed 
  always 
  the 
  danger 
  that 
  if 
  the 
  investigator 
  

   withholds 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  an 
  inquiry 
  too 
  long 
  he 
  will 
  become 
  "stale" 
  

   on 
  it 
  before 
  he 
  has 
  formulated 
  his 
  conclusions. 
  Then 
  the 
  elaborate 
  

   report 
  may 
  be 
  only 
  a 
  jumble 
  of 
  facts 
  whose 
  interpretation 
  must 
  be 
  

   left 
  to 
  others. 
  It 
  may 
  even 
  happen 
  that 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  years 
  of 
  scienti- 
  

   fic 
  research 
  are 
  entirely 
  lost 
  by 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  a 
  dilatory 
  scientist. 
  It 
  

   is 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  record 
  that 
  every 
  great 
  scientist 
  leaves 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  mile- 
  

   stones 
  that 
  mark 
  his 
  progress, 
  and 
  when 
  he 
  attains 
  the 
  goal 
  he 
  need 
  

   do 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  prepare 
  a 
  final 
  summation 
  of 
  what 
  has 
  already 
  

   been 
  fully 
  published 
  to 
  the 
  world. 
  Therefore, 
  if 
  no 
  results 
  from 
  an 
  

   elaborate 
  research 
  are 
  announced 
  the 
  executive 
  has 
  a 
  right 
  to 
  the 
  

   suspicion 
  that 
  there 
  will 
  be 
  none. 
  To 
  him 
  then 
  comes 
  the 
  important 
  

   decision 
  whether 
  to 
  continue 
  expenditures 
  on 
  the 
  project 
  or 
  to 
  write 
  

   it 
  off 
  in 
  the 
  profit 
  and 
  loss 
  account. 
  If 
  he 
  continues 
  the 
  work 
  and 
  

   nothing 
  comes 
  of 
  it 
  he 
  has 
  been 
  unfaithful 
  to 
  his 
  trust 
  ; 
  if 
  he 
  stops 
  the 
  

   work 
  there 
  is 
  always 
  the 
  danger 
  that 
  science 
  and 
  the 
  people 
  may 
  be 
  

   the 
  loser. 
  

  

  Another 
  problem 
  in 
  personnel 
  is 
  presented 
  by 
  the 
  scientist 
  who 
  is 
  

   as 
  quick 
  as 
  a 
  hair 
  trigger 
  in 
  publication. 
  He 
  boldly 
  rushes 
  into 
  

   publicity 
  where 
  the 
  more 
  experienced 
  investigator 
  fears 
  to 
  tread 
  and, 
  

   though 
  he 
  may 
  be 
  endowed 
  with 
  a 
  certain 
  superficial 
  brilliancy, 
  he 
  is 
  

   too 
  impatient 
  to 
  carry 
  his 
  researches 
  through 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  establishing 
  

   conclusions. 
  His 
  contributions 
  may 
  be 
  likened 
  to 
  skyrockets— 
  they 
  

   illuminate 
  the 
  scientific 
  landscape 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  only 
  to 
  fall 
  to 
  earth 
  

   and 
  leave 
  us 
  in 
  darkness. 
  Such 
  men 
  are 
  sometimes 
  the 
  pests 
  of 
  scienti- 
  

   fic 
  literature, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  bury 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  their 
  unfinished 
  

   researches 
  in 
  huge, 
  soon-forgotten 
  tombs. 
  If 
  they 
  gain 
  admission 
  to 
  

   Government 
  publications 
  they 
  may 
  temporarily 
  win 
  undeserved 
  

   reputations 
  by 
  the 
  very 
  size 
  and 
  elaborateness 
  of 
  their 
  memoirs, 
  though 
  

   these 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  pen 
  rather 
  than 
  of 
  the 
  brain. 
  

  

  The 
  secret 
  of 
  good 
  administration 
  in 
  science, 
  as 
  in 
  other 
  affairs, 
  

   is 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  best 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  personnel 
  available. 
  Experience 
  shows 
  

   that 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  guide 
  the 
  able 
  investigator, 
  but 
  he 
  cannot 
  be 
  

   forced 
  to 
  follow 
  set 
  paths. 
  He 
  has, 
  moreover, 
  the 
  tactical 
  advantage 
  

   of 
  not 
  being 
  "enlisted 
  for 
  the 
  duration 
  of 
  the 
  war," 
  and 
  he 
  can 
  probably 
  

   obtain 
  a 
  letter 
  livelihood 
  in 
  commercial 
  work. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  

   obstreperous 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Federal 
  scientific 
  corps 
  possess 
  qualities 
  

   that 
  are 
  most 
  valuable 
  to 
  science 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  public 
  service. 
  If 
  the 
  

  

  