﻿FEB. 
  19, 
  1922 
  brooks: 
  the 
  scientist 
  in 
  the 
  federal 
  service 
  93 
  

  

  to 
  which 
  he 
  belongs. 
  If 
  he 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  Federal 
  service, 
  his 
  chief 
  bears 
  

   the 
  moral 
  responsibility 
  for 
  the 
  expenditure 
  of 
  public 
  funds 
  on 
  in- 
  

   vestigations 
  that 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  naught. 
  Not 
  all 
  investigators 
  sense 
  

   the 
  moral 
  responsibility 
  for 
  a 
  return 
  from 
  researches 
  supported 
  by 
  

   trust 
  funds. 
  The 
  exceptions 
  do 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  realize 
  that 
  the 
  final 
  

   justification 
  of 
  any 
  project 
  is 
  measured 
  only 
  the 
  results 
  achieved. 
  

  

  There 
  will 
  be 
  differences 
  of 
  opinion 
  as 
  to 
  whether 
  scientific 
  work 
  in 
  

   this 
  or 
  that 
  field 
  is 
  yielding 
  results 
  commensurate 
  with 
  the 
  outlay 
  

   made 
  for 
  it, 
  but 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  mass 
  product 
  of 
  Federal 
  science 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  denied. 
  In 
  this 
  day, 
  when 
  all 
  Government 
  expenditures 
  

   are 
  being 
  closely 
  scrutinized, 
  the 
  scientific 
  bureaus 
  can 
  calmly 
  welcome 
  

   the 
  fiercest 
  Hght 
  of 
  publicity. 
  I 
  am 
  sure 
  that 
  the 
  unprejudiced 
  ex- 
  

   aminer 
  of 
  public 
  business 
  will 
  concede 
  that 
  the 
  product 
  of 
  Government 
  

   science 
  is 
  worth 
  more 
  than 
  it 
  cost 
  and 
  that 
  no 
  private 
  corporation 
  

   could 
  obtain 
  equal 
  returns 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  expenditure. 
  This 
  fact 
  

   in 
  itself 
  is 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  high 
  grade 
  of 
  the 
  personnel 
  in 
  the 
  scientific 
  

   service. 
  The 
  thousand 
  men 
  engaged 
  in 
  this 
  work 
  include 
  men 
  of 
  

   various 
  types, 
  and 
  if 
  it 
  becomes 
  necessary 
  to 
  record 
  the 
  faults 
  of 
  a 
  

   few 
  of 
  them, 
  these 
  few 
  are 
  the 
  exceptions 
  — 
  their 
  faults 
  do 
  not 
  character- 
  

   ize 
  the 
  group 
  as 
  a 
  whole. 
  

  

  The 
  delay 
  in 
  making 
  public 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  research 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   evils 
  of 
  the 
  Federal 
  service, 
  but 
  for 
  this 
  the 
  scientist 
  and 
  the 
  bureau 
  

   are 
  only 
  in 
  part 
  responsible. 
  Yet 
  a 
  considerable 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  blame 
  

   rests 
  upon 
  the 
  scientist 
  himself, 
  and 
  his 
  delinquencies 
  may 
  be 
  due 
  

   to 
  his 
  lack 
  of 
  certain 
  mental, 
  not 
  to 
  say 
  moral 
  qualities. 
  The 
  delin- 
  

   quents 
  are 
  of 
  several 
  types, 
  and 
  they 
  include 
  the 
  investigator 
  with 
  a 
  

   brilliant 
  mind, 
  which, 
  however, 
  is 
  so 
  undisciplined 
  that 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  

   made 
  to 
  formulate 
  conclusions. 
  A 
  very 
  small 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  

   delays 
  are 
  chargeable 
  to 
  lack 
  of 
  a 
  sense 
  of 
  moral 
  obligation. 
  This 
  

   lack 
  is 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  dilettante 
  type 
  of 
  investigator, 
  who 
  flits 
  from 
  

   one 
  problem 
  to 
  another 
  and 
  seems 
  to 
  think 
  that 
  he 
  fulfills 
  all 
  obligations 
  

   if 
  he 
  simply 
  remains 
  on 
  the 
  Government 
  payroll. 
  Most 
  often, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  the 
  procrastinator 
  is 
  the 
  hardest 
  working 
  of 
  men, 
  and 
  his 
  un- 
  

   willingness 
  to 
  put 
  forth 
  conclusions 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  his 
  fear 
  of 
  omitting 
  some 
  

   detail 
  or 
  failing 
  to 
  fully 
  test 
  some 
  theory. 
  We 
  must 
  respect 
  such 
  a 
  

   seeker 
  of 
  truth, 
  yet 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  his 
  fault 
  may 
  lie 
  in 
  a 
  certain 
  conceit 
  

   which 
  induces 
  him 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  his 
  results 
  are 
  so 
  epoch-making 
  

   that 
  he 
  trembles 
  for 
  the 
  consequences 
  to 
  the 
  Nation 
  if 
  they 
  should 
  be 
  

   announced 
  prematurely. 
  It 
  sometimes 
  happens 
  that 
  before 
  he 
  has 
  

   set 
  the 
  keystone 
  of 
  the 
  arch 
  that 
  forms 
  his 
  magnum 
  opus 
  its 
  founda- 
  

  

  