﻿FEB. 
  19, 
  1922 
  brooks: 
  the 
  scientist 
  in 
  the 
  federal 
  service 
  109 
  

  

  This 
  turnover 
  of 
  scientific 
  personnel 
  in 
  the 
  Federal 
  service 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  

   deplored, 
  for 
  the 
  newcomers 
  are 
  at 
  best 
  but 
  ill 
  trained 
  compared 
  with 
  

   those 
  that 
  have 
  gone, 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  strangers 
  to 
  the 
  traditions 
  of 
  the 
  

   service. 
  No 
  doubt 
  some 
  of 
  our 
  critics 
  will 
  regard 
  this 
  as 
  a 
  not 
  un- 
  

   mixed 
  evil, 
  because 
  they 
  hold 
  that 
  bureau 
  chiefs 
  exercise 
  the 
  same 
  

   functions 
  as 
  the 
  beadles 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Gottingen, 
  whose 
  prin- 
  

   cipal 
  duty, 
  according 
  to 
  Heine, 
  was 
  to 
  prevent 
  any 
  enterprising 
  

   Privat-docent 
  from 
  smuggling 
  new 
  ideas 
  into 
  the 
  institution. 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  trend 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  university 
  graduates 
  away 
  from 
  

   research 
  and 
  toward 
  industry 
  is 
  a 
  most 
  serious 
  threat 
  to 
  the 
  future 
  of 
  

   science. 
  Its 
  causes 
  are 
  many 
  and 
  include 
  financial 
  and 
  other 
  post- 
  

   war 
  conditions. 
  May 
  it 
  not, 
  however, 
  also 
  be 
  in 
  part 
  due 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  

   lowering 
  of 
  the 
  ideals 
  of 
  the 
  university 
  student? 
  Because 
  of 
  the 
  

   high 
  cost 
  of 
  living 
  the 
  teaching 
  staffs 
  of 
  universities, 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  other 
  

   research 
  institution, 
  have 
  been 
  depleted. 
  Strenuous 
  efforts 
  have 
  been 
  

   made 
  to 
  increase 
  the 
  salary 
  of 
  the 
  professor, 
  but 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  univer- 
  

   sities 
  have 
  been 
  forced 
  to 
  temporize 
  by 
  allowing 
  him 
  to 
  devote 
  a 
  part 
  

   of 
  his 
  time 
  to 
  commercial 
  work. 
  In 
  others 
  the 
  professor, 
  though 
  not 
  

   actually 
  employed 
  in 
  the 
  business 
  world, 
  has 
  been 
  forced 
  to 
  eke 
  out 
  

   his 
  small 
  income 
  by 
  preparing 
  textbooks 
  instead 
  of 
  by 
  advancing 
  re- 
  

   search. 
  Are 
  we 
  then 
  not 
  justified 
  in 
  asking 
  whether 
  a 
  student's 
  

   ideal 
  to 
  advance 
  knowledge 
  will 
  be 
  greatly 
  developed 
  by 
  a 
  "revered 
  

   master" 
  whose 
  academic 
  work 
  is 
  frequently 
  interrupted 
  by 
  industrial 
  

   demands, 
  or 
  whose 
  contributions 
  to 
  science 
  are 
  textbooks, 
  some 
  of 
  

   them 
  only 
  too 
  evidently 
  prepared 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  profit? 
  

  

  Another 
  by-product 
  of 
  the 
  war 
  which 
  may 
  do 
  evil 
  to 
  science 
  is 
  the 
  

   widespread 
  and 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  blind 
  worship 
  of 
  so-called 
  efficiency. 
  

   The 
  post-war 
  restlessness 
  has 
  developed 
  a 
  popular 
  fervor 
  for 
  every- 
  

   thing 
  that 
  is 
  new 
  or 
  different 
  from 
  what 
  has 
  gone 
  before. 
  No 
  one 
  can 
  

   find 
  fault 
  with 
  the 
  plan 
  of 
  bringing 
  all 
  scientific 
  activities 
  to 
  the 
  

   highest 
  degree 
  of 
  efficiency, 
  but 
  there 
  are 
  differences 
  of 
  opinion 
  as 
  

   to 
  how 
  this 
  can 
  best 
  be 
  accomplished. 
  The 
  American 
  people 
  are 
  

   sometimes 
  carried 
  away 
  by 
  sentiment 
  rather 
  than 
  by 
  cold 
  reasoning, 
  

   and 
  any 
  new 
  cause, 
  after 
  receiving 
  the 
  proper 
  label, 
  is 
  pressed 
  forward 
  

   without 
  thoughtful 
  analysis. 
  Sweeping 
  generalizations 
  are 
  made 
  by 
  

   unthinking 
  men, 
  and 
  if 
  they 
  make 
  a 
  popular 
  appeal 
  they 
  may 
  receive 
  

   the 
  assent 
  of 
  the 
  majority. 
  The 
  economies 
  forced 
  by 
  the 
  post-war 
  

   conditions 
  have 
  made 
  efficiency 
  a 
  national 
  fetish. 
  Unfortunately, 
  

   the 
  word 
  efficiency 
  has 
  to 
  many 
  lost 
  its 
  true 
  meaning, 
  and 
  because 
  of 
  

   the 
  success 
  of 
  a 
  certain 
  definite 
  system 
  of 
  improved 
  administration 
  

  

  