﻿FEB. 
  19, 
  1922 
  brooks: 
  the 
  scientist 
  in 
  the 
  federal 
  service 
  87 
  

  

  is 
  called 
  upon 
  to 
  follow 
  good 
  administrative 
  methods. 
  Yet, 
  it 
  is 
  

   evident 
  that 
  unless 
  expenditures 
  for 
  research 
  are 
  made 
  on 
  sound 
  

   business 
  principles 
  the 
  confidence 
  of 
  the 
  public 
  will 
  be 
  lost 
  and 
  finan- 
  

   cial 
  support 
  will 
  fail. 
  

  

  It 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  denied 
  that 
  the 
  recent 
  progress 
  in 
  science 
  has 
  been 
  

   very 
  largely 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  modern 
  research 
  institutions. 
  The 
  mere 
  

   massing 
  of 
  investigators 
  is 
  in 
  itself 
  a 
  benefit, 
  for 
  it 
  produces 
  a 
  certain 
  

   amount 
  of 
  attrition 
  that 
  tends 
  to 
  remove 
  those 
  bumps 
  of 
  self-esteem 
  

   which 
  are 
  not 
  unknown 
  among 
  scientists. 
  Moreover, 
  a 
  large 
  institu- 
  

   tion 
  gives 
  a 
  serious 
  and 
  professional 
  atmosphere 
  to 
  the 
  investigator 
  

   that 
  is 
  not 
  without 
  great 
  advantages, 
  though, 
  as 
  already 
  pointed 
  out, 
  

   it 
  has 
  some 
  drawbacks. 
  The 
  more 
  direct 
  benefits 
  to 
  science 
  of 
  or- 
  

   ganized 
  investigation 
  are 
  self-evident. 
  Many 
  problems 
  can 
  be 
  solved 
  

   only 
  by 
  the 
  cooperative 
  effort 
  of 
  investigators 
  in 
  several 
  specialized 
  

   fields. 
  The 
  successful 
  solution 
  of 
  others 
  depends 
  on 
  long-continued 
  

   and 
  widespread 
  observations 
  that 
  are 
  beyond 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  any 
  in- 
  

   dividual. 
  Moreover, 
  researches 
  that 
  involve 
  large 
  expenditures 
  

   should 
  obviously 
  not 
  be 
  dependent 
  on 
  any 
  one 
  person. 
  Another 
  

   advantage 
  of 
  institutional 
  oyer 
  scattered 
  investigation 
  is 
  economy 
  of 
  

   administration 
  . 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  not 
  difficult 
  to 
  recognize 
  weakness 
  in 
  the 
  basal 
  principle 
  of 
  

   organized 
  research. 
  Its 
  trend 
  is 
  toward 
  uniformity 
  and 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   ordination 
  of 
  the 
  individual 
  in 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  the 
  whole. 
  In 
  theory 
  

   at 
  least 
  each 
  investigator 
  of 
  an 
  institution 
  is 
  but 
  a 
  cog 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  

   machine 
  of 
  collective 
  effort, 
  yet 
  it 
  is 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  certain 
  that 
  collective 
  

   is 
  superior 
  to 
  individual 
  mental 
  effort 
  in 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  constructive 
  

   thought, 
  without 
  which 
  research 
  amounts 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  

   facts. 
  Therefore, 
  organized 
  research, 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  advance 
  science, 
  must 
  

   ever 
  avoid 
  the 
  pitfall 
  of 
  drab 
  uniformity 
  in 
  both 
  effort 
  and 
  result 
  if 
  

   it 
  is 
  to 
  escape 
  mediocrity. 
  This 
  danger 
  may 
  be 
  avoided 
  by 
  the 
  

   brilliant 
  executive, 
  who 
  can 
  judge 
  to 
  a 
  nicety 
  just 
  how 
  far 
  individuality 
  

   may 
  be 
  encouraged 
  without 
  endangering 
  results 
  that 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  attained 
  

   only 
  by 
  coordination. 
  

  

  Good 
  administration 
  will 
  seek 
  to 
  develop 
  the 
  individual 
  scientist, 
  

   whatever 
  may 
  be 
  his 
  capacity. 
  In 
  the 
  enunciation 
  of 
  plans 
  for 
  re- 
  

   search 
  it 
  is 
  sometimes 
  tacitly 
  assumed 
  that 
  all 
  investigators 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  

   same 
  general 
  type 
  as 
  the 
  best. 
  Yet 
  most 
  scientific 
  work 
  will 
  always 
  

   be 
  done 
  by 
  men 
  of 
  average 
  capacity, 
  and 
  good 
  collective 
  results 
  can 
  

   be 
  achieved 
  only 
  by 
  assigning 
  to 
  each 
  man 
  the 
  task 
  he 
  is 
  best 
  fitted 
  

   to 
  perform. 
  Humiliating 
  as 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  to 
  our 
  professional 
  pride, 
  

  

  