﻿80 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OE 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  4 
  

  

  centage 
  of 
  the 
  appropriations 
  for 
  research 
  were 
  allotted 
  to 
  university 
  

   men 
  and 
  the 
  grants 
  being 
  held 
  to 
  be 
  subsidies 
  for 
  research, 
  there 
  was 
  

   little 
  supervision 
  of 
  their 
  use. 
  This 
  practice 
  followed 
  that 
  of 
  most 
  

   European 
  countries, 
  which 
  maintained 
  only 
  skeleton 
  governmental 
  

   scientific 
  institutes 
  and 
  supported 
  research 
  chiefly 
  by 
  allotments 
  to 
  

   individuals. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  noted 
  in 
  passing 
  that 
  the 
  exigencies 
  of 
  the 
  

   war 
  led 
  in 
  part 
  to 
  abandonment 
  of 
  this 
  policy 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  resulted 
  

   in 
  a 
  much 
  greater 
  centralization 
  of 
  research. 
  

  

  A 
  generation 
  ago 
  few 
  universities 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  train 
  specialists, 
  

   and 
  the 
  young 
  assistants 
  usually 
  had 
  only 
  a 
  general 
  scientific 
  education, 
  

   though 
  they 
  had 
  a 
  better 
  academic 
  background 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   present. 
  All 
  expected 
  to 
  serve 
  a 
  long 
  apprenticeship 
  before 
  they 
  

   launched 
  out 
  as 
  independent 
  investigators. 
  

  

  In 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  Federal 
  science 
  there 
  was 
  not 
  only 
  scant 
  supervision 
  

   of 
  the 
  investigators 
  but 
  little 
  scrutiny 
  of 
  the 
  results 
  they 
  submitted 
  

   for 
  pubUcation. 
  The 
  group 
  leader 
  was 
  regarded 
  as 
  competent 
  to 
  

   determine 
  the 
  validity 
  of 
  his 
  conclusions, 
  and 
  the 
  less 
  experienced 
  

   assistant 
  was 
  not 
  intrusted 
  with 
  independent 
  investigations. 
  Differ- 
  

   ences 
  of 
  opinion 
  between 
  scientists 
  were 
  left 
  for 
  them 
  to 
  settle 
  between 
  

   themselves. 
  Washington 
  science 
  not 
  being 
  held 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  practical 
  

   value, 
  the 
  public 
  was 
  indifferent 
  whether 
  this 
  or 
  that 
  theory 
  received 
  

   official 
  sanction. 
  Indeed, 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  such 
  thing 
  as 
  an 
  official 
  

   dictum, 
  and 
  the 
  originator 
  of 
  a 
  thesis 
  was 
  left 
  to 
  his 
  own 
  devices 
  in 
  

   defending 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  public 
  arena. 
  

  

  Some 
  exceptions 
  to 
  the 
  above 
  statements 
  should 
  be 
  noted. 
  For 
  

   example, 
  the 
  Coast 
  Survey, 
  while 
  holding 
  to 
  its 
  long 
  established 
  

   scientific 
  ideals, 
  was 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  practical 
  work 
  of 
  serving 
  

   the 
  mariner 
  by 
  charting 
  the 
  shore 
  lines. 
  Again, 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  

   Weather 
  Service 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  done 
  with 
  the 
  loose 
  administrative 
  

   methods 
  that 
  were 
  common 
  to 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  bureaus. 
  Its 
  stricter 
  

   organization 
  was 
  no 
  doubt 
  due 
  to 
  its 
  military 
  control. 
  

  

  Living 
  costs 
  in 
  Washington 
  were 
  very 
  low, 
  and 
  the 
  small 
  salaries 
  

   sufficed 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  requirements 
  of 
  the 
  simple 
  standards 
  of 
  that 
  day. 
  

   A 
  family 
  with 
  an 
  income 
  of 
  $2,000 
  was 
  then 
  better 
  off 
  than 
  one 
  today 
  

   with 
  $6,000. 
  The 
  corps 
  of 
  investigators 
  was 
  so 
  small 
  that, 
  though 
  

   officially 
  more 
  independent 
  than 
  now, 
  its 
  members 
  were 
  professionally 
  

   and 
  socially 
  closer 
  together. 
  A 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  it 
  assembled 
  in 
  the 
  small 
  

   rooms 
  of 
  the 
  Cosmos 
  Club 
  on 
  Monday 
  nights, 
  where 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  co- 
  

   ordination 
  of 
  science 
  took 
  place 
  under 
  the 
  inspiration 
  of 
  a 
  mug 
  of 
  

   beer 
  and 
  the 
  smoke 
  of 
  a 
  churchwarden 
  pipe. 
  The 
  more 
  formal 
  

  

  