﻿76 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  4 
  

  

  of 
  his 
  colleagues 
  are 
  engaged 
  in 
  other 
  intellectual 
  pursuits. 
  Thus 
  the 
  

   scientific 
  investigator 
  in 
  a 
  university, 
  living 
  in 
  an 
  atmosphere 
  of 
  wide 
  

   intellectual 
  interests, 
  is 
  usually 
  more 
  scholarly 
  than 
  the 
  investigator 
  

   in 
  the 
  Federal 
  service. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  university 
  scientist 
  

   has 
  no 
  rivals 
  among 
  his 
  immediate 
  associates, 
  and 
  his 
  results 
  do 
  not 
  

   always 
  run 
  the 
  gauntlet 
  of 
  stern 
  criticism, 
  as 
  do 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Federal 
  

   scientist. 
  The 
  university 
  scientific 
  groups 
  therefore 
  have 
  a 
  tendency 
  

   to 
  become 
  mutual 
  admiration 
  societies. 
  This 
  tendency 
  and 
  the 
  wor- 
  

   ship 
  of 
  his 
  disciples 
  among 
  the 
  students 
  sometimes 
  lead 
  the 
  university 
  

   scientist 
  to 
  become 
  a 
  professional 
  oracle 
  whose 
  dicta 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  de- 
  

   nied. 
  Such 
  a 
  mental 
  attitude 
  prevents 
  right 
  thinking, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  for- 
  

   tunate 
  that 
  the 
  Washington 
  atmosphere 
  is 
  unfavorable 
  to 
  its 
  growth. 
  

  

  If 
  Washington 
  were 
  larger 
  and 
  had 
  more 
  diversified 
  interests, 
  like 
  

   European 
  capitals, 
  it 
  would 
  include 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  amateur 
  scien- 
  

   tists. 
  I 
  use 
  the 
  term 
  amateur 
  in 
  lieu 
  of 
  a 
  better 
  word 
  to 
  designate 
  

   the 
  nonprofessional 
  investigator, 
  who 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  confounded 
  with 
  

   the 
  dilettante. 
  The 
  amateur 
  brings 
  into 
  science 
  an 
  enthusiasm 
  for 
  

   his 
  subject 
  which 
  in 
  the 
  professional 
  sometimes 
  becomes 
  dormant. 
  

   It 
  is 
  unfortunate 
  that 
  he 
  is 
  almost 
  unknown 
  in 
  Washington, 
  for 
  he 
  could 
  

   do 
  much 
  to 
  vivify 
  science, 
  which 
  may 
  become 
  too 
  much 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  

   the 
  day's 
  work 
  to 
  the 
  Federal 
  investigator. 
  Local 
  scientific 
  societies, 
  

   too, 
  would 
  be 
  benefited 
  by 
  the 
  enthusiasm 
  of 
  the 
  amateur, 
  for 
  these 
  

   societies 
  are 
  highly 
  specialized, 
  and 
  their 
  meetings 
  too 
  often 
  resemble 
  

   a 
  council 
  called 
  by 
  some 
  bureau 
  chief. 
  The 
  few 
  amateurs 
  in 
  Wash- 
  

   ington, 
  though 
  welcomed 
  at 
  these 
  meetings, 
  are 
  not 
  likely 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  

   atmosphere 
  of 
  professionalism 
  congenial 
  to 
  their 
  aspirations. 
  The 
  

   university 
  investigator, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  has 
  the 
  advantage 
  of 
  

   contact 
  with 
  the 
  amateur 
  as 
  represented 
  by 
  his 
  students. 
  

  

  Most 
  European 
  scientific 
  centers 
  are 
  in 
  large 
  industrial 
  cities, 
  but 
  

   the 
  industries 
  of 
  Washington 
  are 
  solely 
  those 
  needed 
  to 
  support 
  the 
  

   population 
  domiciled 
  at 
  the 
  seat 
  of 
  Government. 
  Federal 
  investi- 
  

   gators 
  must 
  therefore 
  seek 
  contact 
  with 
  the 
  business 
  world 
  at 
  places 
  

   away 
  from 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  their 
  principal 
  activities. 
  Though 
  may 
  of 
  

   them 
  do 
  so, 
  the 
  scientific 
  service 
  as 
  a 
  whole 
  is 
  isolated 
  from 
  commer- 
  

   cial 
  life. 
  Industry 
  sometimes 
  makes 
  the 
  charge 
  that 
  the 
  products 
  

   of 
  Washington 
  science, 
  because 
  of 
  this 
  isolation, 
  are 
  impractical, 
  

   meaning 
  thereby 
  that 
  they 
  cannot 
  be 
  used 
  at 
  any 
  given 
  time 
  for 
  

   commercial 
  profit. 
  Obviously, 
  if 
  a 
  scientific 
  principle 
  is 
  true 
  it 
  can- 
  

   not 
  be 
  impractical, 
  and 
  it 
  falls 
  to 
  the 
  technician 
  to 
  determine 
  whether 
  

   it 
  can 
  or 
  cannot 
  be 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  advantage 
  of 
  industry. 
  This 
  mis- 
  

  

  