ROSA: SCIENTIFIC WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT 373 



and interchangeability of parts could be carried further than it 

 has been. This would greatly reduce the charges for time and 

 material in making repairs as well as in the original installation. 

 The enormous and confusing variety of lighting fixtures, and the 

 bad design of many, are due to utter lack of standardization or 

 cooperation of the manufacturers with one another. Inefficient 

 and dangerous gas appliances have been sold to the public for 

 years, and many are still in use. The manufacturers cannot 

 be blamed, for they cannot separately engage in expensive 

 research to arrive at correct designs. The only practicable 

 way is for all to cooperate and for the government to take an 

 active part, helping the manufacturers to study these problems 

 of design and standardization intelligently and thoroughly. 



THE DUTY AND OPPORTUNITY OF THE GOVERNMENT 



31. Such work is constructive and wealth-producing, and 

 yields returns a hundred-fold upon the investment. The benefit 

 is almost immediate and not only are there material returns in 

 decreased costs and improved service, but such cooperation 

 between the government and the industries raises the standards 

 of business and is helpful both to the government and to the 

 industries. It emphasizes good quality and good performance 

 and good service, and reduces misrepresentation and exaggera- 

 tion in selling. Is it not the duty of the government to cooperate 

 more actively in this constructive way with the industries? No 

 other agency can perform this important function. The govern- 

 ment would do only a part of the work, but that part is of great 

 importance. Engineering societies, manufacturers' organiza- 

 tions, and individual manufacturing companies will do their 

 part, and in many cases the greater part. But if the govern- 

 ment refuses to do its part on the ground that it would increase 

 taxation, the public will not be satisfied with the reason given 

 when it knows that at the present time out of $50.00 per capita 

 per annum collected by the government for all purposes, scarcely 

 more than one cent per capita per annum is expended by the 

 government for this important work, and five cents per year per 



