EDITORIAL, 603 



The now man when he is found prefers another line of experimenta- 

 tion, and little can be expected if he is forced to continue an old line 

 against his Avill. The man who ()ri<jinated the plan seldom starts it 

 anew at his next location, for however good his intentions may be, 

 he finds himself surrounded by a new environment which presents 

 new problems and interests. 



This is seen every year in going about among the stations. Lack of 

 continuit}'^ is one of the greatest weaknesses of the American stations. 

 It has cost thousands of dollars, from which there has been little or 

 nothing of real final value. The failure to carefully plan and to fol- 

 low out definite undertakings has probably done more to impair the 

 efficiency of our stations than any other thing. In large measure it 

 is a product of unsettled conditions, in which the personal factor is 

 especially prominent. The qualities which make for continuity and 

 persistency of effort are very essential traits in the station worker. 

 These important elements in a station's work are inseparably bound 

 up with permanency of the personnel. 



The lack of continuity is even more serious when it comes to the 

 class of investigations which the stations have been outlining and 

 inaugurating the past year. In these the human element is especially 

 prominent. Frequent changes are fatal to anything worthy to be 

 called research. The man who has conceived an investigation is 

 peculiarly a part of it and is well-nigh essential to its conduct. There 

 are usually difficulties in his transplanting his projects when he 

 makes a change of base. Thus far the losing of the leader has nearly 

 always meant the abandoning of the project. As time goes on this is 

 bound to be a serious handicap to our investigation unless some means 

 is found for securing greater permanency in the human equipment. 



It is difficult to determine how much of this change of location is 

 legitimate and within the bounds which must reasonably be expected. 

 Considering the tendencies of men, their tastes, and their natural de- 

 sire to improve theii- conditions, a certain amount of shifting seems 

 inevitable until they find their place and their work. But there have 

 been other factors which have materially aggravated the situation. 



Formerly the most frequent cause of change was instability of 

 the positions and the practice of annual election of the station staif. 

 Til is lack of permanency in the positions was a serious hindrance to 

 the efficiency of the men as Avell as to the continuity of their work. 

 It destroj'ed their peace of mind and made them uneasy to get into 

 more settled surroundings, Xoav, happily, there is little cause for 

 complaint on that score. Cases are very rare in which efficient and 

 capable men are dropped from the station rolls without cause, and 

 security' may be said to be as great as in the better type of educa- 

 tional institutions. 



