606 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



bring with it advancement, without the lever of an offer from 

 another institution. The attitude of the institution to the man 

 should leave no doubt that he and his work are as highly appreciated 

 at home as by any other institution. 



There is a certain amount of change of position which is under- 

 taken too hastily, and is of doubtful advantage to the man himself. 

 No man can be blamed for seeking a larger position, or one offering 

 greater opportunity or more congenial surroundings. But it is well 

 to be sure that these seeming advantages actualW exist, and are not 

 due to a too roseate view due to imperfect knowledge of the new 

 conditions. It is not very unusual to hear a man say in commenting 

 upon his change of position, that he probably made a mistake, for 

 the advantages which seemed to be offered by the new location were 

 offset by conditions affecting his work — not always ascribable to the 

 institution itself — which he had not fully realized. The advantages 

 which already exist and the inevitable lost motion from a change 

 of location are not always fully taken into account. There is almost 

 certain to be a temporary disadvantage in a change, and at best the 

 experiment usually has an element of uncertainty. 



In other cases the casual observer is frequently led to wonder what 

 induced the man to make the change of position. There has been no 

 evident benefit, unless it be a small apparent increase in swlary which 

 may mean no real increase under the new conditions, while to out- 

 ward appearances there has been a sacrificing of present opportunity 

 and future prospect. The habit of change and the search for ideal 

 conditions are disconcerting, and have stood in the way of some men's 

 ultimate success. 



A rough census of the heads of departments who changed their 

 positions during the past year shows that twenty-nine accepted po- 

 sitions apparently better in point of salary or more congenial as to 

 ■yvork and surroundings, while sixteen either made no apparent im- 

 provement or only a slight monetary one, the change being to out- 

 ward appearances one of doubtful judgment as far as the future of 

 the men is concerned. Nineteen went out of station work, some to 

 confine themselves to teaching and others into commercial lines 

 where the financial reward usually promised larger. 



The evident conclusion from these figures is that much the larger 

 proportion of changes seem to have been advantageous to the men 

 making them, either in point of position, congenial surroundings, or 

 commercial considerations. They indicate, however, that fully one- 

 fourth of the changes were of negative advantage from the present 

 indications, and in several cases likely to prove a disadvantage as 

 time goes on. 



From the standpoint of the stations Avho lost men by the cliange, 

 it seems clear that in over two-thirds of the cases, at a moderate esti- 



