1919] EDITORIAL. 605 



in the program of the general sessions and in the college and exten- 

 sion sections. Various speakers pointed to its present needs, urged 

 that it be generously fostered as the main basis of agricultural 

 growth, and pleaded for the development of wider appreciation and 

 understanding of it. 



The subject was introduced at the opening session of the conven- 

 tion in the address of the Secretary of Agriculture, who, in emphasiz- 

 ing the value of the land-grant colleges to our democracy, pointed 

 out that recent events have made it singularly clear that " agricul- 

 tural institutions must omit no step to add, through research and 

 experiment, to the sum of our scientific knowledge." He referred to 

 the inadequacies of information on important topics, in some in- 

 stances there being no results on which to base intelligent conclu- 

 sions. Up to a few years ago investigation had seemed to run ahead 

 of facilities for convej-ing information, but now " the danger is 

 rather that our teaching may outrun the accumulated stock of knowl- 

 edge and become sterile." 



The Secretary made a strong argument for a well balanced pro- 

 gram of both instruction and research throughout the Nation. " To 

 this end it must secure and retain the services of its most talented 

 scientific and practical men ; and this means something in terms of 

 dollars and cents. It means that we must not only place the investi- 

 gator on a higher financial plane but also give those who have talent 

 funds and facilities in generous measure." It is increasingly clear, 

 he said, that in all positions of responsibility the State and the Nation 

 must be prepared to secure a,nd retain men of the requisite training 

 and experience, and to make the conditions sufficiently attractive. 

 " Our democracy is today threatened with inefficient service because 

 of its failure to provide a reasonably decent compensation for men 

 of capacity charged with large responsibilities, and our democratic 

 arrangements may either break down or result in commonplace per- 

 formance, if reasonable requirements are not met." 



The National obligation for scientific research as the reproductive 

 process of science Avas emphasized in the paper of Dr. Angell, which 

 pointed to the unprecedented illustrations of the value of research 

 developed by the war. The National Eesearch Council aims at the 

 permanent mobilization of the scientific agencies, an end wliich 

 European countries have attempted to accomplish by subsidy. 



Surveying the principal research agencies of the Nation, atten- 

 tion was called to the experiment stations as a class offering ex- 

 ceptional opportunities for systematic inquiry, but handicapped at 

 present by conditions and circumstances which limit their highest 

 attainment. Reference was made to the extent to which the stations 

 are often burdened with routine and quite elementary work at the 

 expense of research, the lack of coordination between stations and 



