304 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



" (a) To help to deterniiiic in advance whether the proposed re- 

 search is profitable and alt()o:ether advisable from the standpoint of 

 the iniblic, whose representative for the time being the administrative 

 officer must be. 



" (b) To assist in determining what lines of experimentation are 

 calculated to throw profitable light upon the prol)lem. 



" (c) To help determine whether the work is best carried on by one 

 individual representing a single line of inquir}^ or by two or more 

 working in conjunction, and if the latter, to secure in advance a 

 com|)lete understanding as to mutual duties, rights, and responsibil- 

 ities. Upon all these points the judgment and the point of view of 

 the administrative officer is not only likely to be broader l)ut certain to 

 be freer from personal bias than is that of the professional in- 

 vestigator. 



"(d) The experiment once decided upon, however, and funds pro- 

 vided, administration is over until results are due, Avhen it begins 

 again and does not cease till reports are published and circulated. 

 The less administration during the progress of the work the better 

 for all interests, and if the need of it becomes clear, it is the best of 

 evidence that administration Avas remiss at the outset. Your com- 

 mittee can not too strongly point out the necessity of the entire free- 

 dom as to methods of investigation on the part of the staff worker 

 who has been employed because of his expert knowledge of the matter 

 and methods of work in a highly specialized field." 



The ideal thus presented by the committee is " administrative effi- 

 ciency and sympathetic helpfulness without interference," requiring 

 " for administrative officers men not onl}^ of good business methods 

 and large outlook, but also Avith the highest obtainable training along 

 some important line of science as related to agriculture." 



The committee favors an organization " strong enough to recognize 

 the interests of the whole station as above those of any department or 

 separate interest and strong enough to enable the entire influence of 

 the Avhole body to be exerted in any desired direction on short notice." 



As regards lack of permanency and continuity of work and result- 

 ing decreased efficiency, the conunittee enumerates a numl^er of causes, 

 but is of the opinion "that the interference of teaching and extension 

 work, and the paying of poor salaries, are among the prominent 

 causes of unsatisfactory Avork and of frequent change." 



The committee " reaffirms the reconunendation of last year to the 

 effect that there should be concentration on a fcAV lines of research, and 

 further reconnnends that there be close adherence to thoroughly con- 

 sidered, definite, and Avell-planned projects; that every effort be 

 made to retain experienced and well-trained men; that an associate 

 be appointed in each important department aa^io shall be capable at 

 any time of taking up the Avork of the chief ; that the finances of the 



