34 CARNEGIB INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



Some eminent minds maintain, indeed, that since the object of the Institu- 

 tion is, in the last analysis at any rate, educational, these numerous ways 

 of promoting education should not be overlooked, for the sphere of effective 

 influence of the Institution, it is argued, may be thus widely extended. The 

 experience of the Institution thus far, however, appears to be in direct 

 opposition to this view. We are learning how the giving of aid by one 

 institution to another, even indirectly, tends to sap the independence and 

 to diminish the available income of both. Moreover, we encounter by this 

 method the endless difl&culties arising from diverse interests and divided 

 responsibilities, along with the inevitable bitterness of disappointment from 

 those who feel that the distribution of funds has not been equitable amongst 

 the fields of research or amongst the institutions supplying the investigators. 



Secondly, that the Institution may not advantageously seek to scatter its 

 resources simultaneously over all available fields of research. It should 

 rather choose a limited number of fields of activity at any epoch and con- 

 centrate its energies on these until they are brought to a satisfactory degree 

 of completion. This conclusion seems likewise almost axiomatic, since it 

 is determined essentially by a limited income. Many, if not a majority, 

 however, of highly esteemed colleagues oppose this conclusion, and argue 

 that a distribution of income in small grants to widely scattered investigators 

 will be more productive in immediate results and of more ultimate benefit 

 to society. But this argument does not appear to be supported by the 

 experience of the Institution. It is impossible, of course, to draw precise 

 inferences from this limited experience; but after a careful examination of 

 the facts at hand I think it safe to state that no direct return may be antici- 

 pated from more than half of the small grants made up to the present time 

 for minor researches and for research assistantships. Moreover, it appears 

 to me that this is as high a percentage of efficiency as may be reasonably 

 expected from miscellaneous applicants for aid, since a majority of them 

 will be men and women of enthusiasm and promise merely rather than of 

 demonstrated ability to carry researches to successful conclusions. 



In weighing this matter the educational value of such widely scattered 

 aid should not be overlooked. Many a meagerly equipped laboratory or 

 library may be thus strengthened and many young men and women may be 

 thus trained for work of research. The possession of a piece of apparatus, 

 or a rare volume, or the opportunity to pursue early in life a year or two 

 of uninterrupted scientific investigation, is, doubtless, of inestimable value 

 to a few individuals. But the obvious objection to such a disposition of 

 resources is that it serves only to supplement the educational work of col- 

 leges and universities. They already occupy this field, and it appears unwise 

 as well as unfair to encroach on their domain even in a supplementary way. 

 A less obvious objection is that arising from the diverse interests and the 

 divided responsibilities which such a course entails. It may be observed 



