38 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, 



First, this entire progress in the mastery of nature and in direct- 

 ing her forces is a triumph of reason, of intellect. Intellect to many 

 seems cold, devoid of feeling, knowing neither pleasure nor pain. To 

 some, reason seems antagonistic to love and reverence. We all live 

 and work for happiness, present and future. Whether we have ana- 

 lyzed our motives or not, whether we understand ourselves or not, 

 that is our object. The channels through which it reaches us are 

 many and diverse — some are more open with one, others with an- 

 other; but I wish to insist that, so far as those due to civilization are 

 concerned, intellect must be given the credit. I do not for a moment 

 underrate the place that physical pleasures fill in making life worth 

 living. The desire to gratify them often serves as a stimulus to in- 

 tellectual effort, and thus they may at times even accelerate material 

 progress, but they are not as a rule directly productive of it. The 

 delights of the senses, while so alluring as to become the sole aim of 

 many, are in themselves non-productive. Reason must be the great 

 producer, and more than that, she must ever stand as the inflexible 

 guardian of her products. Without her stern protection, the tempta- 

 tion to present pleasure would dissipate past accumulations and de- 

 stroy future possibilities. By means of the intellect the pleasures of 

 the average individual to-day exceed those of ancient kings. Means 

 of transportation and communication alone have multiplied them 

 many fold. The sublime beauties of mountain, plain and sea may be 

 enjoyed by hundreds instead of one. Through modern machinery, 

 the perfection and wonderful accomplishments of which are almost 

 incredible, the ordinary home possesses equipment, beauty and com- 

 fort exceeding that of Solomon's palace. I will not enter into further 

 detail, but if you will think the matter out you will see that most of 

 our pleasures, and especially the great abundance of them, are due to 

 the dominance of reason — that is, the dominance of science. 



Appreciation of the value of science in every-day life is shown in the 

 establishment of technical schools and their growing favor with the peo- 

 ple. It is also shown by the establishment, under federal patronage, 

 of an agricultural experiment station in each state, in which the re- 

 sources of science are brought to a direct bearing upon the problems 

 of plant and animal production, with their many ramifications into the 

 realms of chemistry, physics, physiology, biology, geology, and engi- 

 neering. The growth of nature study in the schools is another indi- 

 cation of the appreciation of science, though doubtless this movement 

 may at times degenerate to the level of a fad. Agitation has begun, 

 and will continue to some tangible result, looking to the teaching of 

 the simple scientific principles of agriculture in the common schools 

 of the country. The art of cooking, now taught in so many schools 



