1915] Cooperation ii^ Matters Chemical 67 



termiued that America should have publications worthy of 

 the name and who consistently gave their loyal support to 

 this great undertaking ! 



The aim of research is the discovery of truth. On this 

 point all are agreed. But why such an aim? "Truth for 

 Truth's sake," "Science for Science's sake," and similar fa- 

 miliar phrases have no meaning to me. I can find only one 

 answer to this question — the uplift of humanity. In the 

 engrossing interest of research problems, however, we some- 

 times adopt an artificial division of scientific research into 

 "pure" and "applied," the former term uttered sometimes by 

 university men in a tone of snobbishness, the latter occasion- 

 ally by men of the technical laboratories with a rather dis- 

 dainful regard of obligations to the science on which their 

 operations are based. 



I think of research in chemistry as a field whose highest 

 fruition calls for two kinds of service. On the one hand the 

 constant enrichment of the soil, "pure chemistry," if you 

 will, and on the other the seeding, tending and harvesting, 

 "applied chemistry ;" each absolutely essential, and incapable 

 of its highest fulfillment without the other, using the same 

 methods, demanding identical care, skill, accuracy and thor- 

 oughness, and working toward the same end — the uplift of 

 humanity. If this be not the mutual goal, then pure chem- 

 istry becomes a selfish toy and applied chemistry a mere tool 

 for greed. In both lines of service the hearty cooperation of 

 all chemists is needed. 



The continued use of the terms "pure" and "applied" in 

 what follows involves, therefore, no question of relative dig- 

 nity or scientific justification, but is based simply on that 

 privilege of convenience which we reserve to ourselves in 

 continuing the use of the terms "organic" and "inorganic" 

 chemistry. 



For training in the ideals and methods of chemical re- 

 search we rightly look to our universities, and if the ideal of 

 research include both "pure" and "applied," then must the 

 universities set forth that ideal both in word and act. Its 



