33 



PRESIDE^^T'S ADDRESS. 



H. W. Wiley. 



Ye Shall Know Them by Their Fruits. 



Mem1)er.s of the Indiana Academy of Science. Ladies and Gentlemen — 

 It perhaps marlis a sad epoch in the history of a man when he dehb- 

 erately chooses a period of reminiscence for a public address. It is one of 

 the privileges of the old to review the preceding years and di-aw from them 

 such lessons of wisdom or of folly as may happen to be the case. I have 

 therefore, chosen on this occasion to look back over the scientific history 

 of Indiana during a period of a third of a century. Strange as it may st'em. 

 that short period covers practically all the progress which has been made 

 in applied science in this great State. I do not forget the early days of the 

 Owens and their associates, and the great contributions which came to 

 the intellectual and scientific development of oiu- people from the center 

 first estal dished at New Harmony, but I speak of the actual accomplish- 

 ments for the good of the community from the application of the principles 

 of science to mining, manufacture, commerce, agriculture and puMlc 

 health. 



It was my fortune to entfr up((n the period of my education imm.'di- 

 ately following the great Civil War. This frati'icidal struggle for f(mr 

 years had engaged every energy and consumed every resoiuce of om- 

 country. The end of the war left our people in a remarkalily susceptible 

 condition— ready for the purpose of re-estal)lisliing their industi'ies and of 

 utilizing every available means thereto. In the very midst of the period 

 of the Civil War were laid deep and sure, by wise congressional action, 

 the foimdations of the system of agricultural and technical education, 

 which has since grown to i)e the admiration of the world. I refer to the 

 ^Morrill Act of 18(52, setting apart portions of the public domain for the 

 purpose of piomoting instruction in agi-icidtiu'al and mechanical arts and 

 military tactics. Every State in our Union received grants of public lands 

 in proportion to size, popidation and representation in Congress. It is 

 true that some of the States invested this munificent endowment more 

 wisely than others, but all have received from it sul)Stantial aid. This 

 munificent gift to technical education was supplemented twenty years 

 later by the Hatch Act, whereby there was established in each State and 



3— Academy of Science. 



