430 THE NEW WORLD OF SCIENCE 



intention to surpass, if possible, the merits of that institution. 

 The success which was attained during the war in establishing 

 certain features of this Information Service, reference to which 

 will be found in Chapter 3, encourages us to believe that our 

 dream may come true, and that an effective organization can be 

 developed to meet the necessities in times of peace. 



Without attempting to portray in minute detail the several 

 aspects of the work of this Division as it is now planned, a 

 brief description may be offered. 



(a) Provision will be made for a catalogue of research 

 laboratories, and already we have a list of such covering 

 approximately 5000 entries. This catalogue includes 

 both laboratories devoted to pure science and those deal- 

 ing with industrial activities. In addition to the name 

 and address of the organization, there will be given the 

 name of the director, the personnel of the staff, the 

 chief lines of research pursued, the space available, the 

 approximate annual expenditure, and in short, all infor- 

 mation necessary to give a clear picture of the type of 

 the work which the laboratory may be expected to be 

 competent to undertake. 



(b) A catalogue of current investigations will be developed. 

 The idea of rendering available information regarding 

 current research is decidedly novel, and at first sight, 

 is likely to be thought impracticable. There is no doubt 

 that the possibilities of the plan vary very widely in the 

 different fields of science and in the different industries ; 

 but there is also no question that in certain fields it is 

 entirely practicable, and that wherever it can be brought 

 about, it is sure to possess high value. So long as scien- 

 tific investigation is carried on in a purely individualistic 

 way, and surrounded with the atmosphere of the trade 

 secret, such a project has, of course, no status. Not 

 only are the possibilities of cooperative research becom- 

 ing rapidly more widely appreciated, but there is also an 



