56 



logical sciences and for engineering positions. The 

 natural sciences deal with materials which are the same 

 in Washington and in regions remote from the seat 

 of Government. With respect to some of the fields of 

 applied natural science the situation is different. For 

 this reason the Department of Agriculture has devel- 

 oped a graduate school where its employees are given 

 special educational preparation for the particular 

 duties which they are to perform. The Departments 

 of War and Navy have so msny special problems to 

 solve that they have more t^.an any other agencies 

 of the Federal Govermnent established educational 

 courses and institutions of various grades for the 

 preparation of personnel. 



Research in the social sciences can be prepared for 

 in some of the courses provided in the miiversities, 

 but far more than in the natural or applied sciences the 

 novice in social-science research must have experience 

 in close contact with the problems of social organiza- 

 tion. The social-science branches of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment are conscious of the necessity of devoting 

 energy to the preparation of young members of the 

 staff. A system of internship is eagerly desired by 

 many of the agencies. The recent adoption by the 

 Civil Service Commission of the plan of admitting to 

 governmental agencies young people in the rank of 

 junior civil-service appointees has been welcomed in 

 many of the social-science divisions of the Goverimient. 

 The juniors are assigned to regular members of the 

 staff under whom they work and by whom they are 

 trained. One difficulty with the present arrangement, 

 as pointed out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 

 other agencies wliich have undertaken training of 

 juniors, is that, when a well-prepared junior presents 

 himself for final classification by the Civil Service 

 Commission, he finds that the experience which he has 

 gained in the service of the Government is not credited 

 as would be study in university classes. The junior 

 candidate is believed by his superiors to have in many 

 cases qualifications far better than those which could 

 be gained anywhere outside the Goverimient service, 

 but this judgment is ineffective in the face of civil- 

 service regulations as they now stand. 



Furthermore, there is a universal recognition in the 

 higher branches of govermnental services that the 

 exemptions granted to veterans tend to break down 

 completely the merit system which is essential to the 

 procurement of competent research workers. Immedi- 

 ately after the World War, when there could readily 

 be drawn from the ranks of veterans individuals of 

 high or average ability, exemptions were not as calami- 

 tous as they are now and will be increasingly later. 

 The longer the period since the war, the poorer the 

 selection of veterans who offer themselves for service 

 in the Government becomes. 



National Resources Cowmittee 



Other difficulties frequently mentioned in the state- 

 ments made by governmental agencies seeking to ap- 

 point high-grade research men are the infrequency 

 of civil service examinations, the delays in ranking 

 candidates, and the long-continued standing of regis- 

 ters after they are ouce established. It is recommended 

 in the statements supplied by governmental agencies 

 that all registers be renewed at frequent intervals, that 

 the requirements be made more severe so that only 

 high-grade men shall secure positions on the registers, 

 and that credit be given for training which juniors 

 have received in governmental offices. 



Coordination of Educational Institutions 



2'he Federal Government is handicapped in secxiring 

 suitable persamiel because of lack of knowledge on the 

 part of many academic teachers of the opportunities 

 offered in Government service to research workers of 

 ability. — It is a well-known fact that there is little en- 

 thusiasm in many American universities and colleges 

 for Government service. It is regarded as true by 

 many teachers of science that Government service is 

 less free than are university and school positions. In 

 the general attitude toward Government, European in- 

 stitutions of education are altogether different from 

 American institutions. The ambition of many of the 

 best students in English and continental schools and 

 universities is to secure positions in Government. The 

 civil service examinations in England and some of the 

 leading continental countries are of the severest type. 



The comparative lack of encouragement of students 

 in American institutions to seek places in the Govern- 

 ment is due in part to a failure on the part of Govern- 

 ment and academic institutions to maintain intimate 

 contacts. Academic men frequently do not know the 

 amount or character of highly interesting scholarly 

 study and i-esearch going on in the Goverimient. Gov- 

 ernmental agencies do not utilize as fully as they might 

 the intellectual resources of the Nation. There is a 

 lack of interconununication which is deplorable and 

 should be corrected, especially in the fields of the social 

 sciences, where, as pointed out several times in this 

 report, the data for scientific generalizations must be 

 secured in very large measure by the Goveriunent. 



One area in which intimate relations between the 

 Government and universities have been established far 

 more than elsewhere is in agricultural economics and 

 rural sociology. The long contact between the land- 

 grant colleges and the Department of Agriculture has 

 facilitated an exchange of men and services which has 

 been mutually advantageous and has promoted the in- 

 terests of rural and national life in a great many ways. 

 There is nothing equally effective in the sphere of 

 business. 



