180 



units ordinarily has a director and a budget of its own ; 

 definite programs of research are planned and staffs 

 are employed suitable for carrying out the program. 

 The training of research workers either is not carried 

 on or is of secondary importance. 



Central Facilities. — Various central facilities for the 

 aid of research workers are being provided by the uni- 

 versities. Central statistical service, insuring proper 

 statistical treatment, and expert aid and equipment 

 for dealing with statistical data are organized in some 

 institutions. Central drafting services, instrument 

 shops, skilled mechanics, glass blowers, etc., are avail- 

 able to all departments in many institutions. 



Activities of the Learned Societies 



The third edition of the Handbook of Scientific and 

 Technical Societies and InMitutiom, published by the 

 National Research Council, lists 930 scientific and tech- 

 nical societies in the United States in the natural 

 sciences. Probably about 1,500 such scholarly organ- 

 izations exist for all fields. Many of these are national 

 in scope. National, regional, and local meetings of 

 research scholars are organized; research is reported 

 and discussed and the acquaintance of the scholars in 

 a field is promoted. A great many of these organiza- 

 tions publish journals open to research papers of their 

 members. The services of these societies in stimulating 

 and organizing research have been very great. They 

 have done much to educate the public and college 

 officials in the value of research. 



Aid From tlie Foundations 



The foundations have made very large grants to uni- 

 versities and colleges in recent years. IMuch of this has 

 gone into endowment and indirectly into research. 

 Much has also gone into direct grants for research, 

 although no figure seems to be available as to exactly 

 how much. Some facts quoted from Philanthropic 

 Foundations and Higher Education by Ernest Victor 

 Hollis lead to the conclusion that their support for 

 research has been large. 



From 1902 to 1934, 9 foundations gave $338,936,030 

 to universities and colleges. Of this sum $248,142,181 

 went to 20 institutions. Grants to medical schools 

 totaled $154,000,000. 



From 1923 to 1935, 9 universities each received from 

 $4,000,000 to $15,000,000 in foundation grants. 



Since 1918 the foundations have spent $55,000,000 on 

 natural and physical sciences, largely on basic research. 



In the decade 1921-30 the foundations made grants 

 of $27,000,000 to the social sciences and of $29,000,000 

 to the humanities. 



They have contributed $2,000,000 toward the produc- 

 tion of encyclopedias, dictionaries, abstracts, and in- 

 dices, all most valuable tools for research. 



JVational Resources Committee 



Foundations have provided a total of $27,000,000 for 

 scholarships and fellowships and are now supplying 

 money for this purpose at the rate of $1,500,000 a year. 



Certainly the foundations directly and indirectly 

 have given very large financial aid to research, and by 

 the direction of many of their grants have greatly 

 stimulated research in certain areas — recently in the 

 social sciences. 



Activities of the Councils 



The four national councils have been organized 

 within the last 20 j-ears to secure more centralized 

 action in related fields. The National Research 

 Council has a direct relationship to the Govei-nment 

 which the other councils lack. In many ways, the 

 other three councils could serve more effectively if they 

 could be related to the Government in some manner 

 analogous to the relationship now held by the National 

 Research Council. 



The National Research Council.- — The National Re- 

 search Council, as the active agent of the National 

 Academy of Sciences, is organized for the purpose of 

 aiding and stimulating research in the mathematical, 

 physical, and biological sciences, and of assisting the 

 Federal Government. During the war its activities 

 were very great and its services to the Government 

 most distinguished. Since the war much has been done 

 on a peace basis. 



This Council maintains ten divisions: Federal Rela- 

 tions, Foreign Relations, Educational Relations, Phys- 

 ical Sciences, Engineering and Industrial Research, 

 Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Geology and Geo- 

 graphy, Medical Sciences, Biology and Agriculture, 

 Anthropology and Psychology. Under these Divisional 

 Committees some 165 special committees are organized 

 to aid and promote research. Larger funds to meet 

 the expenses of these committees would materially ad- 

 vance their services. As it is, a considerable number — 

 generally those with adequate finances — are active, and 

 are doing valuable work. Four illustrations of dif- 

 ferent types of service rendered by the Council may 

 be given. 



1. Highway Research. — Since 1921 the National Re- 

 search Council has been under contract with the De- 

 partment of Agriculture to render services in the 

 encouragement and coordination of research in the 

 highiray field. The Council mamtains a Highway Re- 

 search Board which has numerous contacts with State 

 highway commissions, with engineering departments of 

 educational institutions, and with corporations dealing 

 in highway construction materials and road-making 

 machinei'y. 



The sixteenth annual meeting of the Board was at- 

 tended by over 400 persons. There are 49 committees, 



