466 



NATURE 



[August 9, 191 7 



General Electric Company expends annually on 

 research 8o,oooZ. to ioo,oooZ., and has a labora- 

 tory staff numbering 150. The Pennsylvania 

 Railroad Company erected laboratories at a cost 

 of 6o,oooi!. for buildings and equipment, and a 

 locomotive testing plant at a cost of 40,000/. The 

 annual maintenance cost is about ioo,oooZ. The 

 laboratory cost is only about o'6 per cent, of 

 the value of the materials tested. Besides these 

 private institutions there is the Bureau of Stan- 

 dards, on which the Federal Government spent 

 270,000/. for buildings and equipment, and to 

 which it gives a subvention of 120,000/. a year. 

 The Carnegie Institution of Washington, for 

 encouraging investigation, research, and dis- 

 coAJ'ery, has an endowment of 4,500,000/. 



York. This is controlled by the bond-holders of 

 the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. 

 It has a floor area of 30,000 sq. ft. and a staff 

 numbering 125. Its primary object is lamp testing, 

 and about twenty million are tested annually. But 

 it has also provision for chemical and fuel testing" 

 and photomicrographic work. 



With regard to the universities and colleges Mr. 

 Fleming says :^ — -"A careful consideration of the 

 conditions in the six States having the greatest 

 manufacturing output fails to show, other than in 

 isolated instances, very close co-ordination be- 

 tween university research and the manufacturing 

 interests." But although in the report the work 

 of universities is, we think, rather less adequately 

 described than that of industrial companies, still 



Fig. 3. — Locomotive testing laboratory, University of Illinois. 



With regard to the very extensive laboratories 

 of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, 

 N.Y., it is stated that it is "generally acknowledged 

 that the research laboratory has been an unques- 

 tionable financial success, not only because it has 

 solved regularly the industrial problems of the 

 large organisation with which it is connected, buT 

 also because it has produced discoveries which the 

 company can turn to advantage. ... Further, 

 the research department is able to pronounce 

 authoritatively, for the benefit of capitalists, on 

 the probabilities of success of new projects involv- 

 ing considerations of a scientific character." 



An example of commercial research laboratories 

 is the Electrical Testing Laboratory at New 

 NO. 2493, VOL. 99] 



wwtm 



there is evidence that it has been of great service, 

 esp>ecially to the engineering industry. For in- 

 stance, Michigan University has at Ann Arbor 

 a tank for testing ship resistance, and its 

 researches have been an important factor in the 

 development of the special freight boats used on 

 the great lakes. The Illinois University has a 

 laboratory for investigations on a full-size loco- 

 motive engine. 



A very interesting development in the United 

 States is the creation of research fellowships bv 

 industries requiring special investigations. Thus, 

 at the Worcester Polytechnic, Mass., four men 

 are selected annually from the graduate class to 

 pursue research work for an engineering firm. 



