NEW CONCEPTIONS IN SCIENCE 



Newcomb is, aside from Lord Kelvin, the only 

 English-speaking associate of the French Academy. 

 The achievements of Professor Willard Gibbs are 

 better known in Europe than in our country; and 

 the same is true of the mathematical work of G. W. 

 Hill. Professor Langley's bolometer and the mar- 

 vellous things he has done with it are a vital part 

 of modern physics; the like may be said of the 

 ingenious contrivances of Rowland and Michel- 

 son. Such astronomers as Pickering, Burnham, and 

 Keeler put America in the front rank in astronomy. 

 I might lengthily extend the list. 



We have had we have men who have done 

 a genuine and lasting work; the list is distin- 

 guished and worthy. Yet it is all too brief. De- 

 spite many notable figures, despite much notable 

 achievement, America's position in the world of sci- 

 ence is inferior. The count of our universities and 

 colleges of the first rank outnumbers that of England 

 or France two or three to one. Germany alone has 

 more. The sums expended upon them are pro- 

 portionately greater ; Germany alone is as liberal as 

 we. Even eliminating the recent outpouring of sub- 

 scriptions, the endowments of our chief institutions 

 of learning compare more than favorably with those 

 of any other country, centuries older though they 

 may be. Neither the state nor our rich men have 

 been niggardly. Stephen Girard was born a cen- 



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