THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NATIONAL PROGRESS. 



NEW KNOWLEDGE IMPARTS NEW POWER. 



PREFACE. 



As there exists at the present time in this country a con- 

 siderable degree of uneasiness in the public mind respecting 

 our ability to maintain our position in the race of progress, 

 and as our future success as a nation depends largely upon 

 science, it is desirable to call attention to the great public 

 importance of new scientific knowledge, and to the means of 

 promoting its development. 



Although the illustrations given in this book of the im- 

 portance of such knowledge to mankind, constitute but a 

 small fraction of the number which might be adduced, they 

 are sufficient to show that by the neglect of scientific investi- 

 gation, we are sacrificing our welfare as a nation to an 

 enormous extent. 



The greatest obstacle to the discovery of new knowledge 

 in this country, lies in a wide spread ignorance of the de- 

 pendence of human welfare upon scientific research. I 

 propose therefore to show in a brief manner, that the 

 essential starting-point of human progress, lies in scientific 

 discovery ; also that new truths are evolved by original re- 

 search made in accordance with scientific methods ; and to 

 illustrate these statements by examples ; also to point out 

 how such research can be encouraged. 



