262 THE ATOMIC THEOKY. 



We have seen that the atouiic weights are the fimdaiiieiital eonstants 

 of all exact chemistry, and that they are almost as important also to 

 physics; l)ut the mathematical law which must connect them is still 

 unknown. Every discovery along the line of Dalton's theory is 

 another stone added to his monument, and many such discoveries are 

 yet to be made. 



What, now, is needed? First, every atomic Aveight should be 

 determined with the utmost accuracy, and what Stas did for a few 

 elements ought to be done for all. This work has more than theo- 

 retical signiticance; its practical bearings are many, but it can not be 

 done to the best advantage along esta])lished lines. So far the investi- 

 gators haA'e been a mob of individuals; they need to be organized into 

 an army. 



Collective work, cooperative research, is now denianded, and the 

 men who have hitherto toiled separately should learn to pull together. 

 Ten men, working on a common plan, in touch with one another, can 

 accomplish more in a given tiuic than a hundred solitaries. The prin- 

 ciples at issue are well understood; the methods of research are well 

 established; ])ut the organizing power has not yet appeared. Shall 

 this be a great institution for research. a])le to take up the problems 

 which are too large for individuals to handle, or a voluntary cooper- 

 ation between men who are unselfishly inclined to attempt the work? 

 This question I can not answer; doubtless it will solve itself in time; 

 but I am sure that a method of collective investigation will be found 

 sooner or Liter, and that then the advance of exact knowledge will be 

 more rapid than ever before. When the atomic weights are all accu- 

 rately known, the problem of the nature of the elements will be near 

 its solution. Some of the wealth which chemistry has created might 

 well be expended for this purpose. Who will establish a Dalton labo- 

 ratory for research, and so give the work which he started a permanent 

 home ? 



