NATIONAL GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—-RANSOME. 267 
and secure appropriations for scientific research by being absolutely 
frank and making no attempt to show that the results of the work 
would be what the average man would term “useful” within the 
immediate future. His confidence was possibly well grounded, but I 
am inclined to think that the success gained by him was rather a 
tribute to his earnest eloquence and winning personality than a proof 
that the people are yet ready to contribute their taxes to the support 
of investigations that, so far as they can see, are neither useful nor 
interesting. | 
| CHARACTER OF COMPROMISES. 
Lest it be supposed that I am advocating the surrender of the high 
ideals of science to the political business of vote getting, I hasten to 
point out that surrender and compromise are not synonymous and 
may be very far apart. Some compromise there must be, but in my 
opinion the most delicate and critical problem in the direction of a 
national scientific bureau is to determine the nature and extent of 
this compromise so as to obtain the largest and steadiest support of 
real research with the least sacrifice. Complete surrender to popu- 
larity may mean large initial support but is sure to be followed by 
deterioration in the spirit of the organization and in the quality of 
its work, by loss of scientific prestige, and by final bankruptcy even 
in that popular favor which had been so sedulously cultivated. 
The extent to which concessions must be made will depend largely, 
of course, upon the general level of intelligence of the people and 
upon the degree to which the less intelligent are influenced through 
the press and other channels by those who are able to appreciate the 
value of science... The more enlightened the people the more general 
and permanent will be their support of science. 
IMPORTANCE OF POPULAR. EDUCATION IN GEOLOGY. 
This leads us to the consideration of what I believe to be one of the 
most important of the functions of a government scientific bureau, 
namely, education. Of all forms of concession, if needed it is really 
a concession, this is the least. objectionable and most fruitful. Its 
results are constructive and cumulative. It is not, like other conces- 
sions to popularity, corrosive of the scientific spirit of an organiza- 
tion, and in so far as it calls for clear thinking and attractive presen- 
tation by those who put it into practice, as well as the ability to grasp 
and expound essentials, its educational effect may be subjective no 
less than objective. Whatever may be true of those engaged in other 
sciences, geologists in this country have shown little interest. in popu- 
larizing their ‘science or in encouraging its pursuit by amateurs. 
Such attempts as have been made have often been inept and unsuc- 
