Decembek 1, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



621 



No other pm-pose can be so basic as this one 

 of taking stock and surveying itbe field. It is 

 the most essential business of men acting to- 

 gether. As a corporate function it can stand 

 on its own merits with or without other func- 

 tions. This step is worth while whether an- 

 other is taken or not. This is the answer to the 

 question — What can we do if we do nothing 

 else? What is worth while if we can do only 

 one thing? It is not yet certain to what extent 

 this function will be realized by the council. If 

 it is not satisfactorily performed, then some 

 future president of the United States may have 

 to send out another call as Lincoln did in 1864 

 and as Wilson did in 1916, asking scientifie 

 men to get together and tell us where we are 

 at in science. The function thus described may 

 hereafter be referred to as that of General 

 Survey. Its inevitable complement is the giv- 

 ing out of information. This double function 

 is the basic duty of the Research Information 

 Service. The figurative term "Clearing House" 

 is often used and is not inappixjpriate. 



A second function is ithat of coordinating 

 researches and of inspiring and organizing new 

 ones. It is inevitable that any body of men 

 performing the first function described above 

 will be consulted by others who have problems 

 on hand. About the first question a man asks 

 when face to face with a new problem is : 

 What has been done on this question by others ? 

 Who else is working on it now? If I am will- 

 ing to do my share of a task too big for one 

 man, how can I get the other phases taken 

 dare of? So the organizing and coordinating 

 of work follows so naturally on the clearing 

 house function that it would be difficult to 

 keep out of it. 



A ithird line of activity is found in financuig 

 projects. Not all valuable projects require 

 financing. Much valuable energy needs only 

 organizing and coordinating. The council may 

 be a vital agency with or without the financial 

 function. In the original plan the financial 

 function was nowhere distinctly specified; cer- 

 tainly not regarded as essential. 



It will be well to explain here in just what 

 sense the council or any one of its divisions 

 may be said to be paying out money for re- 



search. (1) The chairmen of the divisions of 

 Science and Technology and other necessary 

 officers are salaried. (2) Within certain limits, 

 traveling expenses are paid. This applies to- 

 officers on duty and to members of divisions 

 and committees in attending certain meetings 

 of their respective bodies; also in some cases 

 to other men invited to participate in confer- 

 ences on problems and projects. (3) A staff, 

 of technical helpers is maintained for the clear- 

 ing house work of the Research Information, 

 Service. (4) When all the expenses of run- 

 ning the organization (not here enumerated) 

 have been paid, there remains a moderate sum- 

 to be allotted in small amounts to committees 

 for the actual expenses of research. For the 

 most part such sums are given merely to clear 

 the way for starting projects which are ex- 

 pected to be otherwise supported. The expres- 

 sion "priming the pump" has been used, and, 

 describes the intention fairly well. 



The great bulk of the money thus far ex- 

 pended under the auspices of the council has 

 been obtained by solicitation by and for the 

 individual division or committee having charge 

 of a project. Generally the donor gives it for 

 a specific purpose. Thus the responsibility 

 for finding the money has been largely on the- 

 men whose project was to be supported. It is 

 necessary to make .this point clear, lest the im- 

 pression should prevail that some men are 

 beneficiaries of the Research Council in a sense 

 that other men are not. There is no scramble 

 to "get in on the deal," for when the pushers 

 of a certain project have gotten in, they are 

 still in large measure responsible for its sup- 

 port. I say "in large measujre" ; it is of course 

 true that .they enjoy the advantage of having 

 their project stamped with the approval of 

 twenty or more representatives of their own 

 science, picked from the nation, and with the 

 further approval of a body representing all 

 sciences, whose business it is to distinguish the 

 most worth while from the merely desirable. 

 In addition to this advantage, there is some- 

 times some actual aid in solicitation by the 

 general officers of the council and a special 

 committee on Funds and Projects. 



These are the only ways in which money is 



