December 1, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



623 



handle their donations. If the measure of use- 

 fulness of a division is found in the funds it 

 handles, this would be discouraging. If, on 

 the other hand, the division is primarily inter- 

 ested in seeing the science advance, the situa- 

 tion may be quite ideal. Illustraitions might 

 be given of projects first fostered by the Divi- 

 sion of Geology and Geography and then 

 "turned over" to other agencies. 



Is there anything in the field of Geology 

 analogous to the interests which manufac- 

 turers have in the improvement of production 

 through study of fundamental principles'? 

 Oould mining men be asked to get together and 

 finance a study of structural geology or geo- 

 chemistry? To put down the answers which 

 these questions suggest would take more space 

 than is permitted. The most obvious answers 

 would not encourage such hopes for the ion- 

 mediate future. 



Can we appeal to men on the basis of pure 

 public spirit or scientific interest? Certainly 

 Geography does this, if exploration may be 

 called geographic investigation. It is quite 

 true that money thus donated might not gen- 

 erally pass through the hands of the National 

 Research Council, but that is a mere detail so 

 long as the Council inspires the undertaking. 



Almost the same may be said of state and 

 federal funds. Little if any of this will ap- 

 pear on the accounts of our division, but it 

 would 'be surprising and ought to be disap- 

 pointing if we do not influence the work of 

 official surveys even to the extent of inducing 

 them in some cases to take up definite projects. 



The general impression from such a casual 

 analysis might be that our division can not 

 well expect bo be asked to administer large 

 donations for geologic research. More lai-gely 

 than any other science, Gieology is regarded as 

 a governmental function and no one likes to 

 subscribe to a governmental deficit. An ob- 

 server from the outside might say that Geology 

 is already pretty well supported. Of course 

 geologists know it is not. But ours is not the 

 only family whose poverty is known better 

 inside than outside. 



As for Geology in private employ, largely 

 in mining and drilling, there remains a pecu- 

 liar assumption of private interest and the 



value of secrecy. The pooling of interests to 

 suppont researches in basic problems has not 

 gone so far among mining men as among steel 

 manufacturers, as the Research Council and 

 the Engineering Foundation have good reason 

 to know. 



On the other hand the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey and some state surveys, despite 

 all we say when our humor is bad, do provide 

 deliberately for some research in pure science, 

 and the by-product of pure science from both 

 public and private work is large. The nature 

 and amount of such by-products is determined 

 largely by individual interests, as it should be. 

 But it would be all folly to deny that there is 

 much fine enthusiasm resulting in scattered 

 and sometimes fruitless effort; mere lost mo- 

 tion. There are strategic points and timely 

 moves in science as in war. The kind of 

 guidance that comes from cooperation and the 

 fullest possible knowledge of what others are 

 doing ought to be profitable. Can the Re- 

 search Council supply' these elements ? 



The situation here referred to is exemx)lified 

 in the work of our committee on Sedimenta- 

 tion. A few years ago it was tacitly assumed 

 that the manner of origin of sedimentary rocks 

 was completely stated in our elementary texts. 

 Then individual workers began to raise ques- 

 tions. Interest appeared at many points and 

 contributions began. When the Research 

 Council was reorganized on a peace basis one 

 of the first demands made on this division was 

 that it organize the study of Sedimentation. 

 The result has been a tripling of the work and, 

 better still, a conscious planning to send work- 

 ers into the darkest parts of the field. Other 

 sciences have been drawn on for assistance. Men 

 have been newly inspired by finding that their 

 own little studies were highly useful in a big 

 problem. The work may go on a few years 

 more. There is little doubt that, fifty years 

 hence, men will point back to itihe decade em- 

 bracdng these researches as a time in which the 

 study of sedimentary rocks was raised to a 

 new soientiflc level. 



Now a point to be emphasized is that the 

 Research Council is paying out no money for 

 this research except for occasional conferences. 

 The work is being done by skilfully appropri- 



