July 18, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



55 



Within each well-defined field of science, 

 where cooperative projects of the kind I have 

 indicated are in operation, there should be 

 and naturally would be provided a general 

 coordinating board of strong, aggressive but 

 tactful leaders, small in numbers, but alert 

 and far seeing, who would guide, not direct, 

 the effective organization and development of 

 the cooperative idea. 



Such a board must be constituted through 

 the free and well considered choice of a demo- 

 cratic electorate. I believe that the plan 

 which will insure most satisfactory and effec- 

 tive results is the selection of a leader by vote 

 of all the cooperating workers in the field. 

 The leader to select, subject to their approval 

 the remaining members of the board. The 

 size of the board, tenure of oiEce and other 

 details of a like nature are of relatively little 

 importance so long as they remain subject to 

 the control of a live democracy. 



To hold that such a program as I have here 

 outlined can be carried through easily and 

 without difficulties would be to acknowledge 

 ignorance of human nature. The selfishness 

 of individuals has always been the chief ob- 

 stacle to cooperative undertakings and selfish 

 ambition is not uncommon among scientific 

 men. Yet the measure of the success of true 

 democracy will always be the extent to which 

 this human weakness is suppressed and elimi- 

 nated. Cooperation among scientists for the 

 solution of problems must come. In no other 

 way shall we be able to rise to the demands 

 and the opportunities of the age. The pioneer 

 days of science are largely over and progress 

 is to be made only by organized and united 

 effort. Why shall not the botanists of Amer- 

 ica lead? Already one group among us has 

 indicated the possibilities in this direction. 

 Botany in its broadest sense must justify itself 

 in an economic world even as chemistry is do- 

 ing and there is no want for opportunities. 

 Colleagues shall we organize, shall we co- 

 operate, shall we coordinate, and shall we show 

 the way? 



H. H. Whetzel 



Chairman op the War Emergency Board 

 OF American Plant Pathologists, 

 Cornell TIniversity 



ON DUTY-FREE IMPORTATION 



Before the great war, the practise of im- 

 porting duty free many things required by 

 educational institutions had become so thor- 

 oughly established as to be regarded as part of 

 the normal course of events. What had first 

 been regarded as a special privilege came to 

 be looked upon as a special right; and insti- 

 tutions, justly or unjustly, considered them- 

 selves entitled to purchase anything required 

 for their maintenance in the lowest world 

 market and to do this quite regardless of any 

 conditions of high tariff or low tariff. Pro- 

 hibitive tariff; protective tariff; tariff for rev- 

 enue only had little or no interest for them. 

 " Made in Germany," " Made in Japan," 

 " Made in England," were more familiar in- 

 scriptions on laboratory apparatus than 

 " Made in America." 



In August, 1914, duty-free importation was 

 stopped and now for the first time it is pos- 

 sible to resume it again. The question of 

 whether or not it is desirable to do so is to the 

 mind of the writer a pertinent one. 



That it was the part of wisdom and good 

 policy in the early days of our country when 

 " higher education " was represented by a few 

 denominational institutions, mainly supported 

 by private contributions to grant them the 

 privilege of importing without duty the in- 

 struments necessary for their research, is be- 

 yond question. 



Science was practically unknown in -this 

 country; in fact, science as we know it to-day 

 was almost unknown in the world. The 

 amount of apparatus required by all the world 

 was but a small fraction of that now utilized 

 by America alone. An astronomical telescope, 

 a compound microscope, a spectroscope was a 

 rare instrument for which the world must be 

 sought over, and having located an instrument 

 of scientific interest, what more natural than 

 that the pioneers of science in this country 

 should be allowed to import it duty free? 

 They were furthering the development of sci- 

 ence and education and helping to create the 

 demand that now exists for enormous quanti- 

 ties of such instruments, many of which have 

 developed entirely out of the class of scientific 



