576 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1355 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE BRITISH NATIONAL UNION OF 

 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS 



The annual meeting of the council of the 

 National Union of Scientific "Workers was 

 held at King's College on November 13. We 

 learn from Nature that in his address Dr. J. 

 W. Evans, the retiring president, dealt with 

 the subject of " Eeseareh at the Universities." 

 Dr. Evans paid a tribute to the achievements 

 of scientific workers during the war, and 

 pointed out that the task ahead of them was 

 of even greater consequence and allowed of no 

 relaxation of effort. After summarizing the 

 activities of the Department of Scientific and 

 Industrial Eeseareh, he expressed dissatisfac- 

 tion with the present attitude of this depart- 

 ment towards the scientific and technical fac- 

 ulties of the universities. He considered that 

 a teaching staff engaged in research work, both 

 in pxire science and in its applications to in- 

 dustry, was in a more favorable position to 

 discover and develop new principles than re- 

 search workers isolated and restricted in the 

 laboratories of research associations of even 

 government research institutions. In conclu- 

 sion, Dr. Evans urged the importance of uni- 

 versities including in any course in science 

 some training in research methods. This he 

 embodied in a resolution which was supported 

 by Professor Soddy, who stated that Professor 

 Perkin had already applied- this principle to 

 the chemistry courses at Oxford University. 

 Chemistry students there had shown by their 

 enthusiasm how much the change was appre- 

 ciated. 



Continuing, Professor Soddy said that since 

 the president had prepared his address there 

 had been a compl'cation brought about by a 

 request from the War Office that the universi- 

 ties should undertake research into the devel- 

 opment to the utmost extent of chemical war- 

 fare research for offensive and defensive pur- 

 poses. He expressed the view that it was a- 

 matter that must inevitably be considered, 

 sooner or later, by the union. It ought to be 

 considered before rather than after the occa- 

 sion arose. He was glad that the executive 



of the union had already decided to appoint a 

 committee to go into the whole question. 



The resolution disapproving of the policy of 

 the Department of Scientific and Industrial 

 Research, in establishing and financing re- 

 search associations, which hands over to the 

 private use of profit-seeking monopolies valu- 

 able knowledge obtained at the expense of tho 

 whole community, and places the research as- 

 sociations in a position to exploit the scientific 

 workers of the country for their own benefit, 

 was carried unanimously. Professor Soddy 

 stated that the government had capitulated to 

 the big business interests in polities and de- 

 parted altogether from its original intentions. 

 There was no greater example of unfair com- 

 petition than in the chemical industries. 



Mr. A. A. Griffith, in moving a resolution 

 that for the present Advisory Council of the 

 department should be substituted a council 

 elected on different principles pointed out that 

 there could be little effective criticism of the 

 department imder the existing arrangement 

 whereby the government practically appointed 

 its own critics. It was certain that a council 

 part of which was elected by democratically 

 constituted scientific organizations would re- 

 sult in more careful scrutiny and criticism of 

 the acts of the department. 



A resolution by Mr. F. A. Potts to the 

 effect that scientific workers employed as 

 whole-time officials in government depart- 

 ments should enjoy status and pay not less 

 than those enjoyed by the administrative class 

 of civil servants was carried unanimously. 



Professor Leonard Bairstow was elected 

 president for the ensuing year. 



PLANT PATHOLOGY AT THE BROOKLYN 

 BOTANIC GARDEN 



In the ninth annual report of the Brooklyn 

 Botanic Garden for 1919 attention was called 

 to the need in this country of additional pro- 

 vision for fundamental research in plant dis- 

 eases, and to the desirability of establishing at 

 the garden a laboratory or institution of plant 

 pathology. This institution is strategically 

 located for the prosecution of certain phases 

 of plant disease research since it is at the 



