April 9, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



357 



every worthy researcli undertaking, unless its 

 opinion of the enterprise has first been sought 

 by the government or other agency concerned. 

 But this division vrill always hold itself in 

 readiness to help any member of these asso- 

 ciations, so far as it can, by supplying desired 

 information and particularly by bringing the 

 research worker in touch with other investi- 

 gators who are engaged on identical or over- 

 lapping problems. 



One reason why Germany, fighting against 

 the world, was able to stave off defeat for four 

 long years, is that she had to a remarkable de- 

 gree mobilized her scientific brains. To the 

 same marvellously planned and coordinated de- 

 velopment of science in its applications to pro- 

 duction, is traceable the world leadership she 

 had won in many phases of industry. 



What Germany was able to do under an au- 

 tocratic regime in the way of fostering scien- 

 tific investigation and making the results of 

 research in pure and ajyplied science of value 

 to government and industry, it is distinctly up 

 to America to do in a democratic way. 



E. B. Woods, the distinguished sociologist, 

 observing the trends of human progress, re- 

 cently remarked, " The past fifty years have 

 belonged to the men who could organize mate- 

 rial production, but the present and the future 

 belong to those who can organize men." He 

 was evidently thinking of the organization of 

 activities in public affairs, in religion, in busi- 

 ness and manufacture, in labor relations, and 

 in all movements for human betterment. A 

 third group of leaders to whom both of these 

 groups will turn for guidance consists of those 

 who can organize ideas. I conceive it as a 

 prime function of the E"ational Eesearch Coun- 

 cil to organize American men of science for 

 multiplied productivity in the organiza.tion of 

 idgias. To such a program of cooperative ef- 

 fort within the enormously important branches 

 of the sciences of man, the Division of Anthro- 

 pology and Psychology of the National Re- 

 search Council is dedicated. 



W. V. Bingham 



Washington, D. C. 



THE TECHNOLOGY PLAN 



The Technology Plan is an organized at- 

 tempt to effect a closer cooperation between 

 scientific and industrial effort; between the 

 technical school and the individual industry 

 throughout the country. Although a working 

 relationship between educational institutions 

 and industrial organizations has been dis- 

 cussed at great length, and on many occasions, 

 little real practical progress has as yet been 

 made. 



The Technology Plan recognizes that for the 

 present, at least, there must exist somewhere in 

 this scheme of cooperation an element of in- 

 dividual and mutual responsibility on the part 

 of those engaged in it. It recognizes that a 

 purely philanthropic enterprise does not en- 

 gender in the managers of industry that con- 

 fidence which is an essential element in its 

 success. Such men are not yet deeply inter- 

 ested in a strictly pro bono publico method of 

 cooperative work. Hence, the Technology 

 Plan is neither eleemosynary in organization 

 nor philanthropic in its aims and methods. 



The essential feature of the plan is an agree- 

 ment, expressed as a contract, between indi- 

 vidual industrial organizations and the Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology, under which 

 the industry pays an annual retaining fee to 

 the institute, in return for which the institute 

 assumes certain definite obligations of such a 

 character as it is in position to meet. These 

 obligations are in very general terms as fol- 

 lows: 



The great demand of the industries to-day 

 is for men trained to solve the many problems 

 with which these industries are confronted. 

 This requires, first, a knowledge of the prin- 

 ciples of science, and second, a training in the 

 application of this knowledge to the solution of 

 the ever-recurring difficulties. While the first 

 requirement is reasonably well met by the 

 undergraduate courses of instruction at the 

 institute, only to a limited extent can the sec- 

 ond be obtained in the four years allotted to 

 undergraduate work. The student must be 

 encouraged to spend an additional year or 

 more in a research laboratory or advanced 

 study. Since the best way to learn an art is 



