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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1140 



without any chance of stimulus by personal 

 contact with investigators and so allow their 

 interest to die. 



It is becoming more and more certain that 

 amongst other bad features of our " educa- 

 tional system " there is a growing tendency 

 to formation of caste distinctions. The high- 

 school teacher to some extent assumes an ex- 

 clusive air toward the grade teacher, the uni- 

 versity teacher toward the high-school teacher. 

 "Within the universities teachers without 

 doctor's degrees sometimes find an embarrass- 

 ing attitude among .their own fellows. A 

 newly fledged doctor sometimes considers him- 

 self superior to an older man with a lower 

 degree. 



If the universities can not possibly grant 

 higher degrees for extramural work, no matter 

 how valuable, may it not be possible to devise 

 a method by which recognition and encourage- 

 ment may be given to those doing effective re- 

 search not technically recognizable under uni- 

 versity rules. Could a national council be as- 

 sembled to confer some mark of merit upon 

 such people? Could a society somewhat like 

 Sigma Xi be formed for such a purpose? If 

 something could be done and a high but rea- 

 sonable standard maintained, a man with such 

 recognition might stand as high or even higher 

 amongst scientists than the mere doctor. For 

 is not achievement in the face of adversity of 

 greater value than achievement with every 

 facility granted? Is not the man who can do 

 much with little better than the man who must 

 have much in order to do at all? 



I am perfectly aware that the easy-chair 

 type of university man will sneer at such a 

 proposal, but I feel sure that there is truth in 

 my contention. I know some one will say 

 that proper research can not be done with poor 

 equipment. Much of the finest research ever 

 done in any and every line has been done with 

 poor equipment and such things might happen 

 again. The man with poor equipment some- 

 times makes up in resourcefulness for far 

 more than the fine equipment that another 

 may have. Then too there are many problems 

 yet to be solved which do not demand expen- 

 sive or elaborate equipment. 



I also anticipate the objection that stand- 

 ards would be hard to fix or sustain for such 

 recognition as I have suggested. The results 

 could scarcely be worse than they are for the 

 doctor's degree. I know one state superintend- 

 ent of public instruction who flourishes a Ph.D. 

 without ever doing any graduate work. In 

 another case a man boasts of the way in which 

 he manipulated credits through two of our 

 best known universities so as to get the degree 

 in two years. In two cases I have heard about 

 the thesis for the degree was repudiated by the 

 department in which the work was done almost 

 as soon as published. A national council would 

 certainly do no worse than this. 



So far as I am personally concerned I am 

 determined to go on with such research as I 

 can whether I get any sort of recognition or 

 not, but my own situation has made me think 

 deeply on the matter and I have finally con- 

 cluded that something could be done to at least 

 encourage isolated workers if scientific leaders 

 cared to do so. W. E. Allen 



Fresno High School, 

 Fresno, Calif. 



science in the service of the nation 



The suggestion contained in The Scientific 

 Monthly for September, 1916 (p. 310), that 

 the National Research Council's proposal to 

 help " render the United States independent 

 of foreign sources of supply liable to be 

 affected by war," but failure to propose any- 

 thing looking toward the cooperation of our 

 nation with other nations in producing sup- 

 plies, might not meet the approval of all scien- 

 tific men, is well taken. 



That science is in for a period of criticism, 

 even condemnation, because of the part it is 

 playing in the modern war game is indicated 

 by mutterings to this effect heard in diverse 

 quarters. How is the charge to be met? 



The mere pointing to what science can do 

 through medicine and other instrumentalities 

 to relieve somewhat the horrors and destruc- 

 tion of war, is clearly not enough. Something 

 more than repair work is needed. 



So universal and impersonal are the prin- 

 ciples and methods with which science works,. 



