606 
good, bad and indifferent activities, Germany 
attracted a great deal of attention and we are 
fortunate in having for study a case so well 
developed and (now) so well understood. 
It can not be claimed that scientific ability 
per capita was higher in native-born Teutons 
than among other civilized races, yet it is 
doubtless true that the scientific and technical 
output was greater in proportion to population 
in Germany than in any other country and 
that the prestige she attained in science, tech- 
nology and in her industries was truly remark- 
able. In this discrepancy between native 
ability, achievement and reputation lies the 
key to the whole problem of securing national 
prestige in achievement. 
More than that of any other nationality 
perhaps, the Teuton mind had the faculty of 
intensive application. A specific problem oc- 
cupies it to the exclusion of almost everything 
else. While we are prone to work a few 
hours, then turn to something else or run off 
to play, the Teuton eats and sleeps with his 
problem, takes little interest in anything else, 
talks shop with his colleagues and does not 
completely relax even in his limited recreation. 
Our own most eminent scientists, although by 
no means our most richly endowed, are men 
who have continued in one line of work year 
after year and who carry a group of problems 
with them everywhere. 
We Americans are as ready as any to see 
_ and to attack difficult and important scientific 
problems. . Nor do we lack the incentive and 
application necessary to obtain results. What 
we do lack is the “follow through” to thor- 
oughly search out and master a problem in all 
its details, generalities and side issues before 
turning our attention to new problems. To 
minds teeming with ideas all clamoring for 
attention, it is not easy to ignore the many 
that a few may receive fuller attention. How- 
ever it is obviously necessary to correct this 
tendency to scattered effort if we are to attain 
our full measure of national prestige. 
The Teutons were further the most prolific 
writers of scientific and technical literature in 
recent years. Our libraries were filled with 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Von. XLVIII, No. 1251 
their journals and reference books, and, being 
available in such profusion, our chemists and 
physicists constantly consulted them and grew 
to regard them as authoritative and indis- 
pensable. From our own point of view, print- 
ing was simply less expensive in Germany, 
new journals were easily started and books 
were readily. accepted for publication on a 
narrow margin of profit. Many a struggling 
scientist eked out a meager salary by com- 
piling and writing reference books when such 
would not be attempted in this country by men 
of equal ability. Our publishers require a far 
greater margin and our experts are too busy 
to do much writing. Our few good journals 
are crowded with material for publication 
months in advance. However distasteful it 
may be, publish we must if we are to be re- 
garded as leaders. 
Alien students, university professors and 
technical men working in Germany have 
added greatly in building up her scientific 
prestige. These aliens in Germany represented 
fully ten per cent. in each class—clear “ velvet ” 
to her and a corresponding loss to their own 
countries. The alien students came in about 
equal numbers from Russia, England and the 
United States with a scattered representation 
from Scandinavia, Switzerland and Japan but 
there were hardly any French or other Latins. 
No special inducements were offered alien stu- 
dents but matriculation was easy while fees and 
living expenses were very moderate—hardly 
half those at Cambridge or Oxford. The in- 
struction itself was hardly worth any special 
effort but it was accessible and it differed 
from the home product. This country has 
drawn quite a number of students of engineer- 
ing and science from Latin America, Japan 
and China with a few from Russia, Germany 
and Holland, but with inflexible entrance re- 
quirements and moderately high living ex- 
penses, alien attendance at our universities 
has not been large. 
German universities drew freely upon for- 
eign countries for their instructors. Their bud- 
get system is extremely flexible compared with 
ours and they drew men freely from Russia, 
