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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1394 



among the various distributing societies. This 

 need is especially urgent at the present time 

 owing to the greatly increased cost of paper, 

 printing, binding, and indeed of every item 

 connected with publication, which expense, of 

 course, ultimately falls upon the various so- 

 cieties and their members. The problem, 

 which has already received some attention 

 from those entrusted with the management of 

 the societies referred to, is not without its diffi- 

 culties, but these are not insoluble. There is 

 little doubt that a resolute and unanimous ef- 

 fort to find a solution would meet with success. 



The present high cost of book production, 

 which in the case of specialized books is about 

 three times what it was in 1914, is exercising 

 a most prejudicial effect upon the spread of 

 scientific knowledge. Books on science are not 

 generally among the "best sellers." They ap- 

 peal to a comparatively limited and not par- 

 ticularly wealthy public, largely composed of 

 the professional classes who have suffered in 

 no small measure from the economic effects 

 of the war. The present high price of this 

 class of literature is to the public detriment. 

 Eventually it is no less to the detriment of 

 the printing and publishing ti-ades. Publish- 

 ers are well aware of this fact, and attempts 

 are being made by discussions between employ- 

 ers and the executives of the Typographical 

 Association and other societies of compositors 

 to reach an equitable solution, and it is greatly 

 to be hoped that it will be speedily found. 



All thinking men are agreed that science is 

 at the basis of national progress. Science can 

 only develop by research. Research is the 

 mother of discovery, and discovery of inven- 

 tion. The industrial position of a nation, its 

 manufactures and commerce, and ultimately 

 its wealth, depend upon invention. Its welfare 

 and stability largely rest upon the equitable 

 distribution of its wealth. All this seems so ob- 

 vious, and has been so frequently and so con- 

 vincingly stated, that it is superfluous to dwell 

 upon it in a scientific gathering to-day. 



A late distinguished admiral, you may re- 

 member, insisted on the value of reiteration. 

 On this particular question it was never more 

 needed than now. The crisis through which 



we have recently passed requires it in the in- 

 terests of national welfare. Of all post-war 

 problems to engage our serious attention, none 

 is more important in regard to our position and 

 continued existence than the nation's attitude 

 toward science and scientific research, and 

 there is no more opportune time than the 

 present in which to seek to enforce the teach- 

 ing of one of the most pregnant lessons of our 

 late experience. 



It is, unfortunately, only too true that the 

 industrial world has in the past underrated the 

 value of research. One indication that the 

 nation is at length aroused to its importance 

 is to be seen in the establishment of the De- 

 partment of Scientific and Industrial Re- 

 search, with its many subordinate associations. 

 The outbreak of the Great War, and much in 

 its subsequent history, revealed, as we all 

 know, many national shortcomings, due to our 

 indifference to and actual neglect of many 

 things which are at the root of our prosperity 

 and security. During the war, and at its close, 

 various attempts, more or less unconnected, 

 were made to find a remedy. Of the several 

 committees and boards which were set up, 

 those which still exist have now been coordi- 

 nated, and brought under the control of a 

 central organization — the Department of Sci- 

 entific and Industrial Research. Research 

 has now become a national and state-aided ob- 

 ject. For the first time in our history its pur- 

 suit with us has been organized by government 

 action. As thus organized it seeks to fulfil 

 the aspirations to which I have referred, whilst 

 meeting many of the objections which have 

 been urged against the endowment of research. 

 It must be recognized that modern ideas of 

 democracy are adverse to the creation of places 

 to which definite work is not assigned and 

 from which definite results do not emanate. 

 This objection, which strikes at the root of 

 the establishment of such an institution as Sir 

 David Brewster contemplated, is, to a large ex- 

 tent, obviated by the scheme of the Department 

 of Scientific and Industrial Research. It does 

 not prescribe or fetter research, but, whilst 

 aiding by personal payments the individual 

 worker, leaves him free to pursue his inquiry 



