June 2, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



595 



portant scientific discovery is made, we devote 

 a special article to it, generally in the form of 

 an. interview with either the discoverer himself 

 or the greatest available authority on the sub- 

 ject, and all such interviews are revised by the 

 man interviewed and not jirinted until he has 

 given them his 0. K. In other cases, the facts 

 are taken from a book or article written by the 

 discoverer and are presented as his sa3'-so and 

 not as ours. 



Quite recently we have received from some 

 of the most eminent scientists in the world let- 

 ters heartily congratulating us on the way in 

 which we have presented articles that had spe- 

 cially interested them. I recall one from the 

 late Professor BaskerviUe, another from Pro- 

 fessor Milllikan, and the most recent of all are 

 from Dr. L. 0. Howard of the U. S. Bureau 

 of Agriculture and Professor E. L. Bouvier of 

 Paris on a page review of the latter's book 

 on the "Psychic Life of Insects," translated by 

 the former, both of whom are enthusiastic in 

 their congratulations. 



I venture to ask if you can find fault with 

 Mr. Arthur Benington's article "The Chemists' 

 Battle with Death" on page 2 of our magazine 

 section of Sunday, April 9? Is there anything 

 in that which is lax, inaccurate or "falsified"? 

 Is this a "hoax"? If so, the hoax is not ours, 

 but that of the leading chemists of the United 

 States. I might ask the same question about 

 dozens of articles we have published within the 

 last few years. 



That there are newspapers which publish 

 fake science, I know as Avell as you, and that 

 there are scientists who lend their names to 

 such fakes — at a price — you ought to know as 

 well as I. But, in condemning the few fakers, 

 it is unfair and unjust to condemn also those 

 which are honestly striving to interest and in- 

 form the general public on scientific affairs. 



I sympathize with Mr. Slosson in his diffi- 

 culty of finding men with the ability to write 

 on scientific matters for the general reader. I 

 have had the same difficulty, 'but I flatter myself 

 that I have a few men on the staff of the Sun- 

 day World whose knowledge of science may not 

 be that of specialists, but is, what is far more 

 valuable, broad, thorough and comprehensive. 



and to this knowledge they unite an ability to 

 convey to the man in the street a good idea of 

 even the most abstruse subjects — witness, for 

 example, our exposition of the Einstein theory, 

 which was the best really popular article on the 

 subject that it has been my good fortune to 

 read. My long experience proves to me that the 

 worst writers on scientific subjects are scientific 

 men, for the reason that they do not know how 

 to make their writings interesting and it is 

 manifestly futile to publish uninteresting arti- 

 cles, for no one will read them. 



J. O'H. COSGBAVE, 



The World, Sunday Editor 



New York City 



THE UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ 

 To THE Editor op Science: A letter was 

 received by me some time ago, the English 

 translation of which runs as follows : 

 Uuiversity of Graz, Austria. 

 Institute for Plant Physiology. 



Dear Colleague: ^"^■'''^' January 22-22. 



Due to the collapse of our exchange, the con- 

 dition of science in this country is getting worse 

 every day. This fact brings back to me the 

 promise you gave me last fall, at the laboratory 

 of Dr. Went (Utrecht, Holland). You promised 

 me to send, after your return to the United States, 

 the Botanical Abstracts, possibly also reprints of 

 anatomical and physiological work. 



I am forced to bring this conversation to your 

 remembrance because I am unable to see any 

 other way to obtain American literature. The 

 value of the Austrian crown is so deeply de- 

 pressed that the rate of exchange, even with Ger- 

 many, is 60-70 crowns pro mark. To buy foreign 

 literature is of course out of the question. The 

 University of Vienna enjoys the support of many 

 iinancially influential persons. Our small univer- 

 sity in Graz, however, lacks any such support. 

 It is even difficult to produce enough energy re- 

 quired for scientific endeavor. 



My short stay with Dr. Wont has shown to me 

 clearly the hopeless position of our Austrian 

 institutes. 



Nothing will describe the situation better than 

 the following statement: my (recently increased) 

 annual income is about twelve thousand crowns 

 (about $1.40). I hope you will not feel offended 

 when, under such circumstances, I bring back to 



