May 1, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



637 



services from such members. For example, a 

 government department wishes for expert ad- 

 vice on some matter — it ought to form a com- 

 mission of its ov7n and honestly pay the expert 

 members of it. Instead of doing this the 

 government department goes to some learned 

 society and asks it to advise on the scientific 

 question at issue. The society is honored by 

 the request, and obtains the advice gratis from 

 its ovm members. Thus the government gets 

 what it requires for nothing ; the learned body 

 is overpowered with the honor rendered to it; 

 and the unfortunate worker is the loser. Such 

 action is very common; unpaid government 

 committees are now becoming the rule, and 

 even reimbursement of traveling expenses is 

 often boggled at. We heard the other day of 

 a man who was actually found fault with for 

 not attending a committee of this nature for 

 which he was not paid. In other words, the 

 state exploits the man of science on account 

 of his enthusiasm for his work and his patriot- 

 ism. The thing might be excused if the state 

 were to give large funds for scientific work, but 

 as it does not do so such action is extraordi- 

 nary in its meanness and impropriety. 



Many similar points may be cited. The 

 board of education expends annually an enor- 

 mous sum, amounting to nearly twenty mil- 

 lions a year, on low-class education; but what 

 does it do for the greatest of educators — sci- 

 ence, literature, art, drama, exploration, dis- 

 covery, invention? As was pointed out in the 

 last issue of Science Progress^ the patent acts 

 do not cover those whom they should most 

 carefully protect, namely the men upon whose 

 investigations nearly all inventions are 

 founded. Quite recently the House of Com- 

 mons has given itself payment amounting to 

 over a quarter of a million pounds a year. 

 Perhaps this is quite right; but may we not 

 ask whether a small fraction of the money, 

 properly devoted to scientific investigation in 

 many lines, would not be of much greater 

 benefit to the people than are the wranglings 

 of party politicians over questions which will 

 never be honestly decided because they are 

 never honestly considered? Still more re- 

 cently the state has given, very wisely, £57,000 



a year out of the insurance fund for medical 

 researches. It was suggested at the committee 

 which organized the management of this 

 expenditure that a large prize should be 

 available out of the fund for important dis- 

 coveries; but the money actually offered has 

 now been reduced to a maximum of £1,000. 

 In other words, if a private medical man were 

 to discover the means of prevention or cure of 

 tuberculosis or cancer — which he would not be 

 likely to do without spending years of study 

 over the theme, and probably losing his prac- 

 tise in consequence of his work — ^his only re- 

 ward would be £1,000! The discoverer will not 

 be paid; and yet the country hopes to have 

 discoveries achieved! And this brings us to 

 what is really the crowning defect of the 

 national attitude towards high effort of such 

 kinds, namely, that it makes no attempt what- 

 ever to pay for any benefits, however great, 

 which it receives from individuals. A success- 

 ful soldier may indeed receive a handsome 

 donation, and many politicians obtain large 

 pensions; but the highest services in the 

 domains of science, literature and art are not 

 deserving of reward! 



The net result may of course be foretold 

 from these data. There is much petty science, 

 petty literature and petty art; but the more 

 arduous labors which require the devotion of a 

 lifetime are becoming increasingly difficult. 

 The man of science is now exactly in the 

 position in which writers and inventors found 

 themselves before the copyright and patent 

 acts were passed. He is never the master in 

 his own house; he is the slave to institutions 

 which " run him " for what he is worth ; and 

 is seldom able to spend his time in the exer- 

 cise of the lofty gift which nature has given 

 him. Still worse, the most capable minds are 

 at the outset turned away from fields in which 

 their efforts are likely to be of the highest 

 value to humanity. 



All this really springs from the curious and 

 stupid attitude of the public towards all 

 forms of intellectual effort. It seems to take 

 no interest in such effort. Politics, game- 

 playing and picture-shows are the things which 

 amuse it. The great worker is a mere book- 



