70 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 603. 



objects would be increased production, re- 

 duced cost to the public, and no profit to 

 those forming it ? The advantages of care- 

 ful administration in scientific work are 

 illustrated in a plan I detailed at the 

 Franklin bicentenary, a few weeks ago, 

 A telescope of the largest size entails great 

 expense, but might produce a collection of 

 photographs which would furnish useful 

 material for study to half the astronomers 

 of the world. My plan proposed that a 

 reflecting telescope of seven feet aperture 

 should be mounted in the best possible loca- 

 tion, probably in South Africa, and kept 

 at work photographing the sky throughout 

 every clear night. An international com- 

 mittee of astronomers would decide to what 

 special work the instrument should be de- 

 voted, and the photographs, or copies of 

 them, would be distributed throughout the 

 world to any astronomers who would make 

 proper use of them. Copies of any or all 

 of the photographs would be sold at cost 

 to whoever wished for them. An astron- 

 omer of any country, prepared to under- 

 take a particular research, would be fur- 

 nished with the best photographic material 

 that could be obtained in the present con- 

 dition of science. Means would also be 

 provided him for making suitable measure- 

 ments, for reduction of the results, and 

 finally for publication. Any competent 

 astronomer, however isolated, would thus 

 be enabled to carry on his researches amid 

 his own surroundings, as well as if he were 

 at the greatest observatory in the world. 

 The man best qualified to discuss the results 

 often has very little skill, even if he has the 

 time, to take the photographs. Conditions 

 would thus be provided which would give 

 the best results for each portion of the 

 work, as in any well-organized industrial 

 enterprise. The donor would be assured 

 that he had supplied material for study for 

 the most expert astronomers of all coun- 

 tries, instead of for those at a single insti- 



tution. A careful estimate of the cost of 

 carrying out this plan showed that it would 

 be less than half a million dollars, or about 

 one third of 'that of establishing an observa- 

 tory of the first class, like those now ex- 

 isting. 



The greatest problem of all for the com- 

 mittee to consider, and that which would 

 really include all the others, would be to 

 determine which departments of astronomy 

 were being neglected, and which were re- 

 ceiving attention that could better be ap- 

 plied to other subjects. A committee with- 

 out money could accomplish little, but if a 

 moderate sum were placed at its disposal, 

 with the promise of more if it were well 

 expended, astronomical science might be 

 lifted to a new and higher plane. Suppose 

 the subject selected were double stars. 

 Many men of genius have done excellent 

 work with small telescopes and poor mi- 

 crometers. Such men would be supplied 

 with the best instruments they could use 

 to advantage, and money for recorders, 

 computers, and publication, if they de- 

 ' sired it. 



Various systematic examinations of all 

 stars in certain regions, and brighter than 

 a given magnitude, have been made for the 

 discovery of new doubles. This work 

 should be completed for the entire sky, 

 both north and south, according to the 

 same system, and with similar instruments 

 and conditions. A certain minimum num- 

 ber of accurate measures should be obtained 

 of all double stars. Computers of orbits 

 complain that many important objects are 

 neglected, while numerous superfluous ob- 

 servations are made of other less interesting 

 pairs. The committee would communicate 

 with observers, offering aid if they would 

 supply this want. If not, owners of large 

 telescopes would be asked to allow them to 

 be used for this work, the committee fur- 

 nishing the necessary micrometers and em- 

 ploying young astronomers as observers 



