January 31, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



163 



ness contributes. That discovery must pre- 

 cede application is obvious ; that systematic 

 knowledge outranks empiricism is also 

 clearly true; but theory and practice react 

 upon each other, and it is only when they 

 work harmoniously side by side that the 

 best results are attainable. The purist in 

 science too often overlooks this fact, and 

 fails to recognize his enormous debt to in- 

 dustry. The commercial demand for 

 chemical data was an important factor in 

 the establishment of our profession, and 

 from it we derive a large part of our re- 

 sources. At bottom, however, the demand 

 is essentially selfish; and the manufacturer 

 who seeks chemical aid, nay, even the tech- 

 nical chemist himself, is not uncommonly 

 forgetful of his obligations to pure re- 

 search. Every chemical occupation is 

 based upon discoveries which were made 

 without thought of material profit, and 

 which sprang from investigations under- 

 taken in the interests of truth alone. Even 

 theory, which the ignorant worker affects 

 to despise, has its place in the economic 

 world, and the indebtedness of the coal-tar 

 industry to Kekule can hardly be over- 

 estimated. Without theory science is im- 

 possible; we should have, instead, only a 

 chaotic anarchy of disconnected facts, a 

 body -without a soul. Theory is to science 

 what discipline is to an army; it implies 

 system, method and the intelKgent direc- 

 tion of affairs; it is the coordination of 

 knowledge, through which the experience 

 of others becomes best available to us. The 

 victories of research are rarely accidental; 

 if they were, then the untrained tyro would 

 have an equal chance of success with the 

 greatest masters. Among ourselves, these 

 considerations may be commonplace, but 

 they are opposed by certain popular mis- 

 conceptions which hinder our advancement 

 and work mischief to our cause. Cui bono 

 is the one question which science cannot 

 ask. 



Pour agencies have been chiefly instru- 

 mental in building up the chemical struc- 

 ture of to-day, namely, private enterprise, 

 the commercial demand, governmental re- 

 quirements, and the extension of scientific 

 teaching in the universities. Under the 

 first of these headings the foundations of 

 chemistry were laid, and the researches of 

 Cavendish upon the composition of the at- 

 mosphere, may be taken as types of the 

 class. Unfortunately, hoAvever, the men 

 who combine the requisites of wealth, leis- 

 ure, the inclination and the ability for 

 scientific investigation are few in number, 

 and the output of their labors is relatively 

 small. Still, we must admit that the work 

 so accomplished is often far above the aver- 

 age in quality, and that if it were to cease, 

 our science would be much the poorer. Its 

 motive is always high, and unaffected by 

 any annoying pressure from necessity; its 

 objects are purely scientific. 



Seen from the commercial side, chem- 

 istry presents quite another aspect. Ques- 

 tions of utility are now paramount, and the 

 advancement of science as such has become 

 a secondary affair. The manufacturer 

 seeks to improve his products or to 

 cheapen his processes, and calls for infor- 

 mation which shall enable him to do so; 

 specific industrial problems require imme- 

 diate attention, and each one is taken by 

 itself, regardless of its broader philosophic- 

 al bearings. From these conditions a cer- 

 tain narrowness must follow; no time can 

 be wasted over considerations not directly 

 related to the matters in hand, for the suc- 

 cess or failure of a great enterprise may 

 depend upon the quickness vnth which the 

 obviously essential work is done. As 

 against this urgency of demand, no just 

 criticism can be offered; we may only ask 

 that it shall be reasonable, and that science 

 shall be treated less as a servant, and 

 more as a faithful ally. The commercial 

 chemist owes something to his profession, 



