October 17, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



vm 



of agencies, but the nourishment and up- 

 building of those Avhich already exist. I 

 say, without any fear of being successfully 

 controverted, that there are already in 

 America quite enough colleges, universi- 

 ties, scientific societies, laboratories and 

 associations of scientific men. Scientific 

 men shotild learn wisdom from men of 

 affairs. This is the age of consolidation, 

 in which the importance of union in effort 

 is recognized. Plans now outrun accomplish- 

 ment. Schemes for the accomplishment of 

 the possible outnumber potent actualities. 

 A hundred dream where one man acts. 

 The land is full of abortive enteiprises. 

 The Carnegie Institution will do good just 

 so far forth as it serves to be the fountain 

 from which life-giving power shall be 

 poured into those things that need strength- 

 ening lest they die. With this fund to 

 create an institution which, by reason of 

 its magnificent endowment, shall simply 

 eclipse all others as the seat of original 

 research, would, if I understand the views 

 of the donor, fail utterly to carry out his 

 intention. The attitude of the Carnegie 

 Institution, if I understand the thought 

 of the founder, is to be that of the gracious 

 handmaid of learning, intelligently min- 

 istering to those who need, and without 

 such agency could not have, help. 



As everybody knows, the donor of this 

 fund had in his mind not so much institu- 

 tions as individuals. His thought could 

 not be more felicitously expressed than he 

 has himself expressed it in the words which 

 you quote, in which he states the main 

 object of his foundation to be 'to discover 

 the exceptional man in every department 

 of study whenever and wherever found, 

 inside or outside of schools, and enable 

 him to make the work for which he seems 

 specially designed his life work.' Mr. 

 Carnegie's large knowledge of men has 

 taught him that there are 'exceptional 

 men,'— very often men poor in purse, but 



rich in enthusiasm and in mental power, 

 who need but the helping hand to enable 

 them to achieve great things, not only for 

 themselves, but for mankind, and nowhere 

 are such exceptional men more numerous 

 than in the ranks of the scientific investi- 

 gators of this country. They would not 

 be scientific investigators were they not 

 possessed of power and filled with the love 

 of truth. Even as I write I can think of 

 a score of such men, who are struggling 

 in the midst of adversity and prevented by 

 the res angusta domi from achieving tasks 

 the doing of which would bring luster upon 

 their names and honor to the nation whose 

 sons they are. Such men deserve to be 

 helped, and in helping such men the Car- 

 negie Institution will place the highest 

 crown of glory upon its head. To hold the 

 Institution more or less rigorously to this 

 phase of activity seems to me to be the plain 

 dvity of those who are charged with its ad- 

 ministration. 



A few quite practical and concrete sug- 

 gestions based upon personal experience as 

 to the manner in which this fund might be 

 utilized to promote the advancement of 

 science in America in cooperation with ex- 

 isting institutions may not be wholly out 

 of place. I am emboldened to throw out 

 •these suggestions by yoiir example, seeing 

 that you have appealed to your own ex- 

 perience in your own line of special re- 

 search. 



In order to enable scientific men to 

 work rapidly and successfully to their 

 ends, especially in the field of the biolog- 

 ical sciences, it is of prime importance to 

 them to have access to collections which 

 embody in themselves the results of the in- 

 vestigations of those who have gone before 

 them. This is particularly true in min- 

 eralogy, botany, and zoology in its various 

 branches; When a student has devoted 

 himself to the study of one of these 

 branches of science and has, by years of 



