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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 661 



tion ty the Total Solar Eclipse of August 30, 

 1905," by C. Nordmann ; " Note on the Present 

 Position of the Earth's Magnetic Axis derived 

 from Declination Data alone," by W. van 

 Bemmelen ; " What is the Earth's Magnetic 

 Axis and its Secular Motion ? " by L. A. 

 Bauer; " Sketch of Life and Work of Eoald 

 Amundsen " ; Notes : " Progress Magnetic Sur- 

 vey Pacific Ocean " [illustrated], " Magnetic 

 Work in Canada, Mexico and Central Amer- 

 ica," "Personalia"; "Recent Papers in Atmos- 

 pheric Electricity by Liideling, Lutz, Benn- 

 dorf. Wood and Campbell, and Rudolph," ab- 

 stracted by P. H. Dike. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL 

 SURVEY 



To THE Editor of Science : May I ask for 

 space in your columns for the enclosed letters, 

 which seem to me to be of sufficient general 

 interest to vparrant their publication? 

 Very truly yours, 



W. S. Tangier Smith 

 Los Gatos, California, 

 July 26, 1907 



Eeno, Nev., June 1, 1907. 

 To THE Director 



U. S. Geological Survey, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Sir: I hereby tender my resignation as assistant 

 geologist on the United States Geological Survey. 



This action was fully determined upon over four 

 years ago, but was delayed, at first, until 1 should 

 have finished the work upon which I was then 

 engaged, and, later, as a measure of self-protec- 

 tion while my report of that work was in the 

 hands of the editorial staff. The reasons for my 

 resignation now are the same which determined 

 my original decision to leave the survey, having 

 been merely strengthened by my experience in the 

 interval. Aside from some personal considerations 

 (which are not essential to the present statement), 

 these reasons all have to do with the character 

 and management of the organization as I liave 

 known it. 



Not to enter into details, I merely wish to record 

 here my protest not only against the prejudiced 

 and arbitrary methods of the geologist in charge 

 of geology, and the commercial spirit which has 



grown up under his administration, but also, and 

 chiefly, against the bureaucratic policy inaugurated 

 before that administration and under it developed 

 to such an extent that, in my opinion, it calls for 

 protest from every self-respecting scientist who 

 comes in contact with the organization. This 

 policy is based on the assumption that any persons 

 who hold positions of administrative authority on 

 the survey constitute, ipso facto, an infallible sci- 

 entific tribunal, whose function it is to pass judg- 

 ment on the work of all other scientists who may 

 be their official subordinates, and to suppress all 

 heresies. As opposed to this assumption, I desire 

 here to reaffirm what I have repeatedly declared 

 in my communications and correspondence with 

 oificials of the survey — my conviction of the in- 

 alienable right of every scientist to the free ex- 

 pression of his own opinion, and the individual 

 responsibility for his own work, no matter what 

 the auspices under which the work is done, or 

 opinions published. 



Very respectfully, 

 (Signed) W. S. Tangier Smith 



Department of the Interior, 

 United States Geological Survey, 

 Washington, D. C, June 11, 1907. 

 De. W. S. Tangier Smith, 



Reno, Nevada. 



Sir: I have forwarded your resignation to the 

 Secretary of the Interior and have recommended 

 its acceptance. 



I regret that you feel that a protest is necessary 

 against the administration of this bureau. I be- 

 lieve that the misunderstanding on the part of 

 yourself and other geologists who have presented 

 similar protests comes from the fact that you fail 

 to see that administrative authority carries re- 

 sponsibility. Thus it is that in the matter of 

 publication it is not so much the desire of the 

 administrative officers of the survey to constitute 

 themselves into a scientific tribunal as to be true 

 to their official oaths and administer the survey 

 with due regard for the letter and spirit of the 

 congressional enactments which provide for the 

 continuance of this work. You and I as individual 

 scientists may have personal opinions regarding 

 scientific work, but as long as we are members of 

 a government organization we must conform to the 

 purpose of the appropriation under which our 

 work is done. In short, when we become members 

 of an organization which pays for our work, we 

 surrender a certain part of the " inalienable right," 



