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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 671 



in other countries will show, beyond ques- 

 tion, that on the average the home product 

 is fully equal in quality to the foreign out- 

 put. Although we may be satisfied on this 

 point, yet it is certain that very much more 

 might be done if an extra effort were made 

 by the many whose training has taught 

 them something. of the methods of research, 

 and this extra effort would not fail of its 

 speedy reward. 



A second most potent factor in increas- 

 ing the quantity of work published in this 

 country is undoubtedly due to the fact that, 

 until comparatively few years ago, much 

 if not most of the results of the best 

 work done here was published abroad. 

 At present not more than two or three 

 people of any importance in the chemical 

 world habitually send their results to 

 Europe, yet some who should know better 

 often communicate preliminary papers, or 

 short articles containing the cream of their 

 results to foreign journals. When, as 

 sometimes happens, this is done essentially 

 to secure duplicate publication, it is, of 

 course, inexcusable, and even when the mo- 

 tives are unexceptionable the practise is 

 one that should be indulged in sparingly, 

 because it simply encourages the highly 

 conceited and very prevalent German habit 

 of ignoring or belittling American chem- 

 istry. Further, we must remember that if 

 we, without detriment, can iww publish 

 our results at home, it is because of the 

 patriotism and self-sacrifice of men like 

 Professors Edgar P. Smith and W. A. 

 Noyes, who, in the darkest days of our 

 society, deliberately published some of 

 their most important papers in its Journal, 

 and thus compelled serious foreign recogni- 

 tion of it. It is the results of their devo- 

 tion which we are now enjoying. 



Leaving this matter of publication, I wish 

 to direct your attention to another phase 

 of the subject. Many persons have the 

 name of research on their lips, but the 



tiling itself is far from their minds. This 

 is true of the college president who 

 " encourages research " by giving an un- 

 fortunate teacher a couple of free hours 

 per week, loading him down with numerous 

 courses of instruction and with faculty 

 work, and then wondering why published 

 results are not forthcoming! The greatest 

 sinners in this respect are probably our 

 technical brethren. All of us are familiar 

 with the man who gives an address and, 

 after telling us of the vast importance of 

 his industry, proceeds to formulate a series 

 of questions regarding the behavior of 

 leather, coke, tar, paper, etc., or the ma- 

 terials from which they are made, winding 

 up with the suggestion that someiody in 

 search of a problem should attack the sub- 

 ject. The speaker then complacently 

 wends his way home, evidently feeling that 

 he has done his part towards the advance- 

 ment of research. Of course, what he has 

 done is to demonstrate, in the clearest man- 

 ner possible, his own complete innocence 

 of the slightest conception of what scientific 

 research really is and under what condi- 

 tions it is carried out. It is safe to say 

 that everybody who is capable of inde- 

 pendent investigation is overcrowded with 

 problems of his own; what he requires is 

 time and help to investigate them. Those 

 who lack the problems also lack the ability 

 to attack them successfully without de- 

 tailed and continuous help. In this 

 country probably not more than a score of 

 men are paid directly for doing research in 

 chemistry; the remainder carry out their 

 investigations at very great personal sacri- 

 fices of time, energy and money and, con- 

 sequently, their absolute right to select their 

 subject with perfect freedom is beyond 

 question. If I meet my technological 

 friend on his way to the golf links and tell 

 him of the large load of wood which I want 

 split, pointing out that it will afford him 

 admirable exercise besides being useful 



