SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 575. 



must be larger than required to supply 

 copies to those really competent to appre- 

 ciate the work, implies a pecuniary waste. 

 But there is still the important considera- 

 tion that in attempting to extend the work 

 in too many directions, acting on the theory 

 that the government should do all kinds of 

 scientific work, the point is soon reached 

 where no department and no bureau can 

 be expected to do the work well, and what 

 might be done well suffers by being weight- 

 ed with what can not be done well. "VVe 

 have seen biireaus which, after acting for 

 some years on the theory that any question 

 theoretical or practical which could pos- 

 sibly be construed as having any relation 

 to its work should be undertaken, finally 

 break down under the weight of the impos- 

 sible task and at last settle down to their 

 legitimate, special, practical work. If one 

 glances over the large mass of scientific 

 publications of the different departments 

 one can hardly fail to recognize that the 

 most valuable are those which treat of 

 special questions in applied science which 

 have been conducted with a view to furnish 

 information on subjects coming within the 

 legitimate limits of investigation by the 

 government, since the material to be 

 studied can be better obtained by the gov- 

 ernment than by state or private institu- 

 tions. The publications on pure science or 

 on subjects not having a practical bearing 

 are certainly no better, if, as is sometimes 

 the ease, they are as good as similar pub- 

 lications from other sources. Briefly, it 

 seems to me that it would be no worse for 

 the government and better for the science 

 of the country in general if the scientific 

 work done by the government were not 

 spread over so wide a field. It will be said 

 that the universities are also ambitious and 

 attempt to do more than they can do well, 

 which is perfectly true, but that is no rea- 

 son why the government should make the 

 same mistake. 



The consideration of the attractions 

 offered by scientific work under the govern- 

 ment and the relations of the scientific corps 

 to their superior officers is rather a delicate 

 matter, for, while one may be allowed to 

 speak of the advantages, as soon as one ven- 

 tures to hint that there may be disadvan- 

 tages he is likely to be told that he does 

 not understand the situation. We can only 

 say that, if the scientific employees of the 

 government are perfectly satisfied with 

 their positions and regard them as ideal, 

 they are decidedly more fortunate than 

 their fellow scientists in other places. 

 What attracts men to Washington is not 

 primarily the salaries, except in the case 

 of young men just beginning their scientific 

 careers, although in general salaries are not 

 so small as has sometimes been supposed. 

 Nor does the fact that the few, like the 

 heads of bureaus, who receive large salaries 

 are overwhelmed with administrative work 

 prove that they are worse off than the 

 better paid professors in universities where, 

 until recently, with the higher salaries went 

 . more lecturing and more committee work. 

 In the universities, however, this state of 

 things is gradually improving, but it is 

 difficult to see how it can change in the 

 government departments. The salary 

 which the average man can expect is small 

 and, if held to strict accountability for his 

 time by the department in which he may 

 be, he can not add to it by outside work or, 

 if he does, he may be called upon suddenly 

 to explain. The attractions are the free- 

 dom from lectures and class work, although 

 this is to some extent counterbalanced by 

 a large amoimt of official correspondence, 

 and the possibility of having clerical and 

 mechanical assistants to aid him in his 

 work. A still greater attraction probably 

 is the fact that one will at not infrequent 

 intervals be sent, at government expense, 

 on a mission of some kind to different 

 parts of the country or abroad, an arrange- 



