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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 644 



are dependent on the application of sci- 

 entific principles in a scientific manner. 

 Such a position promises most to the young 

 chemist, and the sooner he comprehends its 

 possibilities the more rapid will be his pro- 

 motion. When he steps out into the great 

 school of active life, so far as his prac- 

 tical knowledge of details are concerned, 

 he should understand in all modesty that 

 he must begin at the lowest round of the 

 ladder. While gaining his business ex- 

 perience and patiently waiting for the op- 

 portunities, which will not be long delayed, 

 when his scientific attainments shall be 

 called into service, he will escape the criti- 

 cism frequently made by manufacturers 

 that the young graduate is apt to assume 

 a grasp of practical details that he has not 

 acquired. 



Most manufacturers have a high respect 

 for the advantages afforded by scientific 

 education, and are ready to receive the 

 young graduate with open cordiality, ex- 

 pecting service that they stand in need of. 

 With too great confidence in his grasp of 

 practical details, often the manufacturer 

 assigns duties involving business experi- 

 ence which the young man has yet to gain, 

 with disappointing results. In thus rashly 

 undertaking such work he not only brings 

 discredit on himself, but arouses a feeling 

 of distrust concerning the practical utility 

 of scientific training in general. 



It may, perhaps, be said of the pro- 

 fessional chemist that his career depends 

 in no small degree on ancestral inheritance. 

 I am inclined to the belief that this is true 

 with reference not only to inborn energy 

 and ability without which the best success 

 is not possible in any direction, but espe- 

 cially to a certain inherent quick percep- 

 tion and logical turn of mind, that many 

 persons do not possess and can never ac- 

 quire. Certain it is that no amount of 

 training can produce a successful chemist 

 out of an individual who lacks these 



essential qualities. An extended experi- 

 ence in fitting young men for employment 

 in chemistry leads, I think, to the convic- 

 tion that it is not a large proportion of the 

 average body of students that have the 

 peculiar mental poise and manual dex- 

 terity to become successful chemists in a 

 broad sense. As to what should be re- 

 garded as success, pecuniary compensa- 

 tion may in general be accepted as a 

 measure of ability, although many men in 

 responsible positions will not accept such 

 a standard since they feel that their serv- 

 ice is not recognized in proportion to the 

 profits they help to accumulate in the busi- 

 ness treasury. Generally speaking, how- 

 ever, with the unprecedented demand for 

 good men, ability is well compensated. 

 With respect to young men just gaining 

 a foothold there is evidence that their 

 service is appreciated. Statistics have re- 

 cently been collected from graduates of 

 five years' standing from Case School of 

 Applied Science in all departments, with 

 reference to what salaries would induce 

 them to accept other positions on the basis 

 of what they are now receiving. The 

 average in chemistry was $3,000. After 

 ten or fifteen years of service, I have rea- 

 son to believe that salaries of professional 

 chemists equivalent to $5,000 and $10,000 

 a year are not uncommon. While the 

 standard of pecuniary compensation is not 

 unreasonable from the point of view of the 

 man of business, who looks on his ledger 

 balance at the end of the year as a measure 

 of success, the professional chemist seeks 

 also a higher reward. He can not sever 

 his mental connection from the profound 

 truths of nature, and the more he struggles 

 for the mastery and utilization of those 

 truths, the deeper becomes his reverence 

 for the immutable laws that control and 

 direct his efforts. He is constantly under 

 the stimulating influence of new discovery 

 and an expanding field of usefulness. It 



