OCTOBEB 21, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



555- 



faults on botii sides — of too ready retire- 

 ment, and of enforced retirement — may be 

 amended without sacrifice of fundamental in- 

 terests? The remedy proposed throws out the 

 child with the bath in too drastic fashion. 

 Some regard the " service " retirement as a 

 most valuable provision; others question its 

 value or its practicability. Where opinions 

 differ, autocratic decision is premature. The 

 retention of the provision for eases of disabil- 

 ity may be gratefully noted; though the sug- 

 gestion that the professor worthy to retire on 

 his merits is a " rare " individual, seems su- 

 perfluous. The summary action does away 

 with the right to retire. The professor may 

 be so fortunate or so unfortunate as to be 

 granted it. 



Such is the issue at hand. Those with con- 

 fidence in the important mission of the Car- 

 negie Foundation, and in the wisdom of its 

 gTiidance, are unwilling to believe that finan- 

 cial reasons of future retrenchment— as has 

 been variously implied, but in no manner offi- 

 cially admitted — have determined this regret- 

 table abandonment of an estimable policy. 

 The individual and collective protests that 

 have been presented to the authorities indicate 

 two essential steps. The injured sense of 

 justice may be allayed and confidence restored 

 by a temporary, or even a long-term, if not a 

 complete reinstatement of the " service " re- 

 tirement ; this is imperative. Meanwhile, ad- 

 ditional experience will suggest measures 

 whereby the advantages without the short- 

 comings of the original provision will be pre- 

 served. Justice and wisdom and a loyalty to 

 high purpose are the three saving graces of 

 public institutions. May they all prevail! 



Joseph Jastrow 

 The UxnERSiTY of Wisconsin, 

 October, 1910 



MEN OF SCIENCE AKD PR.\CTICAL LIFE 



To THE Editor of Science: There is cer- 

 tainly at the present time a great opportunity 

 for improvement in the relationship which 

 exists between the scientist and men in prac- 

 tical life. 



In looking over the catalogues of some of 



the larger educational institutions, it is not 

 an infrequent occurrence to see announce- 

 ments, in their various departments of re- 

 search, that the laboratories and all their fa- 

 cilities are open to men possessing the requisite 

 qualifications for carrying on their inde- 

 pendent investigations, while it is seldom that 

 any one is found availing himself of this 

 privilege, this being especially true of the 

 middle western institutions. 



The principle involved in these announce- 

 ments is, without doubt, correct, if put into 

 practise, but the fault seems to lie in the fact 

 that the advantages to be derived from this 

 are not clear to the outsider, and the men in 

 the educational institutions do not take it 

 upon themselves to make it so and to advertise 

 this one of the most important functions of 

 the schools, which are turning out engineers, 

 professional men and men taking up research 

 in pure and applied sciences. 



It is well recognized that the association of 

 the student with men who are enthusiastic 

 and who are doing research, either practical 

 or scientific, is one of the greatest stimulants 

 that he can have. Above all, he is more likely 

 to acquire the power of original thought and 

 of handling an original problem in a better 

 way and with more ease, the greater the num- 

 ber of men with whom he has the pleasure of 

 association. This is especially true in prac- 

 tical lines where there are a large number of 

 engineering students. 



Although men engaged in instructional work 

 in many of the leading colleges are expected 

 to and do carry on scientific research, for the 

 greater part there is nothing of a practical 

 nature undertaken either by themselves or 

 men working under their direction. This 

 should not be the case in those institutions 

 where the student is looking toward his col- 

 lege education as a means to an end. He 

 should have the opportunity for association 

 with men who are carrying on research of 

 direct practical application. 



There are advantages to the instructor that 

 may be considered as nearly if not quite 

 equal to those obtained by the student. The 

 men who are engaged in teaching scientific 



