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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLin. No. 1104 



permanent results. A definite field of work 

 is definitely divided, and then cultivated 

 under a preconcerted plan. 



In chemistry, however, institutions equiv- 

 alent to astronomical observatories can 

 hardly he said to exist. Therefore, it is de- 

 sirable that they should be created. Labo- 

 ratories for systematic research are needed, 

 in which bodies of trained men can work to- 

 gether for the common welfare. The work 

 most needed to be done is not showy, but 

 laborious; it will bring little fame to the 

 individual, whose personal interests, how- 

 ever, need not be wholly disregarded. 



To make my meaning clear I may cite 

 one line of investigation which might be 

 taken up, the importance of which I have 

 discussed on several previous occasions. 

 The great, fundamental problem which I 

 have in mind is this: what relations con- 

 nect the physical properties of compounds 

 with those of their component elements? 

 How can we calculate the one from the 

 other 1 



The first thing to do, evidently, is to 

 determine with accuracy the physical con- 

 stants of the elements themselves; for just 

 here our present knowledge is wretchedly 

 incomplete. Take iron, or gold, or copper, 

 for instance ; how much do we know of their 

 fundamental properties? A fraction only, 

 a small fraction of what should be known. 

 Here, then, is one line of work for an organ- 

 ized laboratory to do ; one which would lay 

 the foundations for great generalizations. 

 Each constant should be measured through- 

 out the entire range of attainable tempera- 

 ture; excepting only those which hold for 

 one temperature alone. To accomplish all 

 this new methods would have to be devised, 

 and new instruments invented; and this 

 would be of service to industrial enterprises 

 as well as to science. The great revolution 

 of which I spoke at first would be still 

 farther advanced, precision would replace 



present uncertainty; all chemistry and all 

 physics, the Siamese twins of science, would 

 reap unforeseeable advantages. 



A modern dreadnought costs, with its 

 equipment, fifteen millions of dollars. It 

 may be sunk by a torpedo in the first week 

 of its career, or it may last twenty-five 

 years, never meeting an enemy, and then 

 be discarded as obsolete. The battleship is 

 necessary, no doubt, at least as society is 

 now organized; but it is unproductive, an 

 instrument of destruction, and, therefore, 

 perhaps unavoidably, a waste. 



Fifteen millions of dollars ! For one fifth 

 of that sum a laboratory for research could 

 be built, equipped and permanently en- 

 dowed, which would benefit mankind for 

 centuries to come. Surely some of the 

 wealth which chemistry has created might 

 well be devoted to such an enterprise as I 

 am advocating now. Libraries, observa- 

 tories and museums have all been enriched 

 by private beneficence, but here is some- 

 thing of no less merit for which no provi- 

 sion has been made. Let us hope that the 

 forward step may first be taken somewhere 

 within the Western Hemisphere. 



Between pure and applied science, or, 

 rather, between the scientific investigator 

 and the so-called "practical" man, there 

 is often, but not always, an unfortunate 

 difference. The worker in pure science pub- 

 lishes his discoveries to the world, regard- 

 less of commercial values. The manufac- 

 turer, on the other hand, who pays or thinks 

 he pays for scientific investigations, is apt 

 to keep his results secret, in order that he 

 may turn them to personal profit. This 

 policy of secrecy, too often followed, is bad 

 for science and for industry. Science is de- 

 prived of useful data, which might add 

 greatly to its advancement. Manufac- 

 turers waste their time and money in dupli- 

 cations of research, or, frequently, in re- 

 discovering that which is already well 



