July 9, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



43 



possible. Possibly the fact that we have all 

 been taught that power lies in a demoeraey 

 with the people leads some to think that 

 anything which some individuals desire is 

 therefore both lawful and possible. 



Accompanying the comments based upon 

 absentee facts are others which deal with 

 assumed motives having no sounder basis. 

 It is but a few days since the unconscious 

 act of one in no way connected with the 

 government was made the basis of a charge 

 that an important service had sold itself, 

 and was described in adjectives as lurid 

 and abusive as they were wanting in basis. 



This is, however, neither a complaint of 

 conditions nor a plea for relief, but a sug- 

 gestion for helpfulness. No administrator 

 worthy the name but welcomes candid and 

 constructive criticism, and from many sides 

 I have received comments and suggestions 

 through many years that have altered 

 methods and improved results. It is the 

 fact of course that criticism and attack, 

 having no basis in truth, pass by one as 

 the idle wind which one respects not and 

 has no result save to injure the influence of 

 the critic who descends to such means, if it 

 is consciously done. The problem that 

 needs solution, however, is how to guide 

 men who wish to speak clearly and accu- 

 rately out of the all too pervading habit of 

 doing neither when public business is con- 

 cerned. It is, I believe, assumed that 

 through the daily press we have a means 

 of throwing light on all these things and 

 one would be foolish to deny that much 

 light is continually thus thrown. We must 

 not, however, in justice to that press, forget 

 that the nature of its service requires that 

 what they print shall be of the day, daily, 

 or almost of the hour, hourly ; that a thing 

 to have news value must in some degree be 

 new or, to have what is technically called 

 "punch," must have some element more or 

 less of the dramatic, or must have such a 



character as will arrest attention. Unfor- 

 tunately for the public mind, much that 

 needs to be known has neither character. 

 The larger part of the useful and produc- 

 tive work of a government department is 

 not only nonpolitical but is continuous, 

 developing steadily from day to day, sim- 

 ilar in its character to the operation of a 

 factory or a business, turning out a regular 

 product which does not have in it always 

 the appeal of the moment which gives it 

 either "punch" or news value. 



These things, therefore, are not and in 

 a sense can not be grist for the mill of the 

 daily press even though they may be more 

 important in the way of information than 

 that which falls more truly within the^ 

 class of the said grist. 



There is, therefore, something yet to be 

 done in the way of bringing before the peo- 

 ple who own the government the facts re- 

 specting that government in its daily evo- 

 lution. It has been a pleasure to me in 

 more than one city (among them this one) 

 to speak of the work of the Department of 

 Commerce to busy men of affairs. It has 

 interested and enlightened me to see how 

 keen an interest has been taken and how 

 much surprise has at times been shown on 

 learning the facts. There is every reason to 

 believe that other departments than that of 

 commerce contain as much if not more of 

 interest to the average man. 



I should myself be guilty of inaccuracy 

 if there is left in your minds any impres- 

 sion to the effect that the press in any of 

 its forms is deemed negligent of its duty to 

 inform the owners of the government re- 

 specting their own affairs. This does not 

 seem to be the case. It is rather that all the 

 conditions are such that in a matter of 

 grave importance to every one of us the 

 necessary means of publicity for full knowl- 

 edge by us all of our affairs is not avail- 

 able. We do not ignore the fact that maga- 



