894 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1095 



has been the favorite subject of varied and 

 picturesque criticisms which, as usual, orig- 

 inated more through lack of information 

 than by ill-will. 



Secretary Daniels requested each mem- 

 ber to address to him his personal opinion 

 on the advisability of the creation of a re- 

 search laboratory where urgent technical 

 matters relating to the needs of our navy 

 could be studied successfully. 



At the second meeting a special com- 

 mittee was appointed to submit a joint re- 

 port. On this committee were, besides Mr. 

 Edison, four other members. One of the 

 other members of the committee is a man 

 who has earned a national reputation in 

 organizing and developing one of our larg- 

 est mechanical industries. The second 

 member is at the head of perhaps the larg- 

 est and best endowed scientific research 

 institution of the world; another is the 

 chief of one of the most successful chem- 

 ical and physical industrial research labo- 

 ratories of this country; the fifth has de- 

 voted much of his life to private chemical 

 research. 



It was interesting to follow how the five 

 members grouped themselves in accordance 

 with their own point of view, dictated by 

 their daily scope of action : The chemical or 

 purely scientific members of this committee 

 agreed pretty well on the kind of research 

 laboratory they had in view, and although 

 their suggestions had been written inde- 

 pendently without consulting each other, 

 their general recommendations as to the 

 organization, equipment, and needed ex- 

 penditures were fairly similar and rela- 

 tively modest. 



But their recommendations were mainly 

 limited to a chemical and physical labora- 

 tory; they did not include the study of 

 elaborate mechanical and technical prob- 



Baekeland, member of the board, and printed in 

 Metallwgical and Chemical Engineering. 



lems which go far beyond the questions 

 which are usually dealt with in chemical 

 and physical research laboratories. 



The two other members, on the contrary, 

 wanted to prepare thoroughly for engineer- 

 ing problems of immediate importance, the 

 solution of which seems indispensable if 

 the money of the navy is to be spent to best 

 advantage. 



They set forth, from their own direct ex- 

 perience, how very expensive such engi- 

 neering experimental work is likely to be. 



Edison, for instance, pointed out the mil- 

 lions he spent in developing some of the de- 

 tails of his inventions; another member 

 identified with the automobile industry 

 stated that one single automobile concern 

 here m. the United States had found it 

 necessary to spend half a million dollars in 

 one year for experiments and research. 



The modest estimate for a merely chem- 

 ical and physical laboratory was thus 

 snowed under by the irrefutable evidence 

 of the much larger needs for a suitable 

 mechanical or engineering department. 



Of course, it was argued that the Navy 

 possesses already several experimental sta- 

 tions at its different navy yards, and at 

 the torpedo station in Newport, aside from 

 the difllerent testing laboratories for the ma- 

 terials used for ordnance or ammunition; 

 that, furthermore, the excellent laboratory 

 facilities of the Bureau of Standards are 

 available. 



The answer to this was that each and 

 every one of the present institutions were 

 more necessary than ever, but were totally 

 insufficient; furthermore, the full coopera- 

 tion of all of them is needed; all this in 

 view of the fact that, at present, the navy 

 of this country is facing unusual responsi- 

 bilities. 



If it is deemed urgent to be prepared for 

 defense then this defense involves problems 

 the solution of which can not be deferred 



