Septembek 29, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



405 



case of the Scottish fishing industry, and, if 

 so, what means should be adopted. 



UNIVESSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 

 At the University of Pennsylvania Dr. E. 

 M. Pearce has withdrawn from the chair of 

 pathology and will confine his work to the 

 chair of research medicine, and Dr. Allen J. 

 Smith returns to the charge of the depart- 

 ment of pathology, retaining at the same time 

 the directorship of the laboratories of com- 

 parative pathology and tropical medicine. 



Dr. J. H. Clo, of the University of Chi- 

 cago, has been appointed to the chair of phys- 

 ics in Tulane University. 



Dr. Howard T. Karsner, demonstrator of 

 pathology in the University of Pennsylvania, 

 has been appointed assistant professor of ex- 

 perimental pathology in Harvard University. 

 At the University of Maine, Dr. M. A. 

 Chrysler, professor of botany, has been ap- 

 pointed head of the department of biology to 

 succeed Dr. G. A. Drew, and Mr. H. M. 

 Parshley has been appointed instructor in 

 zoology. 



Dr. Phaser Harris, at present lecturer on 

 physiology in the University of Birmingham, 

 has been appointed professor of physiology in 

 the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova 

 Scotia. 



The appointment of lecturer and demon- 

 strator in the physical department of the 

 East London College, vacant by the resigna- 

 tion of Mr. E. Marsden, M.Sc, on his election 

 to the John Harling Research Fellowship at 

 the University of Manchester, has been ac- 

 cepted by Mr. T. Harris, B.Sc, of the Im- 

 perial College of Science and the Cavendish 

 Laboratory, Cambridge. Mr. Harris has been 

 engaged in advanced research work under 

 Professor Sir J. J. Thomson. 



DISCUSSION AND COBBESFONDENCE 



" WASHmGTON SCIENCE " 



The phrase which heads this communica- 

 tion appears now and then in print and may 

 be assumed to have a depreciatory significance. 



whether this is due to a mistaken estimate of 

 the quality of research work done in that city 

 under governmental supervision; or with a 

 feeling that scientific men so employed have 

 what in college slang is termed a " soft snap " ; 

 or to a vague impression that a man willing 

 to accept government employment must neces- 

 sarily be a lower order of being in his general 

 class, or to all these ideas combined in vary- 

 ing proportions — can not be decided here. 

 But it occxirs to me that the experience of one 

 who has spent nearly half a century in scien- 

 tific work, under government auspices, might 

 throw some needed light on the subject for 

 those without similar experience. 



It is to be premised that scientific men 

 differ like other men in their temperaments, 

 breadth of view and social training. Their 

 interest in and devotion to a particular line of 

 research does not divest them of the common 

 frailties of mankind, whether in Washington 

 or elsewhere. In the history of American 

 science, the three least creditable and most 

 bitter controversies which have affected the 

 relations of scientific men were between 

 scientists of a high order, not Washingtonians. 

 Civil service reform has changed for the 

 better in many ways the conditions confront- 

 ing those desiring to enter the service of the 

 government. Yet the writer entered that serv- 

 ice at a time when no such reform had been 

 instituted, and from the first day to this date 

 has never been asked what his politics were or 

 requested to secure " influence " to maintain 

 his position or obtain promotion. The fact 

 that he was believed to possess certain qualifi- 

 cations for his work and has conducted it 

 since appointment in a satisfactory manner 

 has covered the whole ground. 



So far as the writer knows, barring the 

 changes due to civil service reform laws, this 

 experience is not exceptional. 



We hear much about " red tape " as an ob- 

 stacle to efficient work. Now " red tape " 

 means fundamentally the fixing of responsi- 

 bility. This may be either financial or other. 

 The uninformed critic does not realize that 

 the function of " red tape " is reciprocal, that 



