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SCIENCE. 



LN. S. Vol. XVII. No. 432. 



endeavors. As a result considerable mis- 

 directed effort has no doubt been made, 

 and in a certain sense it is to be deplored 

 that the grade of investigation in Amer- 

 ican institutions has not been higher than 

 it is. The important point is, however, 

 that the universities and colleges have felt 

 the necessity of going beyond the work of 

 formal instruction, and time may be ex- 

 pected to correct the errors and inade- 

 quacies of their efforts in investigation. 



I view with some degree of pessimism 

 all suggestions concerning cooperation in 

 research between different institutions. I 

 do not mean by this that no cooperation 

 is possible, but in many instances coopera- 

 tion means subordination, and is one step 

 in the decline of institutional research. It 

 seems to me that institutions are very 

 much like individuals, and that the im- 

 portant thing is to have as many as pos- 

 sible of them take up the work of research 

 and carry it forward to the best of their 

 ability. The principle of natural selection 

 will work among them towards the elimina- 

 tion of the weaker and unfit. It does not 

 seem to me that institutions for research 

 or avenues of investigation have been so 

 greatly multiplied in the United States 

 that the time has now come for combining 

 or ' mergerizing ' them. On the contrary, 

 one should view with enthusiasm the addi- 

 tion of new institutions and foundations by 

 means of which scientific investigation 

 may be more universally developed 

 throughout the country. The situation in 

 America is such, if I read it right, that 

 results of research in the discovery of the 

 laws and forces of matter are, after all, 

 not so essential as the spirit of research 

 disseminated throughout the nation. 



It would seem that in society there is 

 some automatic mechanism at work by 

 means of which emergencies, as they arise, 

 are rightly met. There comes a man for 

 every hour, whether its burden be great or 



small. Generally speaking, I believe that 

 research in America has developed natu- 

 rally and reasonably to its present respect- 

 able proportions. The great foundations, 

 whether they be universities or learned 

 societies, private or governmental, have 

 shown the higher social wisdom and have 

 done their part, unconsciously perhaps, but 

 none the less excellently, in the develop- 

 ment of true science and genuine research. 

 Boards of directors may generally be 

 trusted to use endowments up to the level 

 of the intelligence of their community and 

 generation. 



I favor the multiplication of institutions 

 and agencies for research. They should 

 be untrammeled and free to work out their 

 own destiny. Every new foundation 

 should be welcomed and should be per- 

 mitted to stand or fall as it may show 

 strength or weakness. Experience will be 

 the only teacher of its board of directors 

 and results the only criterion of their suc- 

 cess in administration. 



Conway MacMillan. 



The president of the Society of Natural- 

 ists has kindly invited me to represent the 

 psychologists in our discussion. I sup- 

 pose his idea was that I should formulate 

 some endowable plans for psychological 

 researches. But that has been done, per- 

 haps even overdone ; modest and luxurious, 

 possible and fantastic plans have been out- 

 lined, sufficient for the psychologists of 

 the whole century, and I have had my full 

 share in it — I felt unwilling to fish in those 

 waters once more. And yet that was the 

 thing to do if I understood and interpreted 

 our president correctly ; there was only one 

 chance for me : I might try to misinterpret 

 and to misunderstand his invitation and 

 with this intention I accepted it. 



I thus misunderstood my task to mean 

 that I ought to consider the whole prob- 

 lem of research and endowment as a psy- 



