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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. JSo. 432. 



some excellent men, the swarm of good 

 modest fellows without much ambition and 

 talent— and rushing is stiU too energetic 

 a word; that type of man does not rush, 

 but is passively moved forward. Every- 

 where in this country the average graduate 

 student who prepares for academic work 

 represents as to intellectual energy a lower 

 type of man than the average undergrad- 

 uate, and yet with second-rate men there 

 can not be a first-rate science, even if a 

 billionaire comes to them, as Jupiter came 

 to Danffi, in the form of a shower of gold. 



But why do our finest men shrink away 

 from the career of the scholar, which is 

 sought, in Germany for instance, by the 

 very best: simply because it does not suf- 

 ficiently stimulate their ambition. There 

 are not the great premiums at the top, 

 and it is well known that in the eyes of 

 youth every career gets its social value 

 just from chief premiums and exceptional 

 gains. The career ranks here with the 

 humble one of the schoohnaster ; how can 

 it stand in competition with banking and 

 law? Thus I should say to those who 

 have millions ready for endowment: first 

 make the career attractive, so that it can 

 tempt more men of the first-class type; 

 create great premiums by putting above 

 our present university system a still higher 

 institution, an over-university where the 

 finest masters of research in every field, 

 chosen by their peers, are brought together 

 for far-reaching work which transcends 

 the possibilities of the educational insti- 

 tutions. Whatever you can do to give to 

 the career national glory thus to attract 

 the finest men, will be productive for the 

 work of research. 



But I add a second point. From one 

 motive or another a lot of fine men enter 

 the career already to-day, and yet even 

 they do not live up to their best. As I 

 said in the beginning, it is not only a ques- 



tion of capacity, but one of concentrated 

 will to achieve. Even our good men, 

 while they start with high intentions, too 

 often give up after a short beginning; 

 the spirit of research evaporates and the 

 routine teacher remains. I know that 

 there are plenty of external reasons, too 

 many are overburdened — and yet, the 

 chief reason is again a psychological one; 

 there is no stimulus for productive scholar- 

 ship. They feel too soon that such achieve- 

 ment does not count for their career, yes, 

 that they have to stand below the man 

 who spends his time in mere teaching 

 and administration. Make the academic 

 career in the real universities, the promo- 

 tion to higher positions, dependent in first 

 line upon research work, as it is in Ger- 

 many, and the work will be done, in spite 

 of all obstacles. There is at present no 

 greater educational need in this country 

 than to educate the trustees of the univer- 

 sities. Everywhere, with a few exceptions, 

 the universities are still administered after 

 the pattern of college administration, and 

 the research spirit is thus artificially sup- 

 pressed. Let the trustees understand that 

 research can grow only where it is consid- 

 ered as the backbone of university life, as 

 the condition for appointments, and that 

 only scholars, not laymen, can be judges 

 for it; then we shall have research which 

 will keep pace with the marvelous progress 

 of this country. And to my billionaires I 

 should say: Help us to bring about this 

 change; endow with your treasures those 

 existing universities which show the right 

 appreciation for productive work. 



I have so far expressed dissatisfaction 

 with the existing conditions; are there no 

 psychological conditions which are favor- 

 able here for scholarly work? Certainly, 

 above all, one most important one — the 

 spirit of helpfulness and ambition in the 

 special academic communities, the readi- 

 ness of the alumni to stand for their Alma 



