Janxiaby 15, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



11 



Since the different bureaus are under differ- 

 ent Secretaries, there is no way to enforce 

 cooperation . 



THE EEMEDY. 



What is needed is a general coordination 

 of the scientific work of the government. 

 The question is how to accomplish this. It 

 is probable that a commission of Congress 

 or of scientific men, while perhaps not 

 able to reconcile all the conflicting interests 

 involved in a general plan of reorganiza- 

 tion, would still be productive of much 

 good. But the first thing is for Congress 

 to decide upon a program. 



An important step was taken when the 

 officers and employees of the scientific 

 bureaus were put in the classified service. 

 This renders it almost impossible to use 

 patronage in getting appropriations or 

 promoting legislation, and puts every man 

 on his mettle to maintain his place by good 

 work instead of political influence, which 

 signifies a great deal. It is not believed, 

 however, that much further progress can be 

 made toward the reorganization of these 

 bureaus and the coordination of their work 

 until they have first been brought together 

 tinder one executive head. However good 

 their intentions and earnest their desires to 

 do so, it is not likely that the several heads 

 of Departments can ever agree as to the 

 plans of scientific work which shall elimi- 

 nate all duplication. Each would consult 

 his chiefs of bureaus and be influenced by 

 their advice, and naturally each chief will 

 want to retain his hold upon all his former 

 work. It is evident, therefore, that the 

 only way to avoid duplication and waste of 

 time and money, and to secure the proper 

 coordination and cooperation, is to first 

 bring all these bureaus together in one of 

 the existing departments or in a new de- 

 partment. 



When these bureaus have been thus 

 brought together under the direction of one 



Secretary or executive head, the reorganiza- 

 tion will be comparatively easy. It should 

 take place naturally and gradually in the 

 course of ordinary business. The details 

 of this reorganization can not be considered 

 until the new department has been formed. 

 When this has been done the plans for the 

 reorganization might well be left to a board 

 composed of our leading scientific men or 

 of the chiefs of the bureaus involved, pre- 

 sided over by the Secretary or some emi- 

 nent scientist, appointed by him, who would 

 act as arbitrator. 



]S"o revolutionary proceedings are advo- 

 cated. The policy should be to transfer the 

 different scientific bureaus or surveys to 

 one department, as opportunity offers, or 

 as the Secretaries now having charge of 

 them find it expedient to recommend it. 

 Let Congress once adopt a fixed policy with 

 regard to this matter and establish it in 

 the good opinion of the people of the 

 country, and the rest would follow in good 

 time. A great new department of science 

 would thus be the result of natural devel- 

 opment rather than of revolution, and the 

 reorganization and coordination of the 

 work would in the end be accomplished 

 without injury to any scientific investiga- 

 tions now in progress. 



It is really a wonder that our govern- 

 ment has accomplished so much excellent 

 scientific work through the agency of so 

 unscientific an organization. With enor- 

 mous expenditure of brain and money, it 

 has done a vast deal for the advance- 

 ment of science, but it is deplorable that 

 so much has been wasted in doing this. 

 We garner the golden grain of truth, to 

 be sure, but we cut our wheat with the 

 old-fashioned sickle, bind it with straw, 

 thresh it with the flail, and then wait 

 for a favorable wind to blow away the 

 chaff. Harvested by these antiquated meth- 

 ods, our product costs us a great deal more 

 than it should, and, what is worse, we lose 



