128 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 108. 



in their interest, and rarely look deeper 

 into the possibilities of abstract investiga- 

 tion. In reality, pure science and applied 

 science are one at the root ; the first renders 

 the second possible, and the latter furnishes 

 incentives for the first. Where science is 

 most encouraged for its own sake there its 

 applications are most speedilj^ realized. 

 This is a lesson which America ha,s yet to 

 learn, at least to the point of full and com- 

 plete appreciation. 



What, now, have we done, and what 

 should we do ? We have made a great be- 

 ginning; we have built up good laboratories, 

 backed by richlj^ endowed institutions of 

 learning; millions of dollars have gone in- 

 to the teaching of chemistry, and the 

 stream of research flows on with ever-in- 

 creasing volume. American investigations 

 and investigators are known throughout 

 the civilized world; their creditable stand- 

 ing is fully recognized ; our analysts are 

 among the best ; and yet — and yet — some- 

 thing is wanting. A great mass of good 

 work has been done, beyond question ; but 

 no epoch-making generalization, fundamen- 

 tal to chemistry, has originated in the 

 United States, nor has anj^ brilliant dis- 

 covery of the first magnitude been made 

 here. The researches of American chem- 

 ists have been of high quality, but not 

 yet of the highest ; there is solidity, thor- 

 oughness, originality; but with all that we 

 cannot be satisfied. Tlie field is not ex- 

 hausted; there are great laws and princi- 

 ples still to be discovered; the statical con- 

 ceptions of to-day ai"e to be merged in 

 wider dynamical theories ; for every stu- 

 dent there are opportunities now waiting. 

 Shall we do our share of the great work of 

 the future, or shall it be left to others'? 

 Shall we follow as gleaners or lead as pio- 

 neers? He who has faith in his own coun- 

 try can answer these questions only in one 

 way. 



At present, American chemists labor un- 



der some disadvantages which have not 

 been fully out-grown. Research, with most 

 of them, is at best encouraged, but not ex- 

 pected as an important professional duty. 

 The teacher must first teach, and in too 

 many cases the routine of instruction takes 

 all his strength and time. The resources 

 available for education have been scattered 

 by sectarian rivalry; several schools are 

 planted where only one is necessary; and 

 the teachers, duplicating one another's 

 work, and furnished with slender means, 

 cannot specialize. Two chemists dividing 

 the work of one institution can do more 

 than four who labor separately. The field 

 is too large for one man to cover alone, and 

 yet most of our men are expected to do it. 

 This evil, however, is growing less and less, 

 and in time it may cease to operate. With 

 the increase of true post-graduate institu- 

 tions the work of American chemists will 

 improve, for in that part of the educational 

 domain research is an essential feature. 

 Give our men the best opportunities, the 

 best environment, and they will do their 

 share of the best work. 



In one direction, perhaps, the possibility 

 of advancement is greatest, and that is in 

 the institution of laboratories for research. 

 At pi'esent the labor of investigation is un- 

 organized, unsystematic, a little here, a 

 little there, but no coordination ; and con- 

 sequentlj- our knowledge is after all a thing 

 of shreds and patches. In making this 

 statement I do not exaggerate. Take anj'' 

 class of scientific data, examine any series 

 of chemical compounds, and note the gaps 

 which exist in it. A chemist in Berlin has 

 studied one of the compounds, another in 

 Paris has prepared a second, manj' bits of 

 information have been gathered by many 

 individuals, and so knowledge slowly accu- 

 mulates. The organization of research is 

 to be one of the great works of the future, 

 when discovery shall become a profession, 

 and groups of students shall cooperate to- 



