THE PLACE OF RESEARCH IN EDUCATION. 751 



report to the German Government as their commissioner at the Chicago 

 Exhibition in 1893. Says Dr. Witt : 



"What appears to me to be of far greater importance to German 

 chemical industry than its predominant appearance at the Columbian 

 World's Show is the fact which finds expression in the German exhibits 

 alone, that industry and science stand on the footing of mutual deepest 

 appreciation, one ever influencing the other. By affording proof that 

 this is truly the case, Germany has given an indisputable guaranty of 

 the vitality of its chemical industries." 



Our policy is the precise reverse of that followed in Germany. Our 

 manufacturers generally do not know what the word u research" means; 

 they place their business under the control of practical men, often 

 admirable men in their way, possessed of much native wit, but untrained 

 and therefore too often and necessarily unprogressive ; and such men 

 as a rule actually resent the introduction into the works of scientifically 

 trained assistants. Hence there is no demand here for men who have 

 been carefully trained as investigators; consequently our schools do 

 not seriously attempt to train investigators. In this country such peo- 

 ple are only born and grow spontaneously, the high class manufactured 

 article is made in Germany alone. We elect to sacrifice at the altars of 

 the examination fiend, for god he can not be called, and do our best to 

 discourage the development of originality. 



Let me give an illustration to make my meaning clearer. Eecently 

 I met a friend who has not only distinguished himself by his intelligent 

 criticism of a particular industry, but has become so interested in it 

 that, having means at his disposal, he has himself become a manufac- 

 turer, affording a rare illustration of enterprise. I said: "I trust you 

 are going to work on German lines and engage a good chemist to sys- 

 tematically study your material, and so ascertain how its properties 

 vary with its composition ; for I have reason to think from direct expe- 

 rience that much is to be learned in this way which will make it possible 

 to put the manufacture on a scientific basis." His ready answer was: 

 "Oh, I've got to make the business a commercial success!" Of course 

 I understood what he meant while I felt that he could not fathom my 

 meaning — he was too much an Englishman to do that. No doubt he 

 will place his business in the sole charge of a practical man, and as 

 long as it suffices to look only at the surface he will succeed; but then, 

 not improbably, the Japanese will come in and beat him, for they have 

 shown the world that they can organize as well as appreciate scientific 

 method. 



Or, to give another example showing what may be accomplished under 

 English conditions by adopting foreign methods, let me refer to work 

 done by Mr. Mond, so well known in this country on account of the 

 skill he has shown in developing Solvay's ammonia-soda process. Mr. 

 Mond has long been engaged in seeking for a solution of the problem — 

 how to burn fuel electrically, in such a manner, that is to say, as to 

 directly produce electricity instead of heat. Having improved the gas 



