April 17, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



331 



The natural intelligent head of the U. S. govern- 

 ment is the legislative branch ; and no great gain 

 can result from a fe-organization of the executive 

 branch, without a corresponding enlightenment and 

 improvement in the legislative. If any fault exists, 

 or has existed, in the past and present administra- 

 tion of national scientific work, the trouble is not 

 so much with the executive as with the legislative. 

 The laws enacted by the latter, whether they result 

 from suggestions from the country at large, or from 

 the heads of departments, or their subordinates in 

 Washington, are too often imperfect. Some public 

 necessity starts the movement for the formation of 

 a coast-survey, a weather-bureau, a geological sur- 

 vey; but all subsequent legislation is the result of a 

 great deal of management on the part of the few 

 men directly interested, who rarely give the subject 

 the unprejudiced study that is needed in organizing 

 such important concerns. One may know all about 

 forestry or chemistry or statistical methods, may 

 realize their practical importance, and may desire 

 to inaugurate a bureau that shall push either of 

 these subjects to the highest degree of perfection 

 and usefulness ; but when it comes to the questions 

 where the bureau shall be placed (whether under 

 military, naval, or civil laws), how the finances 

 shall be administered, with what department it 

 will best affiliate, and how wide its scope of duty 

 shall be, the inaugurators of the new work are 

 necessarily affected strongly by their limited knowl- 

 edge or personal bias, that needs to be offset by a 

 consultation with others of wider experience. The 

 well-defined systematic statutes organizing the 

 corps and work of the coast-survey (not the geo- 

 detic or the topographic survey) ; the engineer 

 bureau ; the Smithsonian institution ; the fish-com- 

 mission and other commissions ; the land-office, 

 post-office, patent-office, and other offices, — contrast 

 strongly with the temporary fragmentary legislation 

 referring to the work of the bureau of navigation, 

 with its observatory, almanac, and hydrography, 

 the census-office, geological surveys, signal-office, 

 agricultural bureau, the library of congress, and 

 other important national organizations. In gen- 

 eral, it is well known that legislation touching 

 scientific matters comes before congress from com- 

 mittees who have consulted with competent authori- 

 ties to only a very slight extent; and especially do 

 the more important actions taken by joint com- 

 mittees of conference almost invariably represent, 

 not the wisdom of the wisest, but the will of the 

 strongest, man on the committee. Any thorough 

 solution of our trouble, any radical reform of exist- 

 ing evils, must provide for the infusion of greater 



scientific intelligence among our law-makers, and 

 the presence among them of some authoritative 

 board of appeal; so that, before turning over to the 

 president and his cabinet a new item of public 

 work, congress may have fully realized the probable 

 bearings of other works upon it. 



In 1863 the act organizing the National academy 

 of sciences was enacted. This created a body of 

 men eminently proper to act as advisers to the gov- 

 ernment upon any matter of science or its appli- 

 cations ; and, as this advice is required by law to be 

 given free of all charge, there have been numerous 

 occasions on which such has been called for and 

 given. Up to the end of 1883, forty-four such 

 reports are enumerated; but we find only two 

 such to have been called for by congress, and none 

 by the judiciary, the rest having been requested 

 by different members of the executive. In this re- 

 spect we suggest that the legislative branch of gov- 

 ernment has omitted to derive all the benefit that 

 was desirable from this body of representative sci- 

 entific men. The president of this academy, in 

 his annual reports, states fully any action taken by 

 the academy each year, at the request of either 

 branch of the government, but with a very delicate 

 spirit offers no advice or comment not called for by 

 the strict letter of the official requests. An act 

 amending the act of 1863, and adding thereto a 

 section requiring the president of the academy to 

 make an annual report to congress on the present 

 state of all national works bearing on science and 

 its applications, with such recommendations as may 

 have the sanction of the whole academy, would 

 give this important body of men an opportunity to 

 speak on behalf of scientific co-workers throughout 

 the country, which opportunity is now offered only 

 through some special request. A further amend- 

 ment to said act, authorizing the academy at any 

 time to communicate to either house of congress its 

 views on the bearing of any proposed legislation 

 without waiting for special request, would give the 

 country assurance that the scientific, educational, 

 and other interests of the country have at length 

 an official representative who will be on the alert 

 to defend their interests, and to avert injurious 

 legislation. We believe these two amendments 

 would go far towards providing a high tribunal, 

 whose vigilance would insure greater wisdom in 

 legislation; but the following third step is even 

 more important. It is difficult for many outside of 

 Washington to realize that any one who is an em- 

 ployee of the executive branch cannot, without in- 

 curring a reprimand, officially or privately approach 

 any legislator with a view to influence legislation: 



