Slichter—Recent Criticism of American Scholarship. 3 
the lesser builders of this imposing fabric, would hardly con¬ 
tain a single American. 
The critic says that it is easy to multiply examples, but cares 
to note but a single additional case; namely, the theory of the 
aether. Wise men from many lands have come offering gifts 
at this issue of a happy union of experiment and imagination, 
but in the long line from Kelvin and Helmholtz to Lorenz and 
Poincare, you discover no faces out of the “desert of the west¬ 
ern continent.” The “desert of the western continent” is Mr. 
Snyder’s name for that part- of the map of the scientific world 
occupied by the United States. 
The above are the' principal claim!s Set forth in the article. 
The impression made by the criticisms, as a whole; is distinctly 
that of unfairness. In some cases, as, for example, that of 
chemistry, the references are decidedly unjust to the rapidly 
expanding work and reputation of American scientists. It is 
not our purpose, however, to set up in rebuttal an opposite 
claim as to America’s position in the scientific world. It is 
more profitable to consider the possible causes which have made 
the situation what it is; to note the character of present tenden¬ 
cies, and to see what hope can be found for the near future. 
First, let us consider the situation in a, field of activity very 
close to that of pure science. It is certain that no one need 
apologize for America in the field of invention and technical 
science. The steamboat, the telegraph, the telephone, are 
enough of the fundamental inventions for any nation to contrib¬ 
ute in a single century. Even if one find credit for others than 
Morse and Bell in the last named inventions, one must remem¬ 
ber that after all, the honors in technical science and inven¬ 
tion belong not so much to the one who makes a discovery, 
as is the case in pure science; as to the one who makes a dis¬ 
covery and renders it a commercial success. On this basis 
America can take a large share of honor in many lines of en¬ 
deavor. The vastness and novelty of the problems in a new 
country have contributed to our success. The great rivers to 
be spanned by bridges, the great mountain ranges to be crossed 
by highways, the great canals to be built with high priced labor 
have all resulted in great engineering advance and have placed 
the rest of the world in the position of pupil to America. But 
