1304 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters. 
pletely exploited, are sufficiently well developed, so tliat we 
ought to take a greater part in scientific inquiries of the first 
order. The lack is not that there are insufficient funds to do 
this. In fact there is an abundance of money. What we want 
is the men that can do this work and that love to carry it on 
mainly for the sake of the good that will come from it to all,, 
and for the sake of the joy there is in doing the work itself. 
Scientific work of creative character will ever be characterized 
by the spirit of that great discoverer of chemical facts, Carl 
Wilhelm Scheele, when over a hundred years ago he said: “Es 
ist ja nur die Wahrheit welche wir wissen wollen, and welche 
Freude bereitet es nicht- sie erforscht zu haben.” In lines like 
iron and steel, transportation, industrial operations on a gigan¬ 
tic scale, and operative surgery America is already taking the 
lead. . Why are we so slow to take rank in scientific matters ? 
The answer is that we are not yet showing the initiative and 
independence of action here that we ought to. Our scientists 
are still leaning too heavily upon what is said and done by our 
friends across the water. There is still too much of the spirit 
of hero worship and not enough of independence of thought 
and action and direct recourse to carefully observed facts as 
the ultimate court of appeals in matters scientific. But we 
shall gradually get over this, though the process will be far 
more rapid if we can but divert more of our best talent to 
scientific work, instead of having it go so largly to those lines 
that promise great financial returns. Endowments for research 
by individuals, learned academies and other institutions will 
greatly aid the work, which must be placed upon a pedestal so 
as to command the highest respect of all. But teaching, learn¬ 
ing and research must ever go hand in hand and the one who 
engages in the highest type of scientific research cannot afford 
to have mercenary ideas uppermost in his mind. He must go 
whither the truth would lead him, and while he ought to be 
given an abundance of the world’s goods so as to make him 
comfortable through life, he will ever find the pleasure of his 
researches his greatest reward. 
