202 
CLARKE. 
What, now, have we done, and what should we do? We 
have made a great beginning; we have built up good labo¬ 
ratories, backed by richly endowed institutions of learning; 
millions of dollars have gone into the teaching of chemistry, 
and the stream of research flows on with ever-increasing vol¬ 
ume. American investigations and investigators are known 
throughout the civilized world; their creditable standing is 
fully recognized; our analysts are among the best, and yet— 
and yet—something is wanting. A great mass of good work 
has been done, beyond question; but no epoch-making gen¬ 
eralization, fundamental to chemistry, has originated in the 
United States, nor has any brilliant discovery of the first 
magnitude been made here. The researches of American 
chemists have been of high quality, but not yet of the high¬ 
est ; there is solidity, thoroughness, originality; but with all 
that we cannot be satisfied. The field is not exhausted; 
there are great laws and principles still to be discovered; the 
statical conceptions of today are to be merged in wider dy¬ 
namical theories; for every student 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 glean¬ 
ers, or lead as pioneers ? He who has faith in his own coun¬ 
try can answer these questions only in one way. 
At present American chemists labor under-some disadvan¬ 
tages which have not been fully outgrown. Research with 
most of them is at best encouraged, but not expected 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, dupli¬ 
cating 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 
