THE DEBT TO SCIENOE. 
independent of the command of the sea for a substance essential to 
their production of explosives. They therefore developed the pro- 
cesses on a huge scale, and it was not until these factories were at 
work that they ventured to declare war. But for the existence of 
those factories the war could not have lasted six months. 
There was one over-mastering lesson to be derived from the con- 
templation of all that science had done in the war. She had made 
mankind’ too formidable a being to be permitted to have recourse to 
it. The uncontrolled indulgence either on the part of a nation or of 
an individual in the exercise of the powers that science had placed 
within his reach was too directly fatal to civilization itself. It was 
easy to criticise the League of Nations and to point out the difficulties 
and even impossibilities with which it was faced, but let us never for- 
get that some combined action of that type was an imperative 
necessity. 
Science, like charity, should begin at home, and has done so 
very imperfectly. Science has been arranging, classifying, methodizing, 
simplifying everything except itself. It has made possible the tremen- 
dous modern development of the power of organization which has so 
multiplied the effective power of human effort as’ to make the 
difference from the past seem to be of kind rather than of degree, 
It has organized itself very imperfectly. Scientific men are only 
recently realizing that the principles which apply to success on a large 
scale in transportation and manufacture and general staff work apply 
to them; that the difference between a mob and an army does not 
depend upon occupation or purpose but upon human nature; that the 
effective power of a great number of scientific men may be increased 
by organization just as the effective power of a great number of 
labourers may be increased by military discipline. Ne 
—Hon. ELIHU ROOT. 
