Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-09
The Government and Science.

A writer in Appleton's Popular Science
Monthly recently took issue with q sug-
gestion that has been made that a govern
ment department of science should be Gre
ated. He bases his objection on several
grounds; that such a department would
probably be too vague in its objects and
too little governed by a sense of the prac-
teal to be of satisfactory service to the
public; that 1t would surely wander on
into purely theoretical work and take up
fads Of scientific research, and that in a
few years it would assume a character
never contemplated by its founders. This
is pretty br Dad theorizing. Enough work Of
a scientific character has already been done
by the government to warrant the belief
that the field is by no means yet fully
covered. One notion of the case Is that
the nation should relegate all such effort to
the private agencies for investigation and
research. such as the colleges and univer-
sites. The difficulty of such plan Is that
there is much duplication, much waste OF
time and energy through following paths
that have already been laid down. and little
system in the conduct of the enterprise.
The universities. too, regard the field OF
general science largely in the light of af-
fording practice for their students. Indi-
original inquiries and some of the best
work has been done and some of the most
valuable discoveries have been made by
such agencies. The government has never
contemplated the substitution of its bu-
reaus for these private enterprises. The
thought that has animated the suggestion
of national bureau of science has rather
been to utilize the university and college
and other private means of research and to
take advantage Of them and to supplement
them. By means of such bureau there
could probably be supplied to the now
scattered scientific work of the educational
institutions that drectness and system
that they lack and the lack of which has in
many cases resulted in wasted energy.
The government has already done some
fine work on scientific lines. The geolog-
ical survey and the Smithsonian-the latter
the result of a private bequest-have set
splendid example both in original research
and in the utilization of private discoveries.
The former bureau has been of great prac-
teal value, and has thoroughly refuted the
suspicion that a government department Of
science would necessarily run off to too
much theorizing. The bureau of ethnolo-
gy, too, has done work that could not
| otherwise have been accomplished in the
way VI Tt5CulHB the history Oh the AHefl-
| can aborigines from utter oblivion. This in
| itself may not be practical" but 1t be-
comes pertinent to inquire just where the
! line between the practical and the scien-
tific is to be drawn. 1t Is a broad charac-
terization. and too frequently used care
lessly. Had the test of absolute practical
| biity as measured by the standards Of
| everyday necessities of life always been
ruthlessly applied to the domain of science
the world today would probably lack many
of the great blessings and benefits that have
been literally stumbled across by search
| ers along abstruse and apparently useless
lines. A government as great as this, with
| such a multitude OF interests to guard, can
well afford to patronize the abstract
sciences. for their own sakes as we'll as in
the hope Of securing thereby some positive
| return.