The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1902-09-20
Washington Letter


coatrlbation TO scien &c to be made
by the Carnegie instttu ton would
consist OF the purchase, ren gam
zaton and through equipment OF
the Marine Biological l.ahoia cry al
w ood's Hole, Mass, whlch wa~
made in these letters sometime ago.
has resulted In exciting conslderahie
criticism of the Carnegie, from VAR
Gus scientific sources, no ably the |
editor of the P puiat Sclenc-
Monthly and Prof. Al>erl Z. Math- |
ews, professor OF phYslologic-l
chemistry at the University of
Chicago. The purport Of the cril-
clsm offered is tC the effect that the
Carnegie Institution shout afford
pecuniary assistance to such sclenu
fc establishments as may require II,
| but should refrain from assuming
their proprietorship. 1t is even pre-
dicted by the editor referred to,
that, under the direction OF the
Carnegie Institution, the W ood's
Hole laboratory will become pracu
cally department of the govern
ment and sine cure for class OF
scientists who seek to ''glve as little
as they can and get all they can"
He says, the whole spirit Of the
place Will change" F.om source
very close to the trustees OF the In
stitutlon, your correspondent obtain
ed some lnterestlng hight on the sill
autlon at Woods Hole and lncident-
ally on the spirit which prompts
this sorts of criticism. Nothing,
say the friends Of the Carnegie In
stilutlon, would be more objection
able to tina, master Of finance, Mr..
| Andrew Carnegie than a quasi con-
nection with an institution which
was Suffering from mismanagemen
of i,s financial affairs. 1t freely
admitted that there has been mis-,
management al the Marine Labora
tory and that there has been friction
among those who have had us Inter
ests in charge. 1t was for ii csc req
sons that the trustees Of the Instltn
ton deemed it essential TO their as
sumption of the liabilities OF the
Laboratory tina. they become pro
prletors Of It's assets. The inne'
history OF the Laboratory reveals 8
long story Of Encouragement, moi
in any sense culpable mismanaga
ment, but OF the kind that seems al
most inevitable IN connection will
an establishment conducted by mel
whose speciality is science, in on
form or another, and WHO are prom
: to regard business as merely nee
essary but dlsagreeable concomltan
of all enterprises. The trustees 0
the Carnegie Institution it Is almos
needless to say, are men whom
e Mr. Carnegie regards as capable o
Q carrying TO successful issue an
e project which they undertake an
n it would Ill become them to lnvolv
v the Institution in a project owe
whose financial affairs they could e,
ercise no control. With that en-
1t IN view, they made it lmperatlv
n that they secure title to Marine L;
N boratory before they wo nd conser
to contribute the funds necessary I
Its maintenance. The ststemet
= that the laboratory will becom
= practically department of tt
government is entirely withoi
- warrant. There Is no connectic
=. whatever between the Institute
~ and the government aud even Il
" objects of the Institution are diffe
ent. While the chief end of I'll
government scientists is to app
on known science to practical ends. az
d It is only incidentally that th.
OF make discoveries of scientific pri
/. ciplea, the chief end OF the Carneg
- Institution ls to discover aud ella
crate scientific principles, the a
= plicatron of which will be left
4 others. That the trustees of L
4 Institution will be duped into el
d ploylng class Of men who W
4 seek a maximum of compensate,
3 for minimum Of performance, is
3 reflection on the breadth and char
q cter of the men whom Mr.. Carnee
d selected to administer the munihce
X endowment with which hp found