New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-11
BRITISH SCIENTISTS MEET.
PROFESSOR DEWAR LAMENTS THE
BACKWARDNESS OF HIS COUNTRY

Belfast, Sept. 1O-The seventy-second annual
meeting OF the British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science began here Tonight Inc
attendance was larger than at any former gain
ering of the association. with The exception of
that of 1901, at Glasgow.
The address of Professor James Dewar. presi-
dent-eIect of the association was largely de-
voted to review of the progress OF physical
chemistry In the course of his remarks Presi-
dent Dewar referred to recent munif1cent bene-
factions to science and education. and espe-
cialy to the gifts OF Andrew Carnegie and Cecil
Rhodes. He said he thought the means CHOSEN
by Mr.. Rhodes were not the most effective
which could have been selected. but that 1t
must be remembered that Mr. Rhodes's aims
were political as much educational.
He had a noble and worthy ambition TO pro-
mote the enduring friendship of the great Eng
Hsh speaking communities of the world, said
Professor Dewar, and he was probably also in
fuenced by the hope that a large influx of
strangers would broaden Oxfords notions
Referring 20 Mr. Carnegie's endowment of
Scottish universities ana the foundation Of an
educational institution at Washington as more
direct benefit to higher education than the be-
quest of Mr.. Rhodes Professor Dewar re-
marked that the establishment of the institu-
ton at Washington meant a securing of the
Ole World as wei as the New TOT jest iilU4i
in every department. In fact, he said, the as
siduous collecting of brains for the benefit of
America is similar to the collecting Of rare
books and works of art which Americans are
now carrying so lavishly-
Reviewing the rneagre contributions 10 the
ROYAL Institution of Great Britain during the
last century, Professor Dewar reached the con-
clusion that without such endowments as Mr.
Carnegie's the outlook for disinterested research
rather dark The Carnegie Institute. he
said, could dispose in year of as much
money as the members of the Royal Institution
had expended in century in its purely scien-
tific work and it would be interesting TO note
how far the output of high class scientific work
corresponds to the hundredfold application of
money to its production.
Speaking on the subject OF applied chemistry.
Professor Dewar made scathing criticism OF
the "deplorab BILE backwardness'' of Great Britain
in this field compared with foreign countries.
Taking Germany as an example. the professor
declared that notwithstanding the immense
range of chemical industries in which the United
Kingdom had once been prominent. Germany
to-day employed professional staff three times
as great as that of the United Kingdom. and
superior in technical training and requirements
as it was numerically. German chemical manu-
factLrers, the speaker declared. enjoyed prac-
teal onopoly, which enabled them - exact
huge profits from the rest of the world and 10
establish in an almost unassailable position in
dustries which were largely founded basic
discoveries made by English chemists. but
which had never been properly developed in
the land of their birth
The explanation of this disastrous phenom-
enon'' Professor Dewar gave in three words
Want Of education He said II was the fail
ure OF schools to turn out and of manufact-
urers to demand properly trained men which
explained Great Britain's loss of valuable in
dustries and the country's precarious hold upon
others TO my mind" said he. 1.-The really ap-
palling thing is not that the Germans have
seized upon this or other industries. but that
the German population has reached a point
of general training and specialized equipment
which it will take us two generations of hard
and intelligently directed educational work to
attain"