The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-05-28

Industrious course % i1f- being TrNs
provided for. ID ~ further thr Design
- The College % Instruct AMI perfect
Youth ia The Learned I-a~rnE~. sad
I In the Arts Il RIA ~oDing ~xArtAy and
.rftisig c~orrcc'3.. and rpsa rio
cuenGy. and ir me Arts 81 nuunt~-fn-
+. and mrn ~urir= OF surveying aud MAJ
iGatton. Of Geography and Hl-sort.
commerce. Ard sn and -
the ~AEoNi~dge OF all Nature IN rhe
Heavens above Us. and sa the Air.
Mater. a1i Earth around u and
4. The earious Kinds - Meters.
stones. Mines. aad Minerals Plants
aEd Animals. and % everything use-
ful to- The comfort. the convenience
and elegance u life. in the chief mae-
lfactures relAtug - any Of fhe<e
things, ard finally - lead them from
the studs OF Nature TO the Knowles.
NJ selves. and Of the God Or Ma
fure. and their DGtN 10 Him. them
selves ana one another. and every
thing that can contribute 20 their trae
happiness. both here n hereafter
II q college education could accomp-
iish all this one hundred and FITS
years ago. hi have we not a right
70 ype o5 : today | fear, however.
that there was as wide = gap then
between the promise OF the advertise
merit and the results actually attained
as nowadays wc know exists in the
case Of patent medicines. But. though
experience mas SHOWN mat CDllrReS DO
not make men perfect. experience has
shown that most OF those who go 70
college are helped. though IL IL not
always easy 10 say just how they are
helped.
Not long ago a phrase was current
II Paris that gave great satisfaction to
some. and was unpleasant in the ears
Of others. Heated discussions were
carried on on account Of II. and II gave
rise 70 a rather sharp division OF
learned men into two classes. the lit
erary and the scientific The phrase
! refer 70 was taken UP BY a promi-
nent literary man. and II became. in a
way. the battle cry OF those who rang
cd themselves on his side. You Will
perhaps be surprised to hear that III,
phrase is simply this: Science IL
bankrupt You Will also be surprised
70 learn that this prase was spoken Sc
riously. and that il filled with enthu
siasm a number OF those who are gen
orally looked upon as leaders in the
intellectual world
Now. what does that phrase Sci
ence is bankrupt" mean? 1t means
that science has failed 10 keen Its
promises; that ii has not and cannot
meet it's obligations. or. TO use Ian
guage somewhat less commercial. il
has not accomplished what il set out
to accomplish, and the world has been
altogether disappointed in the results.
1t signifies further, that mankind has
been led to hope that it was to be
elevated by science and has
not been elevated to any marked de-
gree, and science is responsible for
this.
In view of the facts mentioned. il
has seemed to m that ii might not be
wholly Improbable TO spend the time
at my disposal in a discussion OF the
question raised Is the pursuit Of sci
ence beneficial or injurious to the hui
man race If it is injurious. II is clear
that we ought all to use our efforts 70
put a stop to it. But, as a matter OF
fact, larger and larger numbers are
engaging in scientific work year by
year: larger and la. ger sums OF money
are being spent in the equipment of
laboratories for scientific work: and
the world is certainly becoming inter-
ested more and more in this kind Of
work. If it is to be stopped-and, if it
is Injurious, it must be stamped at all
hazards-the sooner We reach this con-
clusiOn and begin to work in oppOsi-
ton the better, for the battle Will be a
long one the best we can do.
TO illustrate the significapce OF
definitions given of science let me take
as an example the particular science
with which / am most familiar. How
did chemistry ever come to be q sci
ence? 1t is not necessary to go back
very far in the history OF the world
to find a time when there was no sci
ence of chemistry; and yet men have
been familiar with many chemical
phenomena from the earliest times.
Those of fire. of fermentation In its
various forms. of decay, are among
the most common that present them
selves. One can pick up considerable
information in regard TO chemical
matters by keeping ones eyes Open,
but one cannot in this way develop
the science of chemistry. Tina de-
velOpment is a slow process made pos
sible by the labOrs Of successive gen.
erations of those who devote them
selves to the special study Of chemi-
phenomena. 1t was only after this
kind of study had been carried on for
ages that the connection between the
facts established came to be recogniz-
ed, and the knowledge systematized.
for the first time was there q
science of chemistry. At first it was
much Of a science, but as the work
Of investigation continued and, especi-
ally during the past hundred years, 1t
has developed into one Of the strong
among the natural sciences. BY the
of the immense number Of facts
that have been discovered. general
principles have been discerned under
these facts. These principles or
laws have in turn led to the discovery
of other facts. and new principles have
been revealed. Then too. the general
principles or laws nave led to SDecu-
in regard to the auses of these
manifold phenomena. and some of
these speculations have stimulated
to further work. Theories have
and theories have gone, but the
great current of discovery of facts
and laws has swept on, becoming
deeper and broader and stronger. The
object of the science of chemistry IS
discovery of the truth pertaining
to chemical phenomena 50 far as sucf
discovery may be possible. The earth
presents us with innumerable prob
of the most interesting kind. and
have implanted in us the desire to
know. /,
The pursuit Of science is nothing
an expression of this desire. Is ii
not better TO know han not to knew?
Would the world be better off than it
is. if scientific discoveries could
be blotted out. and we could & back
% the time before science was? These
are the questions that must be an
Swered. Does anyone seriously think
the world has been injured by
increased knowledge? Do we not all
believe that increased knowledge Of
the things around us must tend TO
make our actions more reasonable as
We try TO adjust ourselves to existing