Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-04
NAY CAUSE LIVELY Fight
TESTING LABORATORIES
TECHNICAL SCHOOLS.
Matter Will Be Discussed During
Consideration of the Sundry
Civil Bill.

An able bodied African Is concealed in
the sundry civil woedpile. according TO
.ChaaraaeaarE Ensene3es t.t1.e kzr1EassNsEsaitr
tee ON appropriations. AZ discoveries OF
this sort are Mr.. Tawney's long suit,
many members of the House are prepar-
ing to sit UP and take notice. They are
coming to believe that the laboratories OF
a number Of scientific schools throughout
the country are being supported. in part
at least, by government funds. and with
out authorization from Congress. They
are afraid that eventually these laborato-
ries viii be saddled outright on the gov
ernment.
When Secretary Garfield Of the Interior
was before the House committee on ap-
prOpriations during the hearings on the
s,ntlry civil bill he was asked by MT.
Tawney for information concerning pro
vision in the bureau of mines paragraph
which reads, provided, that the Secre-
tary of the Interior is hereby authorized
to accent for use in the Investigations
named above any site, building, equipment
or fund which in his Judgment 1t may DC
proper to accept.
Mr.. Garfield replied that an advisory
board Of engineers was appointed by tne
President to take up all testang Wprk
done by the government. ana Iouhu tMal
there were some people considering the
site or clant that could be used for the
further work of investigation sof stfuc-
tural materials of Goals, etc., ana tnat
under the existing law this gift could
not be accepted.
Tawney Gains 1nformatiop.
At that time Mr.. Tawney did not know
Of any specific gift that was In the air.
But since the other day, when he picked
up a Pttsburg paper and read a naive
editorial therein. lie thinks he understands
the situation. This editorial menttoned
that ''in the pruning of the supdry civil
bill the committee on appropriations has
threatened the existence of the testing
laboratory now temporarily located At
the Carnegie technical schools IN TINS
city This paragraph was particularly
interesting to Mr.. Tawney, because up TO
that minute he had not been aware that
there was q government testing labora-
tory, dependent upon government appro-
priations. connected with the Carnegie
technical schools.
The editorial went on. eve think this
item has not been purposely cut, but in
advertently. and that when the attention
Of Mr.. Tawney and his colleagues has
been called to the Importance of the In
vestigatiOn the necessary appropriation
will be allowed" If the esteemed edi-
tOrial writer who turned out the above
could have seen the expression on Mr..
Tawney's face and heard his language
after he had read the statement about
the 'inadvertent CUT he would have been
somewhat enlightened.
THAT laboratory is an invaluable adj
junct to the scientific work of the geo
logical survey" the editorial continued.
1T would be a serious error to discon-
tinue or to cripple the laboratory at this
1uncture. The proposed bureau Of mines,
provided for by pending legislation. will
need the services of this laboratory, and
1t should really be enlarged for that pur-
pose instead Of being put out OF busi-
ness"
AS stated, all this was news to Mr..
Tawney, but when he looked more care
fully into the subject he found that the
government was, i'm a way, In partner
ship with technical schools In Berkeley,
Cal: Pittsburg. Pa: st. Louis. Mo-: CO.
lumbus. Ohio; Washington, d. c.; Dem
yer, Col, and Norfolk, Va.
Tawney Seeks Explanation.
What Is the necessity of employing all
these laboratories and SO many Of the
state employees asked Mr.. Tawney OF
Mr.. Garfield. and the latter replied that
! the government did not have adequate
| laboratory facilities.
Granting that said Mr.. Tawney.
don't you think 1t would be better for
| the government to establish IS own
laboratories to make these tests and con-
duct the laboratories purely as federal
institutions. without going into partner
ship with these men connected with IN
stitutions, who are using not only their
! laboratories, but using their official posi-
tions for the purpose OF securing leglsia-
| ton and apDrOprfatione, which has been