Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-06
NOBEL | PRIZE /. AWARDS
History. of the Great Scientific
Foundation. ;.
FORMER VICTORIOUS MEN
Lines of the Bequest Not Very
Closely Followed.
GIVEN FOR WORK, LONG PAST
Chief Complaint Is That Younger
Workers Are Not Sufficiently
Encouraged.
GIVEN FOR. WORK, LONG PAST

opeclal C1DIeSrdm 10 Ine Staf.
COPENHAGEN, January 6.-The Nobel
prizes, the annual distribution of which
has just taken place at Stockholm and at
Christiania, excite universal interest by
virtue Of their character and magnitude.
They are awarded in accordance with
the will Of remarkable Swede, Alfred
Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Alfred
Nobel came Of family distinguished in
the history Of science and of commerce.
His father was the inventor Of nitro
glycerin. Two Of his brothers founded
the great naphtha works at Baku, in the
Caucasus region, one Of the vastest indus
trial concerns in the world. Aired Nobel
himself amassed a. huge fortune in the
manufacture Of deadly explosives, and on
his death left the entire sum for the ben
eft Of posterity and the furtherance of
scientific discovery.
The whole Of the annual interest Of his
property is to. be divided into five equal
parts. and these bestowed on the five in
dividuais, in any part of the world, who
have most strikingly distinguished them
selves In five different departments OF
human activity. One prize-that which.
on account of its novelty, has aroused
most lnterest-goes to the person who has
done most to advance the cause of peace
and International arbitration. Another is
awarded for literature Of an idealistic
tendency. The other three are reserved
for the most remarkable discoveries in
physics. chemistry and medicine, re-
spectively. Academic committees in
Stockholm are intrusted with the selec-
the peace prize, which is conferred by a
committee Of the Norwegian storthing.
Complaint Against Trustees.
Considerable dissatisfaction has been
expressed from time to time with the
| manner in which the trustees of the fund
have performed their duties. Large de-
auctions have been made for expenses
The actual sum awarded to each prize
winner has been thus reduced from some
thing like $4,000 to less than $5O,OOO
This year, it would appear. the amount
of each prize is only about $4,000. With
the money deducted for expenses, certain
libraries and laboratories have been
erected in Stockholm. as well as a read
Ing room in Christiania. The laboratories
1t Is asserted, are necessary for the pur-
pose of testing the work of those who
present themselves for the prizes in sci
ence. This appears a singular reason
when it is recalled that for the most part
the scientific prizes have gone to men
whose work had already obtained general
recognition and stood in no need OF any
test save that Of a comparative estimate
Of their relative values.
But perhaps the most singular point
about the awards in this very selection
of long-past work is for distinction. II
was understood when the terms Of Alfred
Nobefs will were first made public that
the prizes were to be granted on the WORK
Of the twelve months Immediately proceed.
Ing the award In each case. While 1t may
De admitted that a too rigid adherence to
this rule might have unduly hampered
the selecting committees it seems ex.
traordinary that their researches should
have carried them so far back as to
honor. for the most part, veterans OF
science instead of letting the prizes serve
as stimulus to fresh work and to work.
ers who have not yet arrived"
Coming Up-to-Date.
Leaving out of account last year. the
prizes have been awarded five times to
twenty-eight persons. three prizes have
been divided. OF these twenty-eight, six
have since died, and three of them died OF
old age. The case of Mommsen. who at
the age Of eighty-flve obtained the litera-
ture prize for work done when he was
thirty-seven. is representative of many
The average age Of the recipients was
fifty-eight. while the average time which
had elapsed since they did the work for
years. However, the trustee committees
may. perhaps, defend themselves on this
head by their desire to compensate the
older workers for the time when there
were no Nobel prizes; and. IL they con-
ttnue their awards year by wear thew will