The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-05-04

great proportion or the discoveries Of
science. which are being turned to the
immeasurable advantage or man, is be-
ing made In Europe. one OF many
examples being the mastery of the
wireless" principle OF electrical trans
mission. But Americas FRANKLIN
brought into being the age OF eiectrici-
ty. Joseph Henry could lay as much
claim as Faraday to the discovery Of
electrical induction that made possible
the dynamo and Its unnumbered bene-
fits to man. Americans did much, OF
the work that established the theory
of evolution. Draper first photograph
ed the stars. a work that has done
much to master the problems Of
astronomy. Professor Newton. OF Yale.
first showed the Importance OF that
messenger from worlds unknown, the
meteorite, through which astronomy
yet hopes to solve the problem OF the
birth Of the Universe, And Simon
Newcomb, that plain country lad who
has claimed the attention OF the whole
scientific world by his researches ana
his genius. is one Of the two English
speaking members of the French
Academy. the other being Lord kelvin.
The expansion Of the membsrshfp OF
the learned societies of America during
the last decade is one of the hopeful
signs for the future Of American
triumphs in the fields OF scientific dis
covery 1t IL estimated that the MEM
bership in these societies has increased
as much rs one-third since the opening
of the eentury. and many Of the socie-
ties themselves have been born since
that time. In addition to this another
hopeful sign is the growing number
OF higher institutions for scientific
work and education. England has not
as many; France Is outranked by
A .~frn. nf~.irf
us in the number OF such institutions.
and even Germany Is gradually being
overtslken. -
In the past hundred years man has
been amassing new human knowledge
at a greater rate than he has been able
to digest It. There are vast store
houses of II in every centre OF learning
In the world that are as yet unavaii-
able to the great mass OF students.
lust at the present time there is q
wholesale movement on foot to make
houses of 1t in every centre of learning
it available. That is one of the works
to which the Carnegie Institution OF
washington has icommitted itself. ITS
index mejicuss being an index to the
current medical literature of the world.
Is an excellent example Its handbook
Of learned societies is another. It's
indexes to the economic material of the
United States government. and in the
archives of the various states and cities
serve the student as the blazed way
serves the pioneer in the wilderness.
What is perhaps the most remark
able effort that has yet been put forth
to make the stories of knowledge
available is that being scarried on in
England under the Royal Society. 1t
is a card index of the scientific litera-
ture of the world beginning with 1901.
Some thirty nations are engaged in the
effort to make this the most compre-
hensive. complete index in Christendom.
The work is progressing slowly. But
when 1t is completed 1t Will be SO
thorough that nothing more need be
desired There have been many diff
culties to encounter in the laying out
and making Hof this index. Nations
have had to be led to appreciate its
Importance. A million details had TO
be arranged and provided for. And
II is interesting to note that II Is TO an
American that must be given the credit
for the idea OF an internationaily-ma
index OF this nature. II was Joseph
Henry. first head of the Smithsonian
restitution, who made 1t. His sugges-
ton grew from one stage 70 another
until 1t has reached its present proper
tions.
research I'm America IL regarded as par
ticularly bright today. With the
Wright Brothers offering what appears
to be the real solution OF the problem
Of navigating the afr, the twentieth
century is starting out we'll from TIE
American standpoint. With hundreds
OF endowed institutions bringing the
tremendous pressure OF unlimited re-
sources unbounded zeal and determine
tion, and Infinite patience to bear on
the problems OF science yet unsolved.
there is reason to believe that the next
half century will leave no one the right
to complain that America is star OF
the second magnitude In the ffrma-
ment OF helpful research.
Copyright, 1903. by Frederic J. Has
kim
TOmOrrOw-CapitaI Punishment.