Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-04-18
SCIENCE MAY SOON
CONTROL THE RACE
Twentieth Century Will See
Rapid Strides in Biological
Progress.
MAY DIRECT BIRTH
Huge Amount of Energy in
Atoms Is as Yet I'm
developed.

LONDON. April Ill believe /, Is
much more important for labor to
hay" the proper attitude toward
science than 10 know some Isolated
FACTS, however Interesting, about a
particular branch of II. II the rise
OF labor Is the outstanding political
fact OF the last half century. the rise
OF pure science - the outstanding
tact Of the Hainc period in the domain
%! thought, and the application of the
discoveries Of sciente TO practical
ends the outstanding fact In tho gem
crni h.stor; Of civilization.
Science. AS well as labor, has had
ita battle. on. whose name ] am
proud 10 hear fought for the recogni-
tiOn of science and all that IL i'm
Plies in education. in everyday life.
in government Today those battles
are both more than half Won
But the two young giants ar. not
n"ii. SO sure 90 ,i,cir rc!at ons 10
each other. Mutual suspicion keeps
them at arms length. Science. whose
lifc rs construction. sees in labor often
too much Of the destructive or the
lcvc!ing. Labor distrusts what Il
does not understand Cana falsely,
thinks IL cannot unicrstand). and FUR
Their suspects science 10 be in the pay
OF capital.
AntoEomisn, Nrutrniixcs Energy.
This silent antagonism ncutra!.zcs
hhlf It's sum OF energy and prevents
1t from working shoulder to shoulder
In tn" great task OF setting the poor
disarranged world "a little 10 rights.
Let us go back to the rudlIncnts Of
things and see what really ar. the
great stakes at issue. Today is the
beginning of "a new era 10. sciencc in
that pure scientific research IS for the
hrst tim" being regarded as part Of
the national organism. Let us sce
what that rea'I.' means.
IL VIC trace ;na long rrogrcss Gf
animal evolution upward from lowly
forms OF l!fc. without eyes. without
heart. without skeleton. without brain,
We lind that three acpaIate and un.
related branches appear as dominant
types. one dominant in "a lesser dc =.
gree Is represented by the octopus
ami giant cuttleiiah. the second by the
amazing tribes OF iusccts-,becs and
nn's above all: and III. third bv the
higher verteb.atca. the birds ON the
onc hand ana on the other the mar,
mails eliminating In Man. VIVA, has
made these creatures predominant
Il over others?
"Dctter Thinking" the Cruy.
When We analyz,. the different pos
sih!c factors We md tina, a small par;
OF their success Is due 10 mere .iE..
somewhat more to the pcrfcc;io OF
bodily mechanism like those OF !oc,-
motion. circulation, or digestion. bat
by Tar the most To one single cause
Improvement OF brain; in other - yrds
To better perez ption. better powers Of
learning. and. finally. better thinking
Let man not d"ludc himself into
ina g!ninE that his short history is not
subject 10 the same laws that have
been tested on the tens OF millions OF
years OF evolution. The units OF
which lie forms part. whether they be
tribes, ctty-statcs. nations. fedora
tons. empires. or what we hope Will
he the last and greatest unit. federal :
lied humanity, Will thrive and per-
s.st partly as they improve their
mcchansms for communication. for
law and order, FOR commerce. for
finance. bu. chiefly in proportion to
the amount OF time, trouble man
power and wealth which they are pre-
pared TO devote to discovering, cor
relating. recording. educating and,
most Of all, to thinking
ctNilizntion's Forward Stcp
Civilization is now taking the stcD
that life took long ago, when she he
gan improving the mammalian brain
in earnest. our civilization bears the
same relation to the empires of the
past as does dog TO IA sheen or a
hCdehos: but it's relation TO the, pos
sible state OF the future l.; that OF a
a.
Since the Renaissance All scicn,inc
discoveries aud inventions beint.
made in capitalistic state of So
c!ety have been sooner or later an
propr!ated by capital. Increased
knowledge like watts utilization OF
the expansive force Of steam. or Gal
wants discovery OF the elect rio .,r
rent. nave simply been exploited like
every other source OF wcalth-land.
labor. minerals. crops-to brinI,
prohts TO individual people possessed
OF capital. Municipal and State own
ership Is beginning To change that
for certain types OF Undertakings.
The naturalization OF the land ia
within the range of practical politics
Let MS try whether the infinitely
greater sources of wealth and power
81 which science Is revealing and max
Ing available may not be caught and
kept for the nation at large instead
of being swept into the all-devourins
nav of capitalism.
Huge Energy I'm Atoms.
1t is with fun consciousness of
the meaning of my words that I write
Infinitely greater sources OF wealth
and power" The sources of wealth
which will he available when physi-
cists have discovered how to harness
the internal energy OF atoms Will bc
so great that the worlds coal supply
VIII iooh iiNc a. ClnucT, ana even
hydro electric power and the fx-
alton of atmospheric nitrogen will he
cast into the shade. And the sources
of power that biology will inevitably
unfold during this century will be so
vast as to make the tyrannics OF
Napoleon or Of Peter the Great seem
like the play of children
They could give. exile. kill, but
whatever persons or organizations in
the State will avail themselves Of tho
power which biological science will
soon put into their hands, will lie
able to control growth and sex,
health and disease. perhaps fertiliza-
ton. birth, and. even to some extent.
the span OF life.
BioloEists behind Phystcists.
The physicists, as natural with
their relatively simpler subject mat.
ter, are further ahead than tho bSlo-
gists. Anyone who reads Professor
Soddy's latest book. Science of Life.
will realize to the full that tho con-
troll of natural energy is the worIFs
greatest economic problem. OF biol
ogy. II can only DO said that we are
rny nIt.f