The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-11-22
Never Too Wise to Learn
Highly Specialized Experts in Agriculture Instruct Scien-
tist-Students in Washington Laboratories.

the country's specialists, out Of col
lege perhaps 20 of 80 years, are inter
ested in going to school-you must see
the government scientist as he really
is. Too often he has been pictured
as learned, round shouldered, alb
stracted sort of mechanism, that &C.
cassionally climbs down from labora-
tory stool to describe his work in
government bulletin.
A government scientist may have
correspondent more or less to this des-
cription few decades back. Nova
days the agricultural scientist looks
more like business man, college pro-
fessor, real estate agent or a states
man. He is distinctly human, and he
may have sense CT humor. He is just
as apt TO remember to have his hair
cut as any other type of citizen.
You cannot imagine a classroom
filled with ponderous sages with gro-
tesque, absent-minded mannerisms.
But you can picture a group of keen
minded men, and women, coming to-
gether to learn about the latest theor.
les in some branch of their science
as explained by an authority.
This little school of agricultural
science illustrates an interesting tend
ency in governmental policy Once.
college degree and the ability to
pass the technical civil service ex-
animation were regarded as conclusive
evidence of a scientists fitness to
hold his government job for life In
some of the departments a scientist
was discouraged from asking for leave
| of absence in order to go to a uni.
versity and increase his knowledge
of his subject. He was made to feel
that he was paid to do particular kind
! of work and if he did not know every
| thing that he need to know in his po-
| sition, then he was admitting incom.
| petence and the government had bet
ter have man in his place who knew
all about the science in question. In
other words, self satisfaction was urg-
/ ed upon government scientists.
Education Never
Completed.
Now, in the department of agricul-
ture they are being encouraged to
leave their work occasionally and get
time off to improve themselves. The
theory that education is never com.
plete is being put into practice.
i This school was started only last
year, but it has already come to the
notice of scientists in different parts
OF theocountry. Dr. E. D. Ball, assist
ant secretary of the department, says
that because of these classes and also
because of the higher salary scale now
obtaining, the department now has
less trouble in getting the kind of men
that it needs.
I'VE use 1000 scientists, the largest
scientific force of any department OF
the federal government, outside oil
the war department" says DR.. Ball
But of late years we have had diff.
ficulty in getting young men from
the universities to take the civil ser
vice examinations. Now, l am getting
letters from college students asking
how they should shape their courses
in order to enter the department and
have advantage of our post graduate
classes.
|, I'VE should have the biggest scien
tific men in America to do the govern
ment's work, and if we can get the
big men for leaders the young mer