The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-11-06
Almost complete text of address
yered by w. C. Swart before the
Rotary Club, Octoger IA, 1920

Rotary Club, octogsr Ia, 1929
irst comes a defnltion: What
we mean by Research? The
ldard Dictionary says, Specific
a systematic study of phenom-
by the experimental method.
l those two words Experimental
-hod" hes the secret of why we
come further in our knowledge
this world of ours in the last
years than in all the previous
ory of mankind.
her were of course experiment
among ancient peoples, but
lition, superstition and authority
too strong for all but the most
optional minds. Ancient liter
re contains many anticipations
modern inventions. The excep-
al minds thought of these things
no one tried them. Even st.
/ wrote to the ;S1Thessalonians,
owe all things: hold fast that
CHI is good" Prove" being
"A here in tie sense of test or
But the history of Thessaly
not indicate that the inhabit-
followed St. Paurs advice.
is impossible tes set an exact
when the Experimental
hod" really began to come into
own. Probably; its greatest
lie impetus came sfrom the OAR
ian controversy. = Charles OAR
collected an enormous mass of
fence, showing that. evolution was
exis ting biological fact; which
lence is still validY although OAR
s theory of what caused the
.utionary changes. ahas been found
enable. s.
he controversy wSse land still isl
tier one, and its very bitterness
to an intense and widespread
oh for further evidence, and for
governing laws. So much that
new and important came to
that medicine, surgery, horti-
ure, biology and psychology
nd themselves in possession of
nge new methods and tools,
~ of which were difficult to use
lligently, and still are.
lutte naturally it was not lonp
ore these new methods began to
used here and there commercial
until today they are so much
usual thing that zone hardly
WIS where to start telling of
N.
hose of us who are more than
y years of age have seen our
Id transformed. We remember
N there were no telephones, no
nographs, no bicycles, no auto
piles, no trolley cars, no aviation,
kodaks, no radios, no dynamite
canned foods, no refrigerator
-e, no income tax, and no jazz.
hese and thousands of other
gs came to US through research
ven jazz. We think of them as
ntions, and perhaps therefore as
les of genius. But someone has
that genius is 1919 inspiration
900 perspiration.i 1t is per-
ly true that most valuable in
lions are not the result of
,1entary CLEANS off inspiration.
represent rather the hard work,
long study, thought and trial,
lily of many men.
e are apt to think of the spec
lar names like Morse, Bell,
on, Goodyear, Bessemer and
uerre, as representing the flash
:enius, yet in every case success
e to such men only after long
s of work and struggle, and,
yone of them found competitors
he same field.
fe naturally associate inventors
inventions with the Patent Of
A patent may or may not
esent research, but it is fair to
me that it does, so let us see
the Patent office can tell us.
ere is the official Gazette of the
). Patent Office for the week of
)ber 9Th, 1925. 1t contains brief
ce of tel patents issued in the
week-more than 100 per day,
'ly 10000 per year. 80"
ut aside from the wonderfully
resting things described every
< this little book has some other
gs to tell us. l doubt whether
gentleman present tonight could
in the Index of Names of Pat
es, the names of two persons
ever heard of before. But let
read you a few names from the
first page of the Index. ***
other words, almost every
ufacturing concern now is study
its product and method and
itaining a department with spe-
employees for the sole purpose.
asearch has been organized.
you and l get the benefit of it
" day of our lives.
le individual inventor-the in
ndent genius-is still at work,
as before, but here are thous-
of men investigating, building
IS, tearing things apart, discov-
:, lnventing and patenting, as
lar employees of corporations. ***
1T organized research as we
it today is a much greater
than inventions and patents.
most important work is not be-
lone in corporation laboratories,
largely in the Universities and
r such auspices as the Rookie
Foundation, where no COM
lial features are involved. For
the researches of Alphonse
Ellon into thumb prints and
measurements protect every
of US against criminal aggres-
The researches of Louis Pas
protect US from bacterial ag-
zion. There are hundreds of
instances all about US.
good comprehensive and ac-
i he definition of modern research
I'd to give, but it is fundament-
an attempt to discover and
Re the underlying laws of the
e universe. so far as they may
ithin our reach and comprehen-
What is it made off," "Why
it work." "Why does it fail
York?" "How can it be made
clip mankind?" are some of the
questions.
/ were to try to make a list
p thousands of things now he.