Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-29
HOOVER STRESSES
/ VALUE OF SCIENCE
Makes World Richer Than All
American Banks, He Tells
Association.
BY the Associated Press.

IlIAs CCCCItDCA
American banks with their millions
could not assemble the value added to
The worlds wealth by pure science re-
search in the opinion of Herbert
Hoover, Secretary of Commerce.
A plea for aid for pure science was
made by Mr.. Hoover before the Amer
ican Association for Advancement of
Science, in annual convention, last
night.
1--WE are spending in industry and
Government, national and local, prob
ably $500, 000,0 900 a year in search for
applications of scientific knowledge.
with perhaps 10000 men engaged in
the work" he said.
1.-The whole sum we have available
to support pure science is less than
$10,000,000 q year, with probably
less than 1000 men engaged in it."
Mr.. Hoover's address followed the
reading of many scientific papers.
Male Weakness Denied.
Dr.. Oscar Riddle of the Carnegie
institution station for experimental
evolution in Washington challenged
the belief OF many physicians and
geneticists, based on the higher
prenatal death rate of boys. that the
male is the weaker sex.
He explained the greater male rate
as due to an adverse chemical quality
In the mother, whose physical nature
Is better adapted to production of fe-
male children, and to a sexspeficio
hormone. or reproductive element in
the blood, which causes degeneration
Of the male offspring.
DR.. L. O. Howard, chief Of the Blu
Teau of Entomology. in Washington,
believes it important that parasites
upon injurious insects and insects
that prey upon them be imported
Irom all parts of the world for the
benefit of the farmer.
Would Take Profit From Crime.
The most effective way Of stopping
O "crime wave" is to make crime un-
profitable, James H. Hepbron, man
aging director of the Baltimore Grim
inal Justice Commission, said yester-
day. Deprecating the modern" the
cry that criminals were sick men"
Of low mentality or ''born crooked
of high mental attachments. and were
in the business of crime because it
paid.
1.-The belief that all criminals are
mentally subnormal," said Mr.. Hep
bron. lis widely accepted and be-
lieved. 1t was not until the World
War, when great numbers of men
were given intelligence tests, that the
average Of intelligence was found to
be much lower than originally sup
posed, and when our convict popula-
ton was examined. it was found that
they received higher mental rating
than the draft Army of the United
States, which was fairly typical of
the mass population.
"And 1t must be remembered that
convicts in penal institutions repre-
sent the lower type of criminals, be-
cause the more astute frequently es-
cape detection. Generally speaking,
the criminals received a higher men,
tai rating than their guards.
Think Like Average Citizen.
'It would seem that actual as well
as potential criminals go through the
same mental processes as the average
citizen. They consider the chances OF
success or failure inst as the aver
Two of the worst offenders against
society are the speed demon" and
the wealthy man who 'bribes" the
poor man to obtain liquor, in the
opinion OF DIR. Hasting H. Hart Of
the Russell Sage Foundation.
'I know q governor Of State"
said DIR. Hart. who brags that he
habitually drives at the rate of 30
miles an hour. We have these speed
demons everywhere-you find them
Dragging in smoking cars and clubs
men who take human life or MAIN
children for their own pleasure.
"The wickedness of the prohibition
law lies in the fact that we do not
consider 1t from the health stand
point Nobody objects to enforce
ment that is clearly for the public
health. We have lost sight of the fact
that the central element in prohibit
ing the sale of liquor is the health
consideration"
DIR. Hart made these statements in
q general criticism of the present
system of law enforcement, in which.
he said, the principal trouble was the
emphasis placed on force" The
vengeful spirit of the ''eye for an
eye proponents, in his opinion, was
one OF the greatest dangers in the
system.