Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22

III. e. Barnard declared at q meeting of the
Institute of Chemistry the other day that
Thirty men working In factory the size of a
city block can produce In the form of yeast as
much food as 1000 mer filling $1,000 acres of
ground under ordinary conditions"
Bertholet, in France and Baly, In England.
have already learned to make starch and sugar
directly from the air by the synthesis of mois-
ture, carbon oioxide and ultraviolet light of
certain wave lengths. In studying sugar the
Bureau of Standards produced not only the
purest sugar, but two new kinds of sugar. one
already of great industrial Importance and the
other destined to become the greatest of all
the sugars
At the Boyce Thompson Institute, at Yonk-
ers, all sorts of interesting and valuable facts
have been learned about growing plants under
glass and under artificially produced ideal con-
ditionS. Remarkable strides have also been
made in methods for canning and drying foods
so that they will retain the desirable and
necessary vitamins which they possess In the
raw state
But will We be any happier when we have
all these new things that science will bring
us?" DR.. Burgess asked. THAT will be an
swered only by the way in which we learn to
use our leisure" he continued
1t seems to me that no discussion of the
future Is complete without some consideration
Of our increasing leisure. More and more will
materials be poured into factories to be turned
automatically into finished products without the
aid OF human labor. All these mechanical and
electrical appliances are releasing us from
drudgery. but they are furnishing us with an
other problem. They are releasing the physical
and mental energy which we formerly used in
getting the necessities of life. What shall we
do with this leisure? Unless we use it wisely.
we may become as decadent as ancient Rome
1t is said that today one man out of every
five Is working for the recreation Of the five.
That is. he is working at making automobiles,
radios, boats, moving pictures, etc.
Man may use his leisure In two ways: He
may use it merely to vegetate, TO amuse him
self, to enjoy the products of those who have
labored to amuse him; or he may use it to
work at something which he feels is worth
while, to create something he has always
wanted to work on.
Recently brilliant scientist who used to
be here at the bureau, Alfred Lotka, made
what seems to me very interesting suggestion
He suggested that this leisure might be used
in scientific research, especially to learn some
OF the many secrets which still baie man;
that 1t might be used in the pursuit of pure
science or pure art; that those men who have
tremendous wealth and considerable leisure
might interest themselves in endowing both
institutions and talent
"1EaEToFoRE much talent has gone to
waste because the possessors of it had 70
spend so much of their time in making a liv-
ing. Science in the past has received some Of
its best and most original ideas from amateurs
One of the most striking instances of this
which Immediately come to mind is the work
of the amateur radio fans the boys who. on
the wave lengths considered virtually useless,
have talked to each other around the world.
There is much yet to be desired in the
field OF chemotherapy-the study of chemicals
which will kill germs which invade the human
body without harming the organs of the
patient. Africa, with great wealth of natural
resources. might become one of the most i'm
portant of continents If sleeping sickness could
be conquered Malignant malaria is still I'M
mastered Cancer strikes fear into the heart
Persistent efforts might reveal specific drugs to
be used against tuberculosis and pneumonia.
Paul Ehrlich has made some of the most
important recent discoveries in the field OF
medicine because he could gather about him a
group OF excellent chemists and had at his dis
posal all the facilities of one Of the largest
and best equipped dye factories in Germany
Some man with the means and the leisure
might easily establish such an institution in
America for the study of chemistry in medi-
cine, with a large staff of chemists pharma-
cologiStS psychologists and other specialists as
EnrHcn mas IN Germany. IL would give him
an outlet for his mental and physical energies
and furnish opportunities for men of talent TO
work unhampered by financial worries, to do
really worthwhile research work.
But if our wealthy and leisured men and
women turn their attention TO scientific de-
velopments, they will. of course, create things
that will speed up our modes Of living and
release us for more and more leisure And SO
the problem seems endless" DR.. Burgess made
gesture of hopelessness and laughed. 1t seems
that il spite of ourselves we are going to have
too much leisure.
Copyright 1892