Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1931-11-12
A Research Colony
In The West
BY w. TAYLOR THoM, 1k.
Professor of Geology,
rY.-a,s,tx

Princeton University.
Editors Note:-This article
explaining Prineeton's part Ill
the founding of a geological re-
search colony near Red Lodge
was written for the Princeton
Alumni Weekly, by the man
who was the active head of
the expedition that has visited
this region the past two sum-
mers.
In cooperation with a dozen
universities and several branches
of the federal ard sate govern
ments, Princeton's Department. OF
Geology has established base
camp for geological research work
in the Bighorn-Beartooth-9e Yellow
stone region of Montana and Wyo-
ming. A cabin colony with accom-
modations for faculty members and
their families, graduate students,
undergraduates. and visitors has
been started near Red Lodge,
| Mont, and from this central base
field parties have worked during
the last two summers. 1t is not GER
tain whether the same camp will
be used during 1882, but perma-
nent colony will be established
somewhere in the general vicinity.
As expressed by members of the
Princeton contingent at Red Lodge,
the following line of reasoning led
to the development of the camp:
I'm order to do their best as
teachers, faculty members need to
do at least a certain amount of re-
search work to keep in touch with
recent developments. Additional
research must also be done by
graduate students for their Ph.D.
theses, and undergraduates need
practical summer work as we'll as
classroom instruction.
Cooperative Research
"If groups of related researches
can be carried forward simultan-
eously, and as parts of compre-
hensive plan, then results will be
multiplied in proportion to cost.
"If geological activities of the
sort described are we'll planned,
they will, besides advancing science
and training students, lead to a
practical development of the region
studied. This should make it pos
sible to gain partial support for
the undertaking from non-Univer-
sity sources as a matter of prac-
tical business.
"Work of the University group
can be made to supplement and
support official geological and
mapping programs, and can pro-
mote both a popular understanding
and appreciation of geology as a
science, and of the work of the fed
eral and state surveys as agencies
for the public service
Still another reason for organ
izing the summer colony was the
desire to provide pleasant and in
expensive summer quarters for the
families of faculty members. II
would be difficult to find a section
of the country more richly endowed
with phehnomena of geological in
terest, but it is hoped that in ad
dition to the scientists who go tx
Red Lodge to work on specific
problems there will be an increas
ing number who turn to the re
search colony merely because the!
have nothing else to do at the mo
ment. In this respect the Rel
Lodge camp will become to geolo
gists what Woods Hole and the Ba
hamas stations have long been tt
biologists.
The colony has not been in an.
sense a closed corporation fo.
Princeton geologists only. Facult.
members and their families from
many other institutions-Americal
and foreign-have been cordial,
welcomed at Red Lodge, and i
will be through their continued co
operation that the project will b
! furthered.
A number of Princeton alumni
even those not professionally cor
nected with geology, have visite
the camp, and the Department c
Geology hopes that in comm
years the colony will become sol
of Princeton outpost which will b
of particular interest to all wes1
! tern alumni.
Choose Beartooths
The Bighorn-Beartooth- yellow
stone Park region of Montana ar
, Wyoming was chosen as the fiel
for this work, partly because I
the variety and Importance of IL
scientific problems presented by i
: mountains and plains; partly b
. cause of it's accessibility and seen
and recreational attractions; al
3 partly because of aid offered
: the Northern Pacific railway.
Cooperative understandings wi
y the Universities of Montana al
;. Wyoming were reached, an
through the Montana Bureau
Mines and Geology, cooperate,
t with the U. S. Geological Surv,
and the War Denartrn emf was al