"THE GAVE THEM TO THE HUMAN RACE."

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLI, Issue 12799, 17 March 1916, Page 8

"THE GAVE THEM TO THE HUMAN RACE."

Wiii> i oimii'.-r■' i;s 1 toiiju-f led;.vith the supply ol v.-.-ir material- ait- rceiving tens of thousand.- ol' pounds. ;i.- commission for effecting busine'it V-tween manufactories and war markets, while substantial salaries are demanded for legal talent, wherever the country's needs may be ; and medical consultants accept retaining fees for their e.tpert advice, men of science of equal eminence in their particular spheres of work give their special knowledge freelv to the' State," eays "Xsiture ; "and they are glad of the opportunity of. thus showing their patriotism. None of the scientific men v.-orking on-war problems in connection with committees of the Royal Society and other scientific societies receive any payment from the societies.

"The Munitions Inventions Department of the Ministry of Munitions, had an advisory panel of twenty-six scientific and other experts who are certainly among the leading representatives of applied science'in this country ; yet the Comptroller •informs us that these gentlemen are' not paid, and that their services are in' all cases voluntaiy. This is true also of 'the central committee' and the' panel of consultants of the-Board, of Invention and' Research connected with the Admiralty. "No payment is asked for or given, though the financial value o f the expert knowledge which these committees and panels of consultants have brought to bear j'-upon national problems must be very great. Let us nope that the voluntary services thus rendered cheerfully, in order to make our armed forces' more effective, will no}, be forgotten when • provision for instruction and research in institutions of science and technology is under consideration by administers of State funds. "Voluntary wotk should be expected of all classes in these times; but it- is unfortunately true that, such services are expected of science at all times. Scientific men havti themselves largely to thank for the low financial value placed on their services. They are ready to work for little or nothing, especially if the task offers opportunity for research; and in a business world, which -assesses expert knowledge by the fees it can command, takes thenf at their own low valuation. "University authorities, business men, and the Government all exploit the scientific worker, who is so. much taken up

with his individual studies that he is content to consider science as its own reward, and to let anyone who cares derive profit from his knowledge. "Personal reward—as the world understands it—for ivork done or results obtained is the last thought of a student of science. 'I have no time to mak«s money,' was the reply of Louis Agassiz to an offer to lend himself to a legitimate and tempting financial scheme. A like remark was made by Pasteur to Lady Priestley, T could never work for money, but I would always work", for science.' Yet, according to Huxley, Pasteur's work for the prevention of anthrax,, silkworm disease, and chicken cholera added annually to the wealth of France a sum equivalent to the entire indemnity paid by France to Germany after the war of 1870. ' "If Pasteur had chosen to keep his discoveries to himself he could have been one of the most wealthy men in the world, but he gave them to the huiran race, and was content to end his career as a professor of chemistry in receipt of a modest salary from the Government of his ooiftitr>'- " "Most scientific work is done without expectation of reward. The man who deVotes himself to the advancement of knowledge is continually finding himself without the means of obtaining the instruments or other material necessary for the pursuit of his researches."