THE ADVANCE OF SCIENCE

Waikato Times, Volume 117, Issue 19598, 10 June 1935, Page 6

THE ADVANCE OF SCIENCE

A recent statement made by Dr. Bergius, at Munich that in the event of war, Germans could eat sawdust, drink sap, and dress in birch bark, is but another revelation of what science is able to do in administering to the wants of man, as distinct from what has hitherto been regarded as the essentials for human food, drink and clothing. Although important to those concerned as to how a nation may act,* if cut off from these fundamental necessities of life, as in the case of war, the declaration is not likely to create half the interest shown when it was first declared that instead of growing silkworms to make silk it was possible to cut down the tree which provided leaves for keeping the worm alive and convert it into cellulose, and thus provide silk in bulk for commercial purposes. The truth is that from every quarter of the globe come tidings of new wonders produced by natural science. From land, sea and sky come- the same story and new industries are springing up everywhere along paths first trod' in theory by chemists, engineers, physicists and' inventors. Cosmoci ray discoveries threaten to revise longheld theories of how the earth and its crust were formed. New and more accurate methods of weather prediction go hand in hand with swifter planes that graze the atmospbero in transcontinental flights, and the upper atmosphere is being explored to pave the way for rocket ships scheduled some day to travel at astounding speeds. New sources of power are being evolved and even the atom is being called upon to play its part in the new form of propulsion that is regarded as close at band. Gold is expected to be won from sea water in larger quantities than from land mines. Never in history have men been more free from drudgery. Never have the granaries of the world been so generally full. Youth has greater educational opportunities than any preceding generation. A 30-hour working week may some day be realised and all research combined to furnish the housewife with more “ genii ” than served Aladdin. Nevertheless, there are those who lay the blame of the economic depression on too much scientific research. “ Technicians find new lavour-saving devices which take away our jobs,” bemoan the out-of-work! “Physicists and chemists put terrible tools in the hands of those who make war,” protest the pacifists. But while every new invention takes away some jobs it creates new industries, and more new jobs arc born in place of those superseded, whilst the chemist and engineer cannot be blamed if their burden-lifting discovex’ies are conscripted for use in wholesale destruction. Just one hundred and three, years ago was made the discovery of the fundamentals which underlie practically all manufacture of electi’ical goods. This has given employment to millions more throughout the world to-day than if those laws had not been discovered. The motor-car has wiped out the waggon and carriage business, and with it many kindred trades. But its introduction has multiplied employment by 250 per cent. Census figures show that during the last twenty years, while the greatest developments were reached in labour-saving devices, the number of people employed in road building increased nearly 100 per cent. Whatever may be said against the machine, it lightens man’s labour and aids him to conquer nature, and we cannot renounce it without retracing our steps on the highway of civilisation. It is discipline of the machine that must be achieved, so that while serving man, it may not steal away his joy in work.