The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1911. A SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 332, 20 June 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1911. A SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT.

At Auckland the other day Sir Robert Stout said the race could not be developed if mental training were neglected. He admitted the great need of research. Agriculture, stock breeding, anthropology and many other subjects offered themselves for investigation. More important than the results of research was the encouragement of a scientific spirit, which J would 1 inspire a search after truth and J which would allow nothing to interfere ! with it. Intelligence, knowledge and skill must be backed up by interest and will, and by all the physical and moral faculties that go to the making of manhood, and 1 in that way success I would be assured. These are wise and. sound words. Is New Zealand doing enough in the direction he indicated?, Are we encouraging the scientific spirit sufficiently? Contrast what wc are doing with what Germany is. Not consent with endowing the universities and 'technical high schools from the Exchequer with what appear to us relatively enormous sums, a society has been founded, under the "protection" of the Emperor, for the advancement of science. It is instructive to note the difference between their method and ours. Both countries possess what is called "technical education"; but while we have founded schools in considerable number, destined to capture the youngsters (who seldom attend) and the prospective foremen, they have aimed at the education of the manufacturers and the work 9 managers. Instead of a system of small scholarships, they leave it to the parents to find out that their children, suitably trained, are equipped for their life work, and will, if they are diligent, be certain of reasonable incomes and respectable positions. At the celebration of the centenary of the Berlin University, held Jast October, the Emperor announced that this society had at its disposal a capital of half a million sterling. It is proposed to devote its income to the equipment of institutes in which men already eminent in their respective subjects will be installed. Tliey will have the right to take student-assistants, i.e., voung men, who wish to graduntc in one or other of the universities. They will thus be able to pursue research aided as much or as little as they please. It is wonderful how deeply the spirit of trust In science has penetrated the whole German nation. When Professor Ostwald, many years ago, appealed to tile Saxon Government for money to build his physico-chemical laboratory, the Socialists in the Saxon Parliament voted (or the grant to a man, believing that grcaiter expenditure on pure science would contribute to greater industrial opportunities. This spirit, which permeates the German people from the Emperor on his throne to the representatives of the peasants, causes admiration: would that it would inspire imitation! One is led to speculate on the cause of this. Why is it that the people of Germany have such sympathy for scientific endeavor? The reasons are many. First, and above nil. is the discipline which the German people have undergone by their military training; more arc thus prepared for practical life in a measure which cannot i>c otherwise attained. It has its disad-

vantages; on the whole, the people are I not so self-reliant, but they become more j trustworthy machines. Second, there is a deeper understanding of scientific achievements and their bearing on industry. This manifests itself in many ways; the German Government is not above asking for, and acting on, scientific advice. The social position of the j savants, scientific and literary, is therefore assured, and the incomes of the higher posts compare favorably with those earned by professional men and manufacturers. This higher social standing secures attention to those who tender advice. Third, there is a constant exhange between academic and industrial posts; many men leave chairs to become managers of factories; many men enter the teaching and investigating profession from factories. Chemical and physical factories, too, there form n training school for the younger scientific experts; where many are employed, the more advanced communicate their knowledge and the results of their experience to the junior members of the scientific staff; in fact, they have apprenticeship! at its best. And, lastly, the process of training the people has gone on in Germany for nearly a hundred years. Rewards have been given, not to successful examiners, and not in the form of scholarships, but have been earned in the battle of life, for which ample preparation has been given. This spirit of trust in Bcience has permeated to the highest in the land; that it has been fertile in practical results is amply proved by the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the furtherance of scieiM.