The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1922. SCIENCE IN INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 December 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1922. SCIENCE IN INDUSTRY.

Many opinions have been expressed concerning the best method of solving the industrial problem, but most of these go no further than to stress the need for greater effort, and concentration upon economy in the cost of production. In this, as in all other complex questions, general maxims, however admirable they may be, serve only as sign posts along the road, and are valueless as a means of transport to the desired end. It is, therefore, with much hope of gaining some practical suggestions that the recent-report of the British Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial Research should commend itself to the attention of all interested in a remarkable and highly significant tendency to modern industry. The introduction of steam power and the continuous improvements in machinery created a revolution in the rate and extent of industrial expansion, but it also engendered prodigality in the expenditure of great quantities of the new forms of energy. This phase, in turn, called for close scrutiny of resources and their use, and now scientific research is demonstrating daily how waste may" be eliminated, by-products utilised, and, above all, the ultimate yield wrung from value increased. Just as nothing is lost in Nature, so should it be with industry, and every additional unit of power made available is an increase in productive capacity. Not only must the machinery used be of the utmost efficiency, but there must he the closest co-ordination of industrial effort with the discoveries ’and methods of . science. It is only by striving intelligently and in the right way that the first principles of political economy can be carried out, and this can best be done by the exercise of that true economy which emulates Nature in turning all forces to account. Unhappily there is a lamentable lack of recognition of the fact that economy is something more than skill in not spending money. It is the art of spending wisely, and no better use can be made of money than in discovering how to effectively save our national resources and extend their utility. We have persistently advocated the claims of scientific research in the realm of industry, and the record of what has been accomplished by the Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Britain confirms the course advocated. A study of the details set. out in the report of this Council provides abundant evidence that the work is, from first to last, a work of economy in the Ciceronian sense that is productive of great revenue. For instance, the Linen Industry Research Association has produced a strain of seed that gives a yield of fibre in excess of anything yet known. May it not be claimed that a similar course of research and experiment in connection with New Zealand flax might, possibly result in making that industry immeasurably more valuable than it. is at present? Take another case. The Fuel Research Committee discovered means of saving hundreds of tons of coal in one industry alone, while at the same time providing for an increased output. Such discoveries can obviously only be neglected at a great cost. The utilisation of all such knowledge is yet. in its infancy, and has still to sake its way against prejudice.

Particularly is this so where the agriculturist is concerned, and in a producing country like the Dominion this aspect of the matter is one that should receive the complete attention it deserves, especially by those who hold and work small farms, for it is no exaggeration to say that nothing approaching their possible yield is garnered. This is largely due to the small farmer who takes off his eoat and works in his holding, and so claims to be a “practical farmer.” He is frequently very conservative, suspicious of suggestions by departmental experts for the better farming of his land, nor is he inclined to study and experiment, yet the products of scientific research have, with co-operat-ing goodwill, produced beneficial results that speak for themselves. There is scarcely any process or operation which cannot be improv, ed or simplified and its productiveness increased by bringing to bear upon it the fruits of such knowledge and experience (is is now daily growing in volume and extent.