Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/303

Rh the less will be the demand for coal, and if there were enough waterfalls conveniently situated, there would be no difficulty in furnishing all the energy needed by man for heat or for motion.

It is a fortunate thing that, as the population of the earth increases, man's tastes become more complex. If only the simplest tastes prevailed, only the simplest occupations would be called for. But let us not lose time in idle speculations as to the way this primitive condition of things would affect man's progress. As a matter of fact his tastes are becoming more complex. Things that are not dreamed of in one generation become the necessities of the next generation. Many of these things are the direct results of scientific investigation. No end of examples will suggest themselves. Let me content myself by reference to one that has of late been the subject of much discussion. The development of the artificial dye-stuff industries is extremely instructive in many ways. The development has been the direct result of the scientific investigation of things that seemed to have little, if anything, to do with this world. Many thousands of workmen are now employed, and many millions of dollars are invested, in the manufacture of dye-stuffs that were unknown a few years ago. Here plainly the fundamental fact is the esthetic desire of man for colors. A colorless world would be unbearable to him. Nature accustoms him to color in a great variety of combinations, and it becomes a necessity to him. And his desires increase as they are gratified. There seems to be no end to development in this line. At all events, the data at our disposal justify the conclusion that there will be a demand for every dye that combines the qualities of beauty and durability. Thousands of scientifically trained men are engaged in work in the effort to discover new dyes to meet the increasing demands. New industries are springing up and many find employment in them. As a rule the increased •demand for labor caused by the establishment of these industries is not offset by the closing up of other industries. Certainly it is true that scientific investigation has created large demands for labor that could hardly find employment without these demands.

The welfare of a nation depends to a large extent upon the success of its industries. In his address as president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science given last summer Sir Norman Lockyer quotes Mr. Chamberlain thus: "I do not think it is necessary for me to say anything as to the urgency and necessity of scientific training. . . . It is not too much to say that the existence of this country, as the great commercial nation, depends upon it. . . . It depends very much upon what we are doing now, at the beginning of the twentieth century, whether at its end we shall continue to maintain our supremacy or even equality with our great commercial and manufacturing rivals." In another part of his address Sir Norman