Home Page 1

Reference URL

Add tags

Comment

Rate

Save to favorites

To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed the entire object, paste this HTML in website

To link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., The biological station begins to be a disappointment, June 2, 1909

Page 1

Save page

1 of 12

View Description

View PDF & Text

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

All (PDF)

This page

All

Subset

PDF
Text

Text Search...

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Rating
Title	Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., The biological station begins to be a disappointment, June 2, 1909
Collection	E. W. Scripps Papers, 1868-1926
Creator/Author	Scripps, E. W. (Edward Willis), 1854-1926
Date Original	1909-06-02
Subject-People	Ritter, William Emerson, 1856-1944
Subject-Name	Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Subject-LCSH	Research institutes -- California Research -- Management Research -- Finance
Is Part Of	E. W. Scripps Papers, Series 4, Box 01, Vol 02 E. W. Scripps' Writings 1909, Book 2
Collection finding aid	http://www.library.ohiou.edu/archives/mss/mss117.html
Call Number	mss117/ser4/box01/book02/186-197
Original Format-AAT	Essays
Publisher	Ohio University Libraries. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
Type	Text
Format [IMT]	Application/pdf
Physical dimensions	12 p.; 11 x 8.5
Identifier	ser4_box01_vol02_186-197_bio_station.pdf
Donor	Scripps, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1920-
Rights Information	In the public domain. Unpublished works are under copyright for the life of the author + 70 years
Citation	E.W. Scripps Papers, Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries
Transcript	t California. 2, 1909. THI BIOLOOIOJL STATION BJGINS TO BX.l DISJPPOIN'l.1lltlT. " , Yesterday morning I.8.1 talking about the Biologioal St&t1cm.j ~l can more properly.. y that I talked. and 111en listened and Mde.. 'f"oomments. I Baid tha.t I tel t tha.t my idea &1'ld m:y ideal in this matter ,_emed to be doomed,... had been at one t_ or another all J'IJY other ,10M •• It appeared to me that whateR!" rank Bitter might. now or ift hhe future hold among biologl.tl the •• l.,e. he wu aur. not to 'be nm.te4 I1len laid that I had no rea.on tor. ii.appointment on thi, acoount becau •• I had had no T6&10nto haTe'~ pecta.tions. Whether I had reuon tor expfDtatiortl or not I had. oer-tt. inly something more than hope. My indiotunt of Bitter: He is jUlt the type of the.,,,ery-day, ooamon aort. of man that one find, oocupying altogether' too prominent poaition. in S'ftu'Y d..pa.rt.- _nt of sooial Activity. He i. the W'orkunwho, it not ·oomplainiDg ot his tools" holda an. altogether too high a rega.nl for th.... ina.niu;t,e. instrumentl. The true craftaan 1. he who produce. perfect wos 1ft the end. no matter how taul ty the material on which he works or the inltrmaeDt or instrum.enta whioh he "Ult u •• in manipula.ting it; IJUch.. orattlll8l1 lDI\V 11&"'8 hi. work faoilita\ecl, made euier and more ra.pidly' accomplished. by one let of tool. than by anoth.r, rut the quality of hi, output ia little, if at all, afrected by the tool8. 'lb.. artin oabinet maker with a jack knit. may produce and.lIlt &rtlatlcal.ly fuhion.. cabinet, where.. man ot Blob. training and a. whole ahop lull of tool., rut lacking geniuI, oan pnHiuoe nothing t woul4 gain the admiration of a connoisseur. Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://media.library.ohiou.edu/scripps 01 J,YmIJtau of :.snt. the. minatioll,. 4i the C.l..UJ.l,J.L. 1 seemed to me inaffioi(\mcy in a at ieitv., and is onlv one '" the save only this days of perfert y p aesaion a.'rl fnfinit.ude of to their r B. in bean I invariable 8 equip. known h&s bSell marked by so of thoir same as iii to oallae... &i". to To acti 1)11 and WV",JU,).;lI.!i.2.V tool. extent i8 this brain'. rectption aOI for thea! 'I"l.I1"t1.<!il1 In San fad is oactus. Thill and had no Tili bl. _"""~.. U;t t- cutUB YlUoeeetl'N in living at C~~I taddi at. I 1 i. a queer genius poor and the l)artictU&r' of a. large Iele of an own collection; he and ry m.,-...... but he oactUI and oared 1 ~OlOo;iQal Station a Dise.ppointment~~3. this man wa.s an enthusiast,......;..i t was the man that intereltod me a.nd not ,. the work. I ga.Te him a oOmmlsaion to make a. oollection (;f eaotul rfor Miramar. I made no requirements of him a8 to the time he anbuld. ! ~give my work, in tact I told him tha.t he could go on with his ordina.ry f.i;ro.sine ••• and while travelin,; and Qolleoting for me at m::r expense he ~t!'OUld proseoute his own work. He had nothing to lOla by this arrange-ment. but had this DIlch to gain, -... -he oould trAvel without ooat to himself and QOLld be reIley.dot all railway and frei~,ht charges; beyond t,hie 1 allowed him fifty dolla:ra a. month, which, fWali u the • wUt would be added to wha.tever hi IS income was oth.nri Be and w1 thout in the least detracting from that income, in fact it is to be auPPolod that that inoome oouldbo grea.tly increuedthrough his a.bil i ty to greatly increa.se hi' specimens for hi. little marKet. Then began... erie. of experience I.. He began to dream draalll. He planned in his mind. extenei". planta.tion., houses for the production , of rare and del teate plante, and for their prop~&t~. He planned.allo.. grea.t induitry with an output of produot a. thousand times greater than the demand. '.Ameng other things ho infonned me that it wouia be ,. , impossible to prolGoute his work without a library • Which would ooat.000.00; he sa.id there were not 80 T1J81ly publica.tiOI1l, but that on -. a.ooount or the very few people intere steel in tuM publications they were noW' vo ry ox.penli'le. I endeavored. to ahowhimthe ablunlity of &1.1 of hil schemel as compared with the financi81 oontr~bution tha.t I expected to make of.t60.00 per month and a tew hundretl d.ollars a. ye&r for tra.velin£~; expen-._1 and freight charge.. But trouble. grew: My mail brought almost 'daily lomg lotters written in a. veri 1raI!ttDE!td and. almoat illegible hand. and it &leo brought me pamIlhiets and fQrma of litirAture on O&ctu8, so tha.t if' I had devoted my time _... __.... Yllyto'this oorrespondence a...'1d. t,~1in l:i.~.J:;n·u:~i~lrf;) I -NouJ.d hardly Biological Sta.tion a Disa.ppointmont-... 4. me 1 me, EUld r to to oa.re of c&11s I and and the t I of it. the gentleman was not writ. '1as to to let eonsidtu."'ed by him as IJrren too ahort a timtEt Icussion of CactUI.. offhoth his letters and his I had ovm ow family r year • on that the eOlt his 1110 'in,&11y I.... vJ.:tu.j..j~,'., to met or discussing the yea.rs and the expenditure andwaate of thoueands of dollars I h~~ya succeeded in gettil\~ riO. of the cactus man.. course evo r"'ihody knows a. fw:ldilt md e. hobbieat is call impractioal men.. It is natural and right too be 80 tho and completely absorb$d in have no room in thei:r nd:nd.a for the conaideration of their own~ and le~u~ for the consideration ">n,'.w.... '" s of other Dlen. s too with the Biologioal those I wa.s first a.pproached onnthe SUbj~HJt I remem,ber I for the oonduct oftheSta.tion at Ooronado for a.,a-r I haTe gi yen other 1'Um8. I lutVB al80 given oQnsidtn:4&ble md a.rra.nging for a fair fina.nQi~lUppo:rt a per-l have no cause for d.i IBti.laotian on account oontribution. but I ha.ve been made extrem,ly weary by the tor tim.e and attention tor theoonaideratio!1 ot sa affair. oonneoted with Station and. the tra'llsaotion Biologioal Station a Disappointment--b. of the veriest and baldest kind of co~or&tion formalit1e •• I haYe gi von at lea.at ten time. as much of my time to u.ooia.tion ~. of. the Biol&gical Station aa I have to almila.r meeti. ot tl1e "T.r~i·~-- many million dollar corporations in whioh I am lnt.reated.. I hay. been ask.ed to giTe consideration to business detaila which, in 'IltJ own personal affair. I would not of oourse giYe any part ot my a.ttention to. or evmkllowiner.,ly permit any of 'II13 chiet lieutenant. to wut. any of their time on. , I haTe been moved. in this Biologioal Station _tter by the 8ame impulse tha.t nlO,ed. me with the Ca.ctul man. In both cu •• I found what I at lea.st thou~t to be an enthuaiutio apecialilt, whose one u.d. only objeot waa scientific l.ny,ul1;,igation. In both 0..... the man I found W8.S hampered., or luppoaably hampered, by.. 1aok of JlHnI whioh would allow him to d.,qt, hi. thought. and.cm.erg1 •• Utluail'ely to hi. speoialty.. It WAI the man t,hat I wante( to help end not the Callse that I IOueP.t t.o ad ,anoe. However. in Prof.slOr Bitter'. ca.se I had.,. alight, Taq alight, knowledge of the aubject that hewu dealing with. and I reoap;nized that the !ru.it. or biologioal rea..... alf91t 'be IDd probably would. be in tl_ the MlUrt, l'aluableproduct of h'Wftlft iaber. But he wu not, in a teohnical land at 1.... t,.. biolegilt I-By temperament 1_ incapacitatecl tor any aort of detail la..... bor, much more 80 in the ou.o! a. aubjeot with whioh I was not, by life-long training, familiar.. Uy idea 'IM origin&1.1y J at leaat, to endow Ritter to such an extent that he could cb~,ot.· the remainder of hil lite to biological rewithout haying my fit his tiJ18 a.nd his energies devoted to wha.t would. call the unkindred. oallill1 of tea.cbing.. kinliergmen 018.s8 the... ; !t~":. 11,; __ lVlUowl of hi. aci.... -190 Bi;~'logica.l Station & Diaappointment... -6. I had no intention of beooming the bUlines8 manager ot eity). Ritter or of the inat 1 tuti on that Ritter m1~t found. Doubtless I would make 8. very efficient buainelll manager of auch an institution, but by devoting ten per cent ot the time that would be nec.s.a.ry for.... to give to wooe •• Mly manage hie inati tution I could in it make money enough to employ •• "eral men, each one of which would be more etficient in this busiMSI than myself" Ritter mi~)1t wtll enough. oomplain tIl.. t he hal jumped out of the frying p&n into the fire in th~ matter of'exohanging thepoai tion at college tea.oher for that of Wlineaa manager of an elaborate biologi-cal sta.tion" But I neTer proposed an ala.bol"ate biological station;......... I don't belie.e in ela.bora.te things; &1 I Bye int1mated befor. J I • consider simplioity the firlt and. fundamental principle ot illY purpose-ful 'Nork. I rega.rd. equipment and paraphemali.... a lomething "one than so muoh Macl -i@J\'f.. in t.. t. a. being 1l000\hing tha.t 1. harmful in It..elf..en I consider that an arch! teot baa been employed. and that a large reinforced concrete building il plan.necl. and. when r think a.bout the buildinp:; and maintenance ot the.Agassiz, and when I have read. the letters :from Ritter and Koifoid on the erubjeot of the proposed. la.boratory, and after all when I oonsider the aaal. that il baing let. by all theae things I fully reoognise th&.t the ~ment of this institution on a purely business a.nd. unprot.l.ional lid. •• ill so occupy the time of Ritter, if he undertakes it, that he will nel',r ag4jm hay. & moment's time to devote to biology. Ritter knows a lot about biology but he don't know & little bit.. bout some of the practical thinga in 11t., and. hence he ia blindly proceeding toward. an abyss. t91 Of caUTIO, as a department of the Sta.te UniTeraity, or a8 an i.riatitution tha.t had. u much of the.at.. of the voter. otthil state &1 hu the University, the planning on the Bioleg1o&1. Itatlon lIigb.t not :. t~ Biologioal Station a Diaappointment-~'. be considered. &. entirely out of 80all. The out.ide figure that I have ,yer let tor the aapi talil&tion of this institution i, $250,000. I propo •• d to plant an... ft': W,.""''''''''·k,;:t"'""~,;",,., finanoial potentiality, the product of' which \foul4 be an oak tree ot $260,000.. 00; but, if the acorn planted 1. to be a $260,000.00 leed. it tmlet be placed in.. Boil that will pemit it to grolf in.. ahort ti_ to a two or three million dollar inati tution. At present, at least it a.ppears to _, there i. not.,,,yen a. remote possibility ot such an inatitution developingj·... -ftr. there auah a po.zibility I would i.rbed.i.. &tely trop the whole matter,... I believe it ia an a.bsolute impossibility in this da.y and age to so man... two or thr.e million dollar biolog- 10al Station a8 to prevent it from c.ollapsing under the sheer... eight of ita equip1l8ntal ca.pitaJ. condition. Money doe. not _8 the mare go! Ioney il a. d.rug, or & con-etl tutional eleD.1Amt, an organi. whoa8 value d.epencia u.pon it, extrall minu'\;en8al; one at.. more ot thia d.rug or el.. nt than is neceGS&ry in an organi. il poi.onou.~ and any exc ••• 11 , •• ttu()ti"'.91 li.t. itself.. ):.ut year, in company with Prelldent 1Iheeler of the Un1"r- 8i t.y, I vi ,i ted and inapectetl the nEt" highschool in San Diego '" Ie went allover the building and cursorily 8UIl1ned the ohool room aDd. labora.tory oquipaent and on leaving the building Mr. Wheeler laid. to me that this high.chool in th1. littlewe.atem town VlU in every w.. y......,. building, 1 a.boratory •• to...... -.uperior to that of the oollege from w.hich. he had gra.d.u.&ted.. I Plow that IIY OW'll impression ftl thAt the ef'fect-ilsnels of this aohool would., in all probability, be reduced to nil by the "try exo ••• of 1,.... oall... adYantage •• Siaplioity and. great worit an absolutely neoeaeary oQmpap.i- I ha.... lea.me' to.Ye& f •• liDg of' antipathy toward, and even UUUtrt. with, the word. arehlttoture.· To rtl'J mind architeoture ia.. i92 Biologioa.l Station a. Disappointment-... S. devilish scheme to 80 house m.en &8 to make it impossible for them to do effioient work. Architeoture a.t beet il ninety-nine per cent w&ste a.."ld one per oent useful. T.sarge and elegant homes for familieS!! and bus'" inesl add nothing to health, nothing to comfort, nothing to lite J but tue. away from all tJhel. things. A palaoe home il worn or possessed by an owner of just as much intelligence a.s are the ha~vy, 'I.msightly, uncomfo:rt&ble lo-oalled ornament, of the lowest lavages" Both of possession. give diatination to their posseD8oI's, but a distino-tion that itlel pOlsessor to the contempt of the white man. pla."'lned laboratory of' the Biological Station 18 in my opinion &1 for its ostensible purpose as would be a grindstone worn around the neck of a man to protect hi a throat. idea. of a. laoora.tory W8.S • work... room--... one l two, three or a dasen work... roonu$J just as :many work-rooms as were neC6IS9.I""!; and absolutely necessary for one. two or more workmen employed, or for the kind of work to be done" idea. was to tom auoh a general plan of oonstruction, pre.ant and tut'tlre,.. II from tiroo to time growth of 'Work... rooms accord-in:~ to growing number of worlonfm or kinde of ~tI'Orlt to be done. idea was beginning to, the end sMh one of these rooms 'JiaS to be constructed. at the lowel!!t possible oost o:onsistent with its usefulneB.. It wu also idea that not one dollar should ever be divert.. from the uae of the alrploYlleBt and L'1aintenanoe of workmen that... ftot &baolntely neeeB8a~J. Iy 1.., was to ha.ve the 1Ihole energy and mind of Ritter ,and ".Iooi.. t.. or guests that he mir)lt ha.ve J devoted exclusi vely to soientitio product,,, I:y idea was to make a beginning of the Biologic$l Station efficient director who should from time to time a.a- •• cording t10 needl t &eoording to his means and according to the abil "'" of the OUltid.a.te. for employment, have tsntporary or pa:rmanent asaiacollaborator... ~.iologiaal Station 8. DisttYJpo5.ntment"'-9. The ideal inlti tutlon that I had in view WiLl not a. lIebool of instructi a. tiohool of research at ion , ( a bad use of 1l1ord commonly ) of iK&tion.. or even I \"(ould I 'l<)llld not to con~truct & Biological 8tation simil to my institution existing md bearing suoh 8. narae; ic&.te anything or improve on a.nything that done. 5 institution no other :4one hence, object in view, it would "fer] little of the equipnent or the kind of organisation pOI~tUj.M by other institution in existence. I well enou'~.;h know that I have no right to ivnpose upon ideas, not the 1 rie;ht in the world to expect cORsoi... oua1:r and with fo Ritter A.s8ooiatel in this work begin ever adopt A course line to~. Dri I should have liked, and should like now. to bend tht twig, while it i. a t.'wig t in such a way that its natural developement mi@'):lt tend toward. my ideal. But I see the foundations a.n being a no interest in and ean ptll.nsibly hay. in"",_ tha.t tak.an il 1\ or 1 erude ltation of over"'J possible conTention of lin. tha.t ham been @neo"U.'I1tered. I feel no inclination to interi&r5 or a.ttempt to ohange ~h0 oouree of eventl; I well ad."'&noed in year.. and t S 8:tX"lJf~e, suoh energiel I Inl still of directed o~~ lines that I grown with" rr H E IDE L. In conclulion I will trl briefly ideal that existB in I am convinced that modern oi 'fili. 1UL......... "'p.Uy 1 religion and. of codes of were founded upon known datil rior in. quantity 010 illQre i I\fould 1 be divided ve.C' 1 only in- 8 of of 1i a re-to no is as r 1 to of lying" to be are" I:t 150hool for thE; Ii J the 1 O#&st • mo as child- Eve mart;{rdom '" to ideas natur.... of 1 eld the aa.titm of which would in 1<1h&t i ill called research.. and man~'1ould record, faetu gatJhered by tho consi 8t 0 f men the wo govern t.here-author- 1~ actually o ondu ct. sml according to 10.much of nature' II intrnr:nt--ll" dieoerned. Of' course; in this institution, of -... the of rarl first work. $ tha.t raw ·ma.terial. i£l! the abundant there assenlble the men who construct things raw r;;aterial is not on11T oJ va.rietiea have been a:nalysed , sort 1"'0 therr ~ner()~iefl. l.1.n insti tutJion I in capucity for reHeareh of is \ll'ork is uni v€;jrsally duplica.ted. science» oor-rel of facts, thi8, do not now exist; for t~e ma tho investigators t and in ~ome part. ii ;, i 8 or recording thie kind of by ",_.~~ I Speneer and. Haeckel 1 o,f.) I made effort to eOTer the whole field from the microsc'ope he is the would-be founder of !It) is done by institution that I have in mind ia an ina1iit/uti.on true philo not ,... -"'8. school 'Jthe.re th$ories would structi"fe derolctions. the is Utopian; it could 1 of all sa ired-to-be in.... i if w del'oted ~1 the millions of aecUflru.l;ated o&1>i tal. than love 1i Biolo~ical Station a ]d8&PPointment--12. that the mere matter of thoir continued existenoe wuld be a. IUbject of indifference to them. But no ideel ia a.ccOlllpliaha.ble--... it is onl y approachable. Dictated by F.. W. Scripps ~/arwaar, Cw.ifol"'nia June 2, 1909.

Title	Page 1
Collection finding aid	http://www.library.ohiou.edu/archives/mss/mss117.html
Transcript	t California. 2, 1909. THI BIOLOOIOJL STATION BJGINS TO BX.l DISJPPOIN'l.1lltlT. " , Yesterday morning I.8.1 talking about the Biologioal St&t1cm.j ~l can more properly.. y that I talked. and 111en listened and Mde.. 'f"oomments. I Baid tha.t I tel t tha.t my idea &1'ld m:y ideal in this matter ,_emed to be doomed,... had been at one t_ or another all J'IJY other ,10M •• It appeared to me that whateR!" rank Bitter might. now or ift hhe future hold among biologl.tl the •• l.,e. he wu aur. not to 'be nm.te4 I1len laid that I had no rea.on tor. ii.appointment on thi, acoount becau •• I had had no T6&10nto haTe'~ pecta.tions. Whether I had reuon tor expfDtatiortl or not I had. oer-tt. inly something more than hope. My indiotunt of Bitter: He is jUlt the type of the.,,,ery-day, ooamon aort. of man that one find, oocupying altogether' too prominent poaition. in S'ftu'Y d..pa.rt.- _nt of sooial Activity. He i. the W'orkunwho, it not ·oomplainiDg ot his tools" holda an. altogether too high a rega.nl for th.... ina.niu;t,e. instrumentl. The true craftaan 1. he who produce. perfect wos 1ft the end. no matter how taul ty the material on which he works or the inltrmaeDt or instrum.enta whioh he "Ult u •• in manipula.ting it; IJUch.. orattlll8l1 lDI\V 11&"'8 hi. work faoilita\ecl, made euier and more ra.pidly' accomplished. by one let of tool. than by anoth.r, rut the quality of hi, output ia little, if at all, afrected by the tool8. 'lb.. artin oabinet maker with a jack knit. may produce and.lIlt &rtlatlcal.ly fuhion.. cabinet, where.. man ot Blob. training and a. whole ahop lull of tool., rut lacking geniuI, oan pnHiuoe nothing t woul4 gain the admiration of a connoisseur. Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://media.library.ohiou.edu/scripps

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home Page 1

Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., The biological station begins to be a disappointment, June 2, 1909

Object Description

Description

Tags

Comments

Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., The biological station...

Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., The biological station...

	All
	Pages Enter page numbers or page ranges separated by commas. For example: 1,3,5-12