SCIENCE WILL TURN WAR TIDE

BY RICHARD COCKBURN MACLAURIN, M.A., LL.D., Sc.D., President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

It would be entirely impracticable within the limits of space assigned to me to deal even in the most sketchy way with the applications of science in the conduct of the present war. That war more than any other in history is a war between nations as a whole, and not merely between small sections of different nations. It is a war the issue of which depends on the effectiveness for war-like ends of practically every adult amongst the warring groups. Science and its applications enter deeply into almost every phase of modern industry, and as at the moment war is the greatest of all industries, science plays a leading role in the present tragdy of the world. Science itself is, of course, neither moral nor immoral, neither for war nor for peace. It is merely a method, embodying far-reaching principles,--a method that is applicable equally to good or to evil. Thus we find science today contributing impartially to the means of destroying life and of preserving it, and to the modes of inflicting pain and of relieving human misery.

Volumes might be written on the scientific principles and methods employed in the great work of the Army and Medical Corps of the world, and at least as much space would be needed to describe with any completeness the vast body of scientific knowledge and skill used in the engineering feats that are witnessed almost daily when a drive is in progress. To move forward the vast armies with which we are familiar in the war conditions of today and to move them forward, as is, of course, necessary, with proper speed and with proper support, is in itself a scientific achievement of a high order demanding at every phase the exercise of first-rate engineering skill. Indeed, the whole machinery of offence and defence requires for its development and upkeep a vast amount of scientific knowledge, and success or failure may well fall to one side or the other according to the relative strength or weakness of the expert scientific knowledge of the two great groups of combatants. A few examples taken at random from this field may serve the present purpose. The British Minister of Munitions stat- ed not long ago that the war would be won by ammonium nitrate. What he meant to emphasize was the fact that an adequate supply of explosives was essential to victory and that this supply depended, under the conditions of today, on getting ammonium nitrate in sufficient quantities. This, of course, is a chemical problem, and Germany gained an immense advantage by foreseeing its significance and preparing for it. We, after eight months of war, are only beginning to erect the necessary plants, and it will be many more months before they can produce anything. Meanwhile, a large army of chemists must be employed in developing and improving the processes to be used in the production of the essential ingredients of modern high explosives. Think of another problem, or group of problems -- those involved in the practice of gas warfare. The use of poisonous gases by the Germans came as a surprise, but the use, or abuse, of course, had to be met. The first thing to do was to develop a means of defence, and this has been done and is still being done in the construction and improvement of gas masks of various types. Hundreds of American chemists have been busily employed for many months in attacking these problems and they have already effected striking improvements in the gas masks and have increased their effectiveness almost ten-fold. Then there is the problem of defence against the use of incendiary mixtures and the allied problem of their offensive employment, and again the problem of the production of clouds and their use. This matter has been taken up vigorously by American chemists and great advances made so that cloud production is being reduced to a science and a most effective instrument thus being added to the armory of America. These, as I have said, are examples taken at random from a vast field. Equally important problems of a purely scientific nature are presented when attempts are made to improve our airplanes or detect the enemy's submarines. Indeed, it is hard to think of an important phase of the war problems of today without raising scientific questions that none but well-trained scientists can be expected to answer. The nation that has a large supply of such men has an immeasurable advantage in the present conflict on the outcome of which the liberty and tranquillity of the world in the future so largely depends