Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 77.djvu/405

income just about sufficient to make the "wheels go round" in the office and the surplus available wherewith to grind grain is a very small fraction of the funds required to keep the wheels in motion. Under the billing system for small dues from hundreds of members and new membership campaigns, often seventy-five to one hundred per cent, of the funds are consumed. Instead of wasting so much capital in beating the tom-toms and in asserting and defending from attack alleged scientific knowledge, one quarter of the energy would be sufficient to settle these scientific questions for all time if expended in bringing the evidence suitably before an impartial scientific tribunal whose decision would command respect. With the same decision, much agitation and annoyance would be saved our good people, who are wearing themselves out trying to form intelligent opinions on all kinds of technical questions without proper evidence presented on either side.