UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS HOUSES MAY CO-OPERATE SOON

A movement has been set in motion by a committee, appointed by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, to ascertain the feasibility of co-operation between the large universities and the representative business establishments of the country, in regard to industrial research and business conditions. In explanation of this movement the Yale News prints the following letter from the United States Chamber of Commerce:

"In an effort to ascertain to what extent the large universities may co-operate with the representative business establishments of the country in the mater of industrial research, the directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States have voted that the questions involved be referred to its. Committee on Education or to a special committee. It was further ordered that the subject be taken up with educational institutions for the purpose of ascertaining the extent to which these institutions may be interested.

"In presenting the subject, W. M. McCormick, of Baltimore, a director of the National Chamber, told his colleagues that in this country we have permitted each field of industry, each line of education and the National Government to pursue alone its course of research. The results obtained have been quite independent of each other. In other countries, Mr. McCormick pointed out, these great factors have worked together along co-ordinate lines to produce economic advantages to business, and educational and social benefits of the greatest value to the people as a whole.

"Large industries such as glass-making, food, steel and drug manufacturing, Mr. McCormick said, are connected by very slight threads--if connected at all-with the great universities or with the Government, except as the Government exercises police supervision over the products of the business industries. He believed the Chamber of Commerce, representing as it does large commercial organizations throughout the country, was in a position to approach the educational institutions and Government officials with a view to preliminary conference on the subject. The National Chamber has formed a bond of union between the Government and business interests in a way nothing else has done, and he believed it would now go a step further.

"The subject of such c0-operation, Elliot H. Goodwin, Secretary of the National Chamber, explained in Washington, was brought forth at the scientific section of the American Pharmaceutical Association meeting at San Francisco by Dr. A. R. L. Dohme, of Baltimore. It has been suggested that the National Chamber call a meeting at Washington inviting thereto the presidents of twelve prominent educational institutions and twelve heads of large industrial or manufacturing plants, each representing a different industry. Consideration would be given to the possibility of each educational institution handling specific problems for the industries, making experiments for them if necessary or desirable, and endeavoring to organize a course of study, training their graduates along particular lines that would be of direct benefit to the industries. The understanding would be, in this case, that these manufacturers would be willing eventually to take the most desirable of these students into their plants for the working out of the future scientific development and the problems of manufacturing."