by Robert Reed
intended should go to the support of the nation’s scientific leaders.
Landrus felt a weary depression . He hadn’t really believed it would
turn out this bad for Baker, for whom he had had a considerable
regard in times past .
“You have heard the testimony of these witnesses,” Landrus said
to Baker . “Do you wish to reply or make a statement of your own,
Dr . Baker?”
“I most certainly do!” said Baker .
Landrus didn’t see what was left for Baker to say . “Testimony
will resume tomorrow at nine a .m .,” he said . “Dr . Baker will present
his statement at that time .”
The press thought it looked bad for Baker, too . Some papers ac-
cused him openly of attempting to sabotage the nation’s research
program . Wily and his fellows, and Landrus, were commended for
catching this defection before it progressed any further .
Baker was well aware he was in a tight spot, and one which he
had deliberately created . But as far as he could see, it was the only
chance of utilizing the gift that Sam Atkins had left him . He felt
confident he had a fighting chance.
His battery of supporters had not even been noticed in the glare
of Wily’s brilliant assembly, but Fenwick was there, and Ellerbee .
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 732
Fenwick’s fair-haired boy, George, and a half dozen of his new re-
cruits were there . Also present were the heads of the other maverick
schools like Clearwater, and the presidents—some of whom doubled
as janitors—of the minor corporations Baker had sponsored .
Baker took the stand the following morning, armed with his
charts and displays. He looked completely confident as he addressed
Landrus and the assembly .
“Gentlemen—and ladies—” he said . “The corner grocery store
was one of America’s most familiar and best loved institutions a
generation or two ago . In spite of this, it went out of business be-
cause we refused to support it . May I ask why we refused to continue
to support the corner grocery?
“The answer is obvious. We began to find better bargains else-
where, in the supermarket . As much as we regret the passing of the
oldtime grocer I’m sure that none of us would seriously suggest we
bring him back .
“For the same reason I suggest that the time may have come to
reconsider the bargains we have been getting in scientific develop-
ments and inventions . Americans have always taken pride in driving
a good, hard, fair bargain . I see no reason why we should not do the
same when we go into the open market to buy ideas .
“Some months ago I began giving fresh consideration to the
product we were buying with the millions of dollars in grants made
by NBSD . It was obvious that we were buying an impressive col-
lection of shiny, glass and metal laboratories . We were buying giant
pieces of laboratory equipment and monstrous machines of other
kinds. We were getting endless quantities of fat reports—they fill
thousands of miles of microfilm.
“Then I discovered an old picture of what I am sure all unbiased
scientists will recognize as the world’s greatest laboratory—greatest
in terms of measurable output . I brought this picture with me .”
Baker unrolled the first of his exhibits, a large photographic
blowup. The single, whitehaired figure seated at a desk was instantly
recognized . Wily and his group glanced at the picture and glared at
Baker .
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 733
“You recognize Dr . Einstein, of course,” said Baker . “This is a
photograph of him at work in his laboratory at the Institute for Ad-
vanced Study at Princeton .”
“We are all familiar with the appearance of the great Dr . Ein-
stein,” said Landrus . “But you are not showing us anything of his
laboratory, as you claimed .”
“Ah, but I am!” said Baker . “This is all the laboratory Dr . Ein-
stein ever had . A desk, a chair, some writing paper . You will note
that even the bookshelves behind him are bare except for a can of
tobacco . The greatest laboratory in the world, a place for a man’s
mind to work in peace . Nuclear science began here .”
Wily jumped to his feet . “This is absurd! No one denies the great-
ness of Dr . Einstein’s work, but where would he have been without
billions of dollars spent at Oak Ridge, Hanford, Los Alamos, and
other great laboratories . To say that Dr . Einstein did not use labora-
tory facilities does not imply that vast expenditures for laboratories
are not necessary!”
“I should like to reverse your question, Dr . Wily, and then let it
rest,” said Baker . “What would Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Ala-
mos have done without Dr . Einstein?”
Senator Landrus floated up from his chair and raised his hands.
“Let us be orderly, gentlemen. Dr. Baker has the floor. I should not
like to have him interrupted again, please .”
Baker nodded his thanks to the senator . “It has been charged,”
Baker continued, “that the methods of NBSD in granting funds for
research have changed in recent times . This is entirely correct, and I
should first like to show the results of this change.”
He unrolled a chart and pinned it to the board behind him . “This
chart shows what we have been paying and what we have been get-
ting . The black line on the upper half of the chart shows the number
of millions of dollars spent during the past five years. Our budget
has had a moderately steady rise . The green line shows the value
of laboratories constructed and equipment purchased . The red line
shows the measure of new concepts developed by the scientists in
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 734
these laboratories, the improvement on old concepts, and the inven-
tion of devices that are fundamentally new in purpose or function .”
The gallery leaned forward to stare at the chart . From press row
came the popping of flash cameras. Then a surge of spontaneous
comment rolled through the chamber as the audience observed the
sharp rise of the red line during the last six months, and the dropping
of the green line .
Wily was on his feet again . “An imbecile should be able to see
that the trend of the red line is the direct result of the previous satis-
factory expenditures for facilities . One follows the other!”
Landrus banged for order .
“That’s a very interesting point,” said Baker . “I have another
chart here”—he unrolled and pinned it—“that shows the output
in terms of concepts and inventions, plotted against the size of the
grants given to the institution .”
The curve went almost straight downhill .
Wily was screaming . “Such data are absolutely meaningless!
Who can say what constitutes a new idea, a new invention? The
months of groundwork—”
“It will be necessary to remove any further demonstrators from
the hearing room,” said Landrus . “This will be an orderly he
aring if
I have to evict everyone but Dr . Baker and myself . Please continue,
doctor .”
“I am quite willing for my figures and premises to be examined
in all detail,” said Baker . “I will be glad to supply the necessary
information to anyone who desires it at the close of this session . In
the meantime, I should like to present a picture of the means which
we have devised to determine whether a grant should be made to
any given applicant .
“I am sure you will agree, Senator Landrus and Committee mem-
bers, that it would be criminal to make such choices on any but the
most scientific basis. For this reason, we have chosen to eliminate
all elements of bias, chance, or outright error . We have developed
a highly advanced scientific tool which we know simply as The In-
dex .”
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 735
sBaker posted another long chart on the wall, speaking as he
went . “This chart represents the index of an institution which shall
remain anonymous as Sample A . However, I would direct Dr . Wily’s
close attention to this exhibit . The black median line indicates the
boundary of characteristics which have been determined as accept-
able or nonacceptable for grants . The colored areas on either side of
the median line show strength of the various factors represented in
any one institution . The Index is very simple . All that is required is
that fifty percent of the area above the line be colored in order to be
eligible for a grant . You will note that in the case of Sample A the
requirement is not met .”
Fenwick couldn’t believe his eyes . The chart was almost like the
first one he had ever seen, the one prepared for Clearwater College
months ago . He hadn’t even known that Baker was still using the
idiotic Index . Something was wrong, he told himself—all wrong .
“The Index is a composite,” Baker was saying; “the final resul-
tant of many individual charts, and it is the individual charts that
will show you the factors which are measured . These factors are
determined by an analysis of information supplied directly by the
institution .
“The first of these factors is admissions. For a college, it is admis-
sion as a student . For a corporation, it is admission as an employee .
In each case we present the qualifications of the following at college
age: Thomas Edison, Michael Faraday, Nicholai Tesla, James Watt,
Heinrich Hertz, Kepler, Copernicus, Galileo, and Henry Ford . The
admissibility of this group of the world’s scientific and the inventive
leaders is shown here .” Baker pointed to a minute dab of red on the
chart .
“Gentlemen of the Committee,” he said, “would you advise me
to support with a million-dollar grant an institution that would close
its doors to minds like those of Edison and Faraday?”
The roar of surf seemed to fill the committee room as Landrus
banged in vain on the table. Photographers’ flashes lit the scene
with spurts of lightning . Wily was on his feet screaming, and Baker
thought he heard the word, “Fraud!” repeated numerous times .
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 736
Landrus was finally heard, “The room will be cleared at the next
outburst!”
Baker wondered if he ever did carry out such a threat .
But Wily prevailed . “No such question was ever asked,” he cried .
“My organization was never asked the ridiculous question of wheth-
er or not it would admit these men . Of course we would admit them
if they were known to us!”
“I should like to answer the gentleman’s objection,” Baker said
to Landrus .
The senator nodded reluctantly .
“We did not, of course, present these men by name . That would
have been too obvious . We presented them in terms of their quali-
fications at the age of college entrance. You see how many would
have been turned down . How many, therefore, who are the intel-
lectual equals of these men are also being turned down? Dr . Wily
says they would be admitted if they were known . But of course they
could not be known at the start of their careers!”
Baker turned the chart and quickly substituted another . “The sec-
ond standard is that of creativeness . We simply asked the applicants
to describe ten or more new ideas of speculations entertained by
each member of the staff during the past year . When we received
this information, we did not even read the descriptions; we merely
plotted the degree of response . As you see, the institution represent-
ed by Sample A does not consider itself long on speculative ideas .”
A titter rippled through the audience . Baker saw Wily poised,
beet-red, to spring up once more; then apparently he thought better
of it and slumped in his seat .
“Is this a fair test?” Baker asked rhetorically . “I submit that it is .
An institution that is in the business of fostering creativeness ought
to be guilty of a few new ideas once in a while!”
He changed charts once more and faced the listeners . “We have
more than twenty such factors that go into the composition of the
Index . I will not weary you with a recital of all of them, but I will
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 737
present just one more . We call this the area of communication, and
it is plotted here for Sample institution A .”
Again, a dismal red smudge showed up at the bottom of the sheet .
Fenwick could hardly keep from chuckling aloud as he recalled the
first time he had seen such a chart. He hoped Baker was putting it
over . If the reaction of the gallery were any indication, he was doing
so .“A major activity of scientists in all ages has been writing reports
of their activities . If a man creates something new and talks only
to himself about it, the value of the man and his discovery to the
world is a big round zero . If a man creates something new and tells
the whole world about it, the value is at a maximum . Somewhere
in between these extremes lies the communicative activity of the
modern scientist .
“There was a time when the scientist was the most literate of
men, and the writing of a scientific report was a work of literary
art . The lectures of Michael Faraday, Darwin’s account of his great
research—these are literate reading still .
“There are few such men among us today . The modern scientists
seldom speak to you and me, but only to each other . To the extent
their circle of communication is limited, so is their value . Shall we
support the man who speaks to the world, or the man who speaks
only in order to hear his own echo?”
He had them now, Fenwick was convinced . He could quit any
time and be ahead . The gallery was smiling approval . The press was
nodding and whispering to each other . The senators wouldn’t be hu-
man if they weren’t moved .
Baker swept aside all these charts now and placed another series
before the audience . “This is th
e Index on an institution to whom
we have given a sizable grant,” he said . “Is there anyone here who
would question our decision?
“This institution would have accepted every one of the list of
scientists I gave you a moment ago . They would have had their
chance here . This institution has men in whom new ideas pop up
like cherry blossoms in the spring . I don’t know how many of them
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 738
are good ideas . No one can tell at this stage, but, at least, these men
are thinking—which is a basic requirement for producing scientific
discovery .
“Finally, this institution is staffed by men who can’t be shut up .
They don’t communicate merely with each other . They talk about
their ideas to anyone who comes along . They write articles for little
publications and for big ones . They are in the home mechanics’ jour-
nals and on publishers’ book lists .
“Most important of all, these are some of the men responsible for
the red line on the first curve I showed you. These are the men who
have produced the most new developments and inventions with the
least amount of money .
“I leave it to you, gentlemen . Has the National Bureau of Sci-
entific Development chosen correctly, or should we return to our
former course?”
There were cheers and applause as Baker sat down . Landrus
closed the hearing with the announcement that the evidence would
be examined at length and a report issued . Wily hurried forward to
buttonhole him as the crowd filed out.
“It was a good show,” Fenwick said, “but I’m still puzzled by
what you’ve done . This new Index is really just about as phony as
your old one .”
They were seated in Baker’s office once more. Baker smiled and
glanced through the window beyond Fenwick . “I suppose so,” Bak-
er admitted finally, “but do you think Wily will be able to convince
Landrus and his committee of that no matter how big a dinner he
buys him tonight?”
“No—I don’t think he will .”
“Then we’ve accomplished our purpose . Besides, there’s a good
deal of truth buried in the Index . It’s no lie that we can give them
scientific research at a cheaper price than ever before.”
“But what was the purpose you were trying to accomplish?”
THE GREAT GRAY PLAGUE, by Raymond F. Jones | 739
